Speeding Ticket

I got a speeding ticket on an indian reservation and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it. I'm debating wether I should even pay it or not. The officer that gave it to me made it sound like it was no big deal and that they might not pursue it. I know the ticket doesn't count against my insurance, and if it goes against my record, I don't know. Does anyone know anything about this?

Do you know how much wampum this is going to cost?

I'd probably pay it just to help the Indians. Reservations are the poorest places in our country.

There are many issues related to how it affects you. Did a reservation officer give it you? Local or Federal? What state is your license in? Some states have reciprocal agreements and it might affect your license. If the state you got it in is the same state as your license, you might get points. Do you pass there often? If you do, you should pay it because otherwise they will likely put a warrant on your license and if you get stopped again, you could get brought to a judge to pay the ticket to clear the warrant.

I believe an Indian reservation has tribal sovereignty . Read the back it may say that they only have the right to press civil penalty . I don't believe that it gets reported to your state or Ins company .

But you should be asking an attorney not us

Hell just pay it.

If it wasnt in a Reservation I would say think about fighting it in court, but I'd imagine the reservation bit is a bigger headache than the $$$ is worth.

+1 to Springers attorney advice.

Homercidal said:

Do you know how much wampum this is going to cost?

Click to expand...

Lots of LOLZ

Tickets suck, but if you were speeding just pay. It's called justice. Now's the time to decide if you are against it or for it.

passedpawn said:

It's called justice. Now's the time to decide if you are against it or for it.

Click to expand...

Awesome.

pay what you think is fair....

passedpawn said:

Tickets suck, but if you were speeding just pay. It's called justice. Now's the time to decide if you are against it or for it.

Click to expand...

+1 (10 chars)

Dude - I live in Rhode Island. One of our state symbols is the quahog - the big clam where they got the purple shell material that they used to make wampum. I can get all the clams we need for scratch. Couple of Dremel tools and we should be good to go. Just check to be sure we don't get busted for counterfeiting. That would suck more than a speeding ticket...

I recommend people ALWAYS retain an attorney to represent them in any ticket. Many have decent contingency fees: they reduce their fee if they lose.

Also, your attorney can probably appear in your stead and waive your presence, you don't even have to come to court.

I know several individuals (mostly attorneys with lead feet and BMWs) who always retain attorneys in infractions and therefore have had literally dozens of tickets dismissed. I am not exaggerating.

Just make sure they attorney you retain is familiar with the laws of that tribe and has appeared in that court before.

I just don't see why you don't pay the fine. You were speeding, and you got caught.

Homercidal said:

I just don't see why you don't pay the fine. You were speeding, and you got caught.

Click to expand...

Only possible reason I wouldn't up and pay the fine is if it puts points on my license. If it doesn't, then I have no problem paying the fine. If it does, I'd try to fight it and get it reduced so that I still pay the fine, but don't have to worry about the points. The points could make insurance a pain.

Yes, it won't go against your insurance but quite often they will actually get collection agencies to start hounding you if it doesn't get paid.

Hey- you were speeding. Doesn't matter where. Man up, pay your fine, and any other consequences that go with it.

Is your time and incremental expense worth it? I can see zero benefit in hiring an attorney to fight a ticket you are guilty of. It will cost you more and its not what the system is for. This is one of the reasons this country is so f'ed up. Nowhere else could you get arrested for DUI and get off because the officer was 5 minutes late calibrating the breathalizer.
Pay the ticket and slow down.

bonzombiekitty said:

Only possible reason I wouldn't up and pay the fine is if it puts points on my license. If it doesn't, then I have no problem paying the fine. If it does, I'd try to fight it and get it reduced so that I still pay the fine, but don't have to worry about the points. The points could make insurance a pain.

Click to expand...

Yes, I would fight to keep points off, but the OP said no insurance hit and no points, so IMO he's already in the bonus.

Few weeks ago I got caught doing about 10 over in a small town on my way to the LHBS. Officer let me off with a warning because my record was clean. I didn't get to the LHBS in time, but it turns out the owner is also the Mayor, so I made sure to praise his beer samples in case I do get a ticket in the future!

northernlad said:

Is your time and incremental expense worth it? I can see zero benefit in hiring an attorney to fight a ticket you are guilty of. It will cost you more and its not what the system is for. This is one of the reasons this country is so f'ed up. Nowhere else could you get arrested for DUI and get off because the officer was 5 minutes late calibrating the breathalizer.
Pay the ticket and slow down.

Click to expand...

Its called Due Process . So its ok for the police not to follow proper protocol ?


I lost a few traffic tickets in court when I knew and the defendant knew they were guilty . But it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thats exactly what the system is for.

bonzombiekitty said:

Only possible reason I wouldn't up and pay the fine is if it puts points on my license. If it doesn't, then I have no problem paying the fine. If it does, I'd try to fight it and get it reduced so that I still pay the fine, but don't have to worry about the points. The points could make insurance a pain.

