Anyone have luck challenging traffic tickets?

I have a driving out of class ticket with my court date approaching. Looking forward to challenging it. Anyone have any good success stories?

I got charged with cruising back in high school. Told the judge that the "anti-crusing sign" didn't define what cruising was in that town. And that in the town I was from defined cruising on their signs, and I thought that was their town's definition.

But, this probably doesn't help your case any...

Actually Im all set just wondered if anybody on here had some good stories.

I forgot the best part of my story - when the cop pulled me over and asked what I was doing, I said: "just crusing around"

But I did get off with a warning from the judge who I then called "sir" instead of "your honor" -- ah yes, 16 and cruising on Mill Ave!!

Pray the cop doesn't show up for court. If you see him show up, find out from the prosecutor if you could plead down to a lesser, non moving type offense. That's what I did when I got my last ticket. Of course, I had done nothing wrong.

135mph in a 50 mph, passing 2 lanes of traffic through an intersection... Didnt know he was chasing me fro 3 miles when the guys he called ahead to blocked the road on me. Luckily the trooper shot a guy 9 times a couple days later, I pleaded innocent and the DA told me he would drop the case if I donated $300 to charity as everyone thought the trooper was crazy now. Best $300 I ever spent. I was cited for CNN, reckless endangerment and excessive speed. Got off with nothing on my record.

Delay is the guilty defense. Find out how to get a continuance and file for as many as you can on the last day you can. You can usually do this about three times. When you can't continue it anymore, show up on the date. Often, after a traffic court date is delayed this long, the officer will not show up. When you finally go in, you will probably have a chance to speak with the prosecutor. Don't whine. In this order are your best choices: First, ask them to drop the charges, give them a good reason; Second, ask for this to not be reported to insurers; Third, ask for a reduced fine; Fourth, ask about any court programs that can achieve any of the things you asked about--driving school, a class (etc); Fifth, plead Nolo contendere. Never plead guilty.

*Don't take this as legal advice, if you would like legal advice, contact a licensed attorney in your state.

I got a 40 in a school zone thrown out when I was like 17. That was fun. I saw Bobby Brown at the courthouse. Poor Bobby Brown and his illegitimate childrens

When I was in school (undergrad), I was at a red light turning right. The light turned green and I turned. A bunch of us got flagged down for turning right on green, there was a sign that said "Right on Green Arrow Only." Stupid. My inspection was out of date as well. Would have been nearly $400. Our school had a lawyer that someone told me I should call. Called, he said "No problem, I will represent you," charged me $100.

I did not even have to show up and he ended up pleading no contest to a seat belt violation for me. That was a $25 fine and not a moving violation (will not affect insurance, etc.).

This all happened in New Orleans, and since then they have replaced all those no-turn traps with red/green arrows. I am still not sure if the lawyer was just friends with the DA or if I could have done the same, but i was out of town for the summer and it worked.

Rear ended a sheriff's deputy in a drizzling rain storm... Luckily he hit the car in front of him and so on until there were 5 cars involved... Nothing damaged, just a bumper-love tap... Apparently the sergeant on duty didn't want to fill out THAT report and I walked away w/o even a written warning...

I was taking a side road home to a major road that others knew would be shorter, so needles to say the road was fairly backed up. There is a store that has two driveways that lead to the major road. I figured I would cut accross and get on the major road. A Trooper pulled me over and gave me a ticket for cutting thru private property. I plead the whole Tactical Medic for the State Police and Medic all that....he would not budge. And I do understand he also has a job and was doing his job. I went to court and told the Judge I was getting milk and bread, and changed my mind. It worked.

the last speeding ticket i got, i challenged the officer to keep following me for over four miles before i relented...

My tickets have this great habit of disappearing into the mist. It's great being married to a lawyer with state connections.

BuffaloSabresBrewer said:

I have a driving out of class ticket with my court date approaching. Looking forward to challenging it. Anyone have any good success stories?

Click to expand...

"driving out of class..."

See now we have proof that you have no class, even the cops say so.



Meh. Every ticket I ever got was because I was guilty of doing something illeagal.

AZ_IPA said:

I got charged with cruising back in high school. Told the judge that the "anti-crusing sign" didn't define what cruising was in that town. And that in the town I was from defined cruising on their signs, and I thought that was their town's definition.

But, this probably doesn't help your case any...

Click to expand...

I'm still trying to come up with a definition of cruising that can be illegal...

Maybe it's just lost in translation? What is it and what was the difference between the two towns?

Ah cruising laws. There was a strip of road in my hometown, you might as well call it Main Street. The signs basically said if you're spotted driving on this road in the same direction 3x in one hour, you get the fine. You could twist that and say, "what if someone is just looking for a parking spot to do some shopping?". Of course it's aimed at teenagers, like me at the time, who would drive back and forth for a couple hours in my hot rod trying to impress all the chicks. There were also anti-loitering laws for us. All we wanted to do was hang out in an unused part of any parking lot just talking about the latest gearhead upgrades we just made... well, that and use it advertise for street races. Ok, I guess they got us.

