If anyone knows tickets well... its probably me.
First: Always go to court... even if you lose, you are no worse off than not going. And there is a good chance the cop won't show, OR that he will slip and you can get off by proving his story to be in-consistant. Its not easy, but Ive done it many times (especially times I was truely innocent and it was a clear form of harrassment due to the cars attention... don't kid yerself cops arn't always "good" guys).
On top of that, even if you lose you can request a reduction, which is better than just eating the full hit. Its worth your time to go if your job/life allows for it.
Second: Lawyers are a waste in most cases.. you'll spend more money on a lawyer that "might" get you off, when the worst that will happen if you lose in most states is it stays on your record for 3 years plus a minor insurance price increase, usually between 4 and 10 percent depending on who your carrier is.
Multiply 36 months X the increase and if its less than a lawyer fee, then squash it and move on with your life. The only time you would want to get a lawyer is if you have multiple offenses and you are at risk of losing your license if you take anymore points, at this time the investment of driving is worth the extra money.
Next: If its a radar ticket, ALWAYS request to see the radar gun when you get pulled over, if they refuse to show it to you, request a calibration from the police department prior to your initial plead court date.
Next, have your speedometer calibrated, 9 out of 10 times a speedometer is never truely "accurate", in turn you will get a mileage adjustment and can take that as another form of "proving" your car was misleading you to believe you were going slower than you actually were. This is usually 30-60 dollars depending on the shop you go to.
I know this is a lot, but bringing evidence in like this also increases your respect level to a judge to show that you went through effort to try and prove you are indeed innocent. Judges arn't stupid, and a "crap" case where some Schmoe gets a ticket, goes in and says he's innocent with no proof gets nailed almost every time, because thats a pure sign of the cops word versus the drivers word, and the cop will always win. So back up what you've gotta say.
Always re-visit the location of your tickets, check for differences in speed in directions. In other words if you have a road that goes south and north, if the north direction is 35mph and the south is 40mph you can battle with the differences in speed, and claim you are used to travelling the other direction and often get confused at the speed limit due to the difference. (Don't laugh, I actually had this happen to me, and won due to a difference in speeds on both sides of the streets in different directions). Then request that the city fix the speed limits to match.. and of course don't ever speed there again ;P
The next thing you want to do is get the EXACT penal code explanation of your violation. Look it up, its available online for almost every state in the US. Read it VERY carefully and look for errors between what the officer cited you for and what the actual code says.
Many times, minor errors in wording can lead to you being let free. I got off on one ticket due to the wording using references to streets, yet I was travelling on a highway. Instantly got off due to being cited for the wrong penal code for the violation.
The key to beating a good solid speeding ticket is knowing the case, being better at the facts than the officer. Take note of weather conditions, your surroundings, people, cars, if there was traffic, what lane you were travelling in etc etc... attention to detail is good.
If you can remember word for word what the officer said, write it down so you have it. Its not a big deal, but its important in case he slips and says something different in the court house. You can inform the judge nicely that the words the officer used were as follows, and not what the officer just stated... and the reason you remember is because you wrote it down for whatever reason you want to come up with.
Also, if there are any "illegal" items on your car, ie: exhaust, no front license plate, tinted windows etc etc ... be prepared to have them removed. Bring pictures of your "clean" vehicle so that if the cop tries to pull some BS about how he was being "nice" and just writting you for speeding and letting your "other" violations go, you can prove you have no other violations and that what he just said was "made up" to make your case look worse.
If you have 2 cars, don't drive the one you were cited for to the court apperance. If the judge requests to see the car, you can say "I have my wifes car today" or whatever you want to say to state you don't have the car you were cited in. This is also important in case the judge wants to see the car himself, it buys you time to get whatever he wants to see "fixed". (Although Ive never seen this happen, its good to be safe).
Don't EVER get cocky or rude, talk calmly and present your case with facts... you'll have a much better response from a judge this way.
Hopefully some of this helps, if you need anymore help, Ill do my best to provide answers... everything Ive stated here is from 19 tickets of experience (Note: Only 1 is on my record.. which I indeed deserved).
Just remember the officer and judge are people just like you... if you treat them as such you get better results.
Also, never admit guilt, or appologize for your actions. Appologies are assumed to be a form of forgiveness when you are guilty. So be careful.
If you choose to appologize make sure its at a point where you know you're going to lose and you are doing it to sound sincere, and pleading for a "softer" penalty.
Hope this helps...
-BZ
God of tickets, King of freedom...
