My traffic court date

[Coconut]

I was going down a hill in Dublin over a month ago when a man on the side of the road started yelling and pointing for me to pull over. As I slowed down and passed him I realized it was the police, and I better do as he says. He issued me a citation for going 45 in a 30. I sent in my not-guilty and got a court date in the mail today.

10-23-07 ; 11am ; courtroom 1 at the Jaffrey/Peterborough District Ct.

I figured I would just go in and say that I'm there because I'm innocent until proven guilty. I was not looking at my speedometer at the time. Any quick suggestions from anyone with experience in this?

[Insurgent]

You did the right thing by entering a plea of not guilty! Something like 5% of cited motorists ever fight their tickets, but 50% of those win. I highly recommend that you join this fine organization and study up on the information that the National Motorists Association has to offer http://motorists.com

At the very least, if you end up paying the fine, you'll have made them work for it 

[Dreepa]

did you see the radar output?

There is an interesting thread on this here.
I think that El Presidente started it.

[Lex]

Three weeks before your court date file a motion for discovery. Ask all sorts of stuff, if you join the NMA as mention in the post before me they will have a ton of info and suggestions on what to ask in your motion for discovery.

Another option is to do a motion for continuance. Or if you have a feeling that the cop won't show up on your court date then it's better not to ask for a continuane and instead to ask for a speedy trial as this would cause your case to be thrown out. If you think the cop will be there then your best bet would be to file a motion for continuance, the more the merrier, the idea being that if you prolong your case long enough the cop will not remember what you look like or anything about your case other than what he wrote down in his notes. In your motion for discovery you will ask for a copy of the notes and most likely get it. See if there is anything missing in the notes and go from there.

In my case, after I filed a motion for discover and then a couple of motions for continuance the prosecutor made a deal with me that if i don't get any tickets for the next 6 months that my case will be thrown out. I felt like it was a pretty good deal and took it. It's been almost a year since my court case and I haven't gotten any tickets so my last ticket was thrown out with nothing on my record.

[Lex]

Be friendly and sencere with everyone invovled. Tell them that you have no ill feelings about the situation and that you simply want the prosecutor/cop to prove that you were in fact speeding beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the whole point of the court case. You just happen to be someone who asks tough questions (this is where joining the NMA and researching how speeding radars work is very useful).

[Coconut]

did you see the radar output?

I did. Is that bad?

As for filing for continuance, I have a busy schedule between work and college. This date happened to fall on a work day though, which is more flexible than school. I'm hesitant to ask for a delayed trial on the chance it will fall on a less convenient day, like an exam. As for the officer forgetting what happened, It's been quite a while already. I think I was pulled over in late july/early august. By the time of the date of the hearing, it will be almost 3 months.

[Lex]

Are you going to order the NMA ticket fighting package? I would really recommend it. It will explain a lot of the things i mentioned earlier but in much greater detail.

[Kat Kanning]

I got a ticket in the same place.  It's a speed trap and the judge knows it    I can't imagine the guy on the side of the road got you on radar.

[mvpel]

Check out the National Motorists Association legal defense kit.

[EthanAllen]

Are you arguing that you didn't break the law or you are not subject to the laws of the road?

[Coconut]

I got a ticket in the same place.  It's a speed trap and the judge knows it    I can't imagine the guy on the side of the road got you on radar.

He walked up to my car and showed me the radar gun that said 47 on it. He was "kind" and only charged me for 45.

Are you arguing that you didn't break the law or you are not subject to the laws of the road?

I'm arguing that I haven't been proven guilty in a court of law, which is the requirement for me having to pay a penalty.

[NHRes2004]

When was the speed detection device last calibrated?
What training has the officer had in the use of the speed detection device?
etc?

[error]

Did the radar detector pick up your speed or the guy going the other direction? Etc...

[EthanAllen]

Are you arguing that you didn't break the law or you are not subject to the laws of the road?

I'm arguing that I haven't been proven guilty in a court of law, which is the requirement for me having to pay a penalty.

Did you break the law by going 15 mph over the speed limit?

[dirk]

Insert Quote
Quote from: Coconut on Today at 11:27 AM

Quote from: EthanAllen on Today at 09:20 AM
Are you arguing that you didn't break the law or you are not subject to the laws of the road?

I'm arguing that I haven't been proven guilty in a court of law, which is the requirement for me having to pay a penalty.

Did you break the law by going 15 mph over the speed limit?

This question is irrelevant. The authorities must prove that Coconut broke the law.