Got pulled over for 125 in a 55 when I was in High School. The State trooper that pulled me over was the father of my classmate sitting in the front seat. Got a ticket for $35.00 and 1 point, could have gone to jail...

BuffaloSabresBrewer said:

Actually Im all set just wondered if anybody on here had some good stories.

Click to expand...

Here's a story of me being a *******:

Back in high school I worked on the construction site during the summers to earn a good buck. This particular hot summer day, I was required to be at work for 4am so that we could start our concrete pours. The building was huge and I didn't end up getting out of work until around 8pm. Needless to say I couldn't wait to get out of there. I jumped in my car only to come to a stop in dead still traffic on highway. Then like Moses parting the see, the right lane of traffic was wide open and I could see the sign stating I had one mile until my exit. I pushed the petal to the floor and didn't release until I was just about to turn off the exit... or until a cop caught up behind me with its lights blaring. The cop came to my window asked for my license and registration and then was dead silent just staring me down. Eventually he walked away and returned with a nice little envelope with a $400 citation. Once again no words were exchanged and he walked away and drove off. As I scanned the ticket, I noticed he didn't use a radar or laser to track my speed, only his vision. Since I was in high school, I thought I was hot **** and could talk my way out of the ticket. So I checked off the appropriate box on the back and mailed it to court. I planned this whole elaborate setup where I would question the officer's ability to visually determine speed. I had one water bottle full of water and one water bottle empty. I was going to drop one bottle and then the other and ask which one was traveling at a faster pace. Too bad the security wouldn't let me bring the bottles into the court house. Not to mention the officer didn't even have to show up to the court unless I appealed the court decision. So I tried plan B instead and asked to see when the last time the officer had his speedometer calibrated. Ooops, apparently I had to ask for this ahead of time if I wanted to use it in court. The judge ended up telling me in kinder words that I was a jackass and wasn't going to be able to talk my way out of the ticket.

I got a ticket for driving through a neighborhood in Chicago. It was the township of Broadview. There was a sign saying "No thru traffic 11PM to 7AM". I was going to work that was on the next block over and didn't want to use the main 4-lane street since it was all backed up. I basically turned a block early then turned again basically going the back way around the block.

I got stopped by the cop since I didn't have a village of broadview sticker on my car. I had the village of Brookfield which is the neighboring town over.

He asked me what I was doing coming down this street?

I said driving to work.

He said I was not allowed to drive down his street.

I said Your street? How is this your street? This is not a private road or your street. He gaffed this off after he saw the Fraternal Order of Police tags on my car.

He asked about the tags. I told him about my FIL who's a cop in the next town over. (North Riverside). He didn't seem to care.

I told him I'm carpooling with a buddy and I'm picking him up. I gave him my work buddies name. (I lied about this because its BS)

He didn't care. I got the ticket anyhow.

I went to court and told the judge that I'm car pooling and should be allowed to drive in the town to pick my friend up for work. He said you can't drive through his town and down that street at that time in the morning regardless. He suggested I buy a Broadview sticker for $60. Then said I he would cut the ticket fee in half and suggested I pay the clerk $35. I told him that I should not get penalized to for carpooling nor should I be required to buy a village parking permit. He told me I can pay $75 if I'm not happy. I said fine and paid the fine of 35.

At this time the villages would keep your drivers license and give you a ticket in leue of your ID. I wanted my ID back. So I said to myself screw-it.

I drove through there repeatedly and was never stopped for about two months more before changing jobs. I never saw a cop since that one time.

My luck the day I got the ticket, Dunkin Donuts must of been out of the jelly-filled!!!

PT934 said:

135mph in a 50 mph, passing 2 lanes of traffic through an intersection... Didnt know he was chasing me fro 3 miles when the guys he called ahead to blocked the road on me. Luckily the trooper shot a guy 9 times a couple days later, I pleaded innocent and the DA told me he would drop the case if I donated $300 to charity as everyone thought the trooper was crazy now. Best $300 I ever spent. I was cited for CNN, reckless endangerment and excessive speed. Got off with nothing on my record.

Click to expand...

edit: my OP was a little too harsh for general chit chat, but you should have gone to jail for a while.

I heard in jail you need to make your alchohol in the toilet or fire extinguishers...

I challenged a speeding ticket, the cop never showed so I have no idea if my defense would work.

We (my town) is famous for the "cuddle cop". He issued a ticket to a woman that was sitting in the middle seat, buckled in, because she wasn't using the right-hand seat that had a shoulder harness. Twice! The second time, she checked the state law. Says you have to use the harness, if that position has a harness. Nothing about requiring you to move over and use that position. She won, he got a reprimand and paid court costs.

This is the same guy that used to issue speeding tickets in a school zone at 3 a.m.! Made the mistake of ticketing a state senator. School zone signs now state the times, days of the week and if school is in session. His favorite spot also has a flashing light that comes on when the zone is active.