Traffic ticket issue.
December 11, 2008 4:07 PM   Subscribe

LegalFilter: I've been given a ticket, but I was allegedly clocked going faster than the speed the ticket reads. If I go through with a formal hearing, could I be penalized for going faster than what the ticket says?

The prosecutor seems to be implying that the Court will make a determination based on the higher speed if I go for the formal trial. I wondered if that was accurate, or if he's just trying to scare me off from pursuing that route, as it is more work for him. Basically, I want to know if I will be any worse off. If you need to know the location or specific details, e-mail me directly at johndoemefi at gmail.com
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (13 answers total)
 
were you speeding? if yes pay the fine & be happy the officer gave you a break. In FLA you can go to driver school & keep points off but it costs the same as the fine. but no points.
posted by patnok at 4:13 PM on December 11, 2008 [2 favorites]


But maybe i didn't answer your question. No.

But if found guilty after a trial you will have some xtra court costs to deal with . & if you don't have the cabbage on hand to pay at that time you could be placed on probation. That's a lot of baggage. My only experience is in FLA & I have had my share of traffic court. So look at the big picture & slow down next time:-). (excessive speed also leads to red light running).
posted by patnok at 4:22 PM on December 11, 2008


I think my comments could apply anywhere. But you are right. Most US states have similar laws in regard to traffic so my answers apply to my experience in FLA & most likely the other 49 states,DC PR etc.

To not drive over the posted speed is being a responsible citizen where ever you live.

look twice, Save a life
posted by patnok at 4:28 PM on December 11, 2008


My experience has been that you will be fine for driving the speed that the copper wrote on the ticket. The cop could have cut you a break and written a lower amount. This is nice in jurisdictions where if you were going >10 over the fine goes way up and he or she writes it for going 9 over. Does your ticket actually say on it both speeds? That's just weird.

If you were not driving over the posted speed limit are going to court to prove your innocence, then good luck with that. Otherwise, plead no contest and ask if you can take driver training (again in my experience you can do this online now) to get the ticket dismissed. Or just pay the ticket based on the speed they said you were doing.
posted by birdherder at 4:49 PM on December 11, 2008


Well, I don't know where you got this ticket, but searching around led me to this page which says that the officer can plainly say in court that he clocked you faster and wrote you down for a slower speed to cut you a break, and it sounds like you can be convicted for the faster speed. But that's if you got your ticket in Ontario, Canada.
posted by katillathehun at 4:52 PM on December 11, 2008


Seconding birdherder's comments about cutting you a break...

The day of my wedding I was way behind schedule and trying to get things done. I know the cop saw me when I was well in excess of 100 mph. After I explained (lamely) why I was going so fast, he shook his head and went back to his motorcycle.

When he returned with the ticket, he explained the Defensive Driving option to me, emphasized that I should look into it, and then left. I read the info on the back of the ticket about DD and saw that it was only available to people who had been cited at 15 or less over the speed limit.

The ticket he wrote was for 80 in a 65. I know he probably could have arrested me on the spot and ruined my wedding day. Instead he cut me a break. I went to DD and the ticket never went on my record.
posted by ElDiabloConQueso at 5:38 PM on December 11, 2008


Going along with what katillathehun and others said, but for Virginia. Unless you have a history of speeding tickets or you're doing 65 in a school zone, the cop is likely to cut you a break and write you up at a lower speed so it is just a simple speeding ticket as opposed to a reckless driving charge.

My advice is to pre-pay the ticket (if you can) and go to drivers improvement school (or whatever it is called in your state) to have the points removed from your license. If you go to traffic court and try to argue your way out of the ticket, the judge can find you guilty based on what you were actually doing as opposed to what the cop wrote you up for, based solely on the cops evidence.
posted by 543DoublePlay at 6:03 PM on December 11, 2008


As others have said, it is common for the officer to write up a lower speed than he actually clocked you. Consider it a blue-line plea bargain offer.

In my state, if the driver then wants to contest the ticket, the prosecutor can and often will amend the complaint to charge the higher speed. You then take your chances if you still want to contest.
posted by megatherium at 7:21 PM on December 11, 2008


Unless you tell them you were going faster, how would they know? The only evidence is the ticket. I don't think the police officer is going to go up on the stand and say he lied on the ticket...? But yeah, if you really were speeding, just pay it and be done with it.
posted by gjc at 7:22 PM on December 11, 2008


I will add to the sentiment that unless there is some flagrant error on the ticket that can get you out on a technicality, just pay the thing and take traffic school if you can. There are all sorts of tricks and schemes to try to go to trial and get out of it, but I have tried them all and they simply don't work if the judge doesn't want them to... and the judge doesn't want them to.
posted by joshrholloway at 7:58 PM on December 11, 2008


In my state, if the driver then wants to contest the ticket, the prosecutor can and often will amend the complaint to charge the higher speed. You then take your chances if you still want to contest.

What's the legal authority for the ability of the prosecutor to do that? Just curious.

I'd second what most have said here already, it sounds like the cop already cut you a break, so it is probably just easier to pay the ticket and forget about it.
posted by banished at 8:32 PM on December 11, 2008


@ banished: Prosecutorial discretion. It's in the State's code of criminal procedure - each state has it in a different place.

It's like filing a lawsuit. You can sue someone, decide to non-suit (drop the suit), and then refile before the statute of limitations ends. All you lose are your filing fees. To prevent abuse, the opposing party can ask to sanction the other party for bringing a frivolous suit, among other things.

The State can do the same. They can dismiss the lower charge and refile at a higher charge. It's a class C offense though, which means the officer is actually is probably writing up the "information/indictment", not the state.

If you read the criminal code or transportation code for your state, you may find that the law just says you are guilty if you are speeding. It doesn't really matter how fast you are going to determine whether you are guilty or not. That comes in, probably at the punishment phase. If you acknowledge you were speeding, then it's probably best to just take the plea, because though you may have the officers ticket, his testimony can explain the lower noted speed.
posted by abdulf at 8:56 PM on December 11, 2008


To directly answer your question (albeit a couple days late), you cannot be found guilty of something at trial that is more serious than what you are being tried for. You have a right to prepare a defense for yourself. If you are not being tried for an offense, then you can't be found guilty of it. However, you can be found guilty of lesser-included offenses. For example, if you are charged with 90 in a 55, then you can be found guilty of anything from 56 to 90 in a 55. You would not be able to be found guilty of anything above 90.
posted by flarbuse at 3:04 PM on December 13, 2008


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