Click to expand...

Exactly how many points do you already have or why are you so worried about a few points on your record? I don't think most insurance companies will zap you with huge increases for your first ticket...

This is coming from someone who has accumulated at least 25 points in his 10 year driving lifetime, including having 13 at once and losing his license for 45 days... I paid a killer amount for insurance for a while and can understand if you are in a situation similar to what I was, but if it's your first ticket you should have no problems.

After serving my suspension (which brought points to 5), I eventually got to 0, and my insurance returned to a pretty reasonable rate. I did however get nabbed last year again, taking me back up to 3 points, but the insurance didn't even change, and I don't have the best history.

Good thing I traded my 350z in on a jeep, then lifted and put 35s on it - now I have trouble maintaining 75mph. LOL.

Cliffnotes: I'd just pay it, and even take the points, if you have a good driving record otherwise.

Homercidal said:

I just don't see why you don't pay the fine. You were speeding, and you got caught.

Click to expand...

Bernie Brewer said:

Hey- you were speeding. Doesn't matter where. Man up, pay your fine, and any other consequences that go with it.

Click to expand...

I can't believe we even debating this! I've never had a ticket, but if I did, I'd pay it IF I was indeed speeding. If not, I'd fight it. Either way, be a man. A real grown up pays for their mistakes. The fact that it was on an Indian reservation and given by a tribal officer is irrelevant. The fact that you can "get away with it" is also irrelevant. Just because you may get away with it doesn't make it right. Pay up, and shut up. If you don't want to pay for a speeding ticket, then don't speed.

YooperBrew said:

I can't believe we even debating this! I've never had a ticket, but if I did, I'd pay it IF I was indeed speeding. If not, I'd fight it. Either way, be a man. A real grown up pays for their mistakes. The fact that it was on an Indian reservation and given by a tribal officer is irrelevant. The fact that you can "get away with it" is also irrelevant. Just because you may get away with it doesn't make it right. Pay up, and shut up. If you don't want to pay for a speeding ticket, then don't speed.

Click to expand...

I completely agree. Assuming you were actually speeding, paying the ticket is the right thing to do.

springer said:

Its called Due Process . So its ok for the police not to follow proper protocol ?


I lost a few traffic tickets in court when I knew and the defendant knew they were guilty . But it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thats exactly what the system is for.

Click to expand...

LOL! That's not what the system is for. The system is to try to ensure that the innocent don't get convicted. The system is NOT for people to try to use it to get out of what they're guilty for. That's just a necessary evil of the system.

If he wasn't speeding and they gave the the ticket wrongfully, then fighting that is what the system is there for, not trying to weasel out of paying for things you did and got caught doing.

To the OP. I'd definitely pay this one. The things they can do to your credit report if they send it to collections would be worse to me than the things that could happen to my driving record.

ChshreCat said:

LOL! That's not what the system is for. The system is to try to ensure that the innocent don't get convicted. The system is NOT for people to try to use it to get out of what they're guilty for. That's just a necessary evil of the system.

If he wasn't speeding and they gave the the ticket wrongfully, then fighting that is what the system is there for, not trying to weasel out of paying for things you did and got caught doing.

To the OP. I'd definitely pay this one. The things they can do to your credit report if they send it to collections would be worse to me than the things that could happen to my driving record.

Click to expand...

It is not a necessary evil as you put it. The system puts the burden of proof on the accuser to prove your guilty. I was addressing the comment of because the cop was 5 minutes late on testing the equipment that someone gets out of a DWI . Well if the cop screwed up you walk .Everyone whether they feel they are guilty or not has the right to a trial .


And if you look at my prior posts I never said for him not to pay it . I said that I believe that there is usually only a civil penalty for traffic violations on tribal lands. It like you getting a ticket in Italy you think they report that incident to your DMV

RoaringBrewer said:

Exactly how many points do you already have or why are you so worried about a few points on your record? I don't think most insurance companies will zap you with huge increases for your first ticket...

Click to expand...

You would be surprised how much of a difference it can make. Yours probably hasn't gone up because they don't know about it yet.

dataz722 said:

You would be surprised how much of a difference it can make. Yours probably hasn't gone up because they don't know about it yet.

Click to expand...

Correct people think DMV send off a report to your Ins company when you get convicted for a traffic violation . Truth is the ins company has to run your motor vehicle records and it costs them money to do so . So it spotty at most.

dataz722 said:

You would be surprised how much of a difference it can make. Yours probably hasn't gone up because they don't know about it yet.

Click to expand...

Nah... I'm sure they know about it, it was probably a year ago now and I've gotten 1-2 renewals since then (the most recent went down $6-8 a month). Maybe they just figured they are (or definitely have already) raked me across the coals enough.

FWIW I was paying $180-$225 a month for insurance on my 350z - over a 2-3 year period... now with my Jeep and a much better record in the past 2-3 years, I am down to $95 a month. (Still probably more than a lot of people pay but I did what I did...)

However, the $200+ a month was still a little ridiculous to me considering I've been driving 11 years and never had an accident or a claim over $1200 (when someone vandalized the same car on halloween).

RoaringBrewer said:

Nah... I'm sure they know about it, it was probably a year ago now and I've gotten 1-2 renewals since then (the most recent went down $6-8 a month). Maybe they just figured they are (or definitely have already) raked me across the coals enough.

FWIW I was paying $180-$225 a month for insurance on my 350z - over a 2-3 year period... now with my Jeep and a much better record in the past 2-3 years, I am down to $95 a month. (Still probably more than a lot of people pay but I did what I did...)

Click to expand...

Unless its right on your renewal that there is a speed violation they don't . And believe me if it was on there you would be surcharged for it.

springer said:

Its called Due Process . So its ok for the police not to follow proper protocol ?


I lost a few traffic tickets in court when I knew and the defendant knew they were guilty . But it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Thats exactly what the system is for.

Click to expand...

I am not challenging Due Process. I am challenging a guy who is ****faced drunk when he is stopped hiring a shifty lawyer to dig up one possible problem in the arrest so he can get away with a crime of which he is obviously guilty.
It is a waste of resources and makes a mockery of the whole system. This is not rape or murder.

northernlad said:

I am not challenging Due Process. I am challenging a guy who is ****faced drunk when he is stopped hiring a shifty lawyer to dig up one possible problem in the arrest so he can get away with a crime of which he is obviously guilty.
It is a waste of resources and makes a mockery of the whole system. This is not rape or murder.

Click to expand...

however you feel it makes people do their job correctly . I for one don't want cops doing shoddy work

Again, it has nothing to with the cops. It is about the mentality of too many people who exploit the fact that our system allows them to walk from crimes they are undeniably guilty of instead of taking responsibility for their actions.

RoaringBrewer said:

Nah... I'm sure they know about it, it was probably a year ago now and I've gotten 1-2 renewals since then (the most recent went down $6-8 a month). Maybe they just figured they are (or definitely have already) raked me across the coals enough.

FWIW I was paying $180-$225 a month for insurance on my 350z - over a 2-3 year period... now with my Jeep and a much better record in the past 2-3 years, I am down to $95 a month. (Still probably more than a lot of people pay but I did what I did...)

However, the $200+ a month was still a little ridiculous to me considering I've been driving 11 years and never had an accident or a claim over $1200 (when someone vandalized the same car on halloween).

Click to expand...

Most companies only rerun driving records on an average of every 2 years so they probably don't know. And as much as it would be nice, they will never look at how much you used to pay them or already have paid in the past and base anything off of that.

northernlad said:

Again, it has nothing to with the cops. It is about the mentality of too many people who exploit the fact that our system allows them to walk from crimes they are undeniably guilty of instead of taking responsibility for their actions.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it might suck but those are the laws of this country.

First, the OP never said he was speeding, he said he got a ticket. All of this great advice about owning up to responsibility, etc. and no one else knows the facts. So, given the moral idignity of some of the posters, I presume that if any of the aforementioned people found themselves in violation of a law, such as 36mph in a 35mph zone, they would "man/woman up", find out the required amount of the fine, mail it in and ask their insurance companies to increase their rates. It's still breaking the law, even if you don't get caught.

Tickets suck, but if you were speeding just pay. It's called justice. Now's the time to decide if you are against it or for it.

northernlad said:

Again, it has nothing to with the cops. It is about the mentality of too many people who exploit the fact that our system allows them to walk from crimes they are undeniably guilty of instead of taking responsibility for their actions.

Click to expand...

Seriously... What person facing conviction DOESN'T do this? You don't think that real criminals-- rapists, murderers, burglars, etc. (not people who disobey an often improperly-set number on a sign) don't do the same thing?

That's our system. The proof is on the accuser.

passedpawn said:

Tickets suck, but if you were speeding just pay. It's called justice. Now's the time to decide if you are against it or for it.

Click to expand...

NEVER just pay the fine. ALWAYS make the cop prove the case against you. Speed doesn't kill, no matter how many times the lie has been repeated, and most tickets are nothing more than a way to raise revenue.

jpc said:

NEVER just pay the fine. ALWAYS make the cop prove the case against you. Speed doesn't kill, no matter how many times the lie has been repeated, and most tickets are nothing more than a way to raise revenue.

Click to expand...

So, the fact that speeding is a factor in the majority of all fatal automobile accidents is just a coincidence? Thank you for putting me straight on that one! I'm gonna start putting the hammer down since I know it's completely safe now!
Let me know when your have family members on the road so I can make sure to show 'em just how fast I can go through that school zone! :rockin: