toucansam

Hey guys,

I would like ask for some advice.....got a speeding ticket on Saturday night. Ticket indicates 70+ in a 40 zone , determined by "pacing". This ticket is considered criminal and I have a court date. I have never received a criminal speeding ticket before, does anybody have some insight they would like to share as to what I can expect? How accurate is pacing? What can I do? Please help!

Before I get the book tossed at me...It was a desolate 2 lane street with a median and no other vehicles were in sight. I rarely do this, but I was just pushing my car to see what she's got. Now I'm in a world of trouble. What bad timing . On top of all this the cop was a major A$$H@!&. He kept asking me if I had anything to drink. Asked me who's car did it belong to, since he didn't believe it was mine. Arrogant SOB, wouldn't answer any of my questions about court or criminal ticket just told me to call the number for further questions. Then also made a threat indicating if I was in Glendale, I would have gone to jail....b/c I was in Peoria, it was his discretion not to take me in...

Thanks guys.

CypherAZ

How old are you?

When was the last time you got another ticket?

If you are able to take driving school with alittle bit of luck and good negotiating skills you might be able to get it dropped down to a civil ticket. But if you are under 18 I wouldn't count on it. A lawyer never hurts to have on your side, unless you know the law very well.

asu_lee

a previous speeding record will determine what you need to do. The cop was doing his job. Can't really fault him for that.
-Lee

Ragingazn

Toucansam. (I've met you before so I know that you're aren't some kid with an attitude) Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Unfortunately I would have to agree with asu lee on this, you were speeding well over the speed limit and he thought that you were unnecessarily endangering others (present or not) and himself for driving that fast to catch you. That's the reason why he was being so hard on you.
Personally I have gone through this, 110+/40 (on my motorcycle), while a lawyer does help quite a bit (even though I never had one at my side), goto the court appointment at least 30min to 45 min in advance. Ask to speak to the appointed prosecutor and plea bargain with them, admit that you made a mistake and dress nicely, business casual. If your driving record is pretty clean, ask for a fine (usually they are pretty hefty) and driving school(that is most important) for the ticket. The prosecutor will have your driving record with him/her and tell them that your record is pretty clean no major offenses, you're not a felon, that you're a honest guy that just made a mistake.
If that is a no deal, ask to reschedule so that you may have an attorney present. Most likely they will go for it, unless the cop really did not like you. The officer that wrote the ticket must agree to the plea bargain. What ends up happening is that when the judge calls you up, you will have to plead guilty. Then the city prosecutor will recommend the stated plea bargain and the judge, on his own decision, will accept or decline the plea bargain.
Now, to my understanding, once you enter the plea of guilty then that's final. It is up to the judge to make an example out of you or not. In most of my cases, they accepted the bargain. Good luck, if you have the money just laying around, bring an attorney. When I received my offenses I did not have the money just laying around to pay someone to defend me.

Wish you the best of luck, keep it safe on the street
Joe

l8brakr

I, like Joe (unfortunately) have some experience in this department as well. For most traffic offenses try to deal with the Public Defender. They are in that Judges court room very frequently and have a working relationship with them so they can offer the most assistance and best strategy to get the least amount of punishment. How long did the officer pace you? From what distance, and was it on a straight road? If you need to go to trial you can question his ability to get an accurate pace if the circumstances dictate. This worked for me and the judge took how fast I stated I was going because I proved there wasn't enough time for the officer to accelerate from a stop, get within a resonable distance, adjust speed to pace and then initiate the stop. It got dropped from criminal to a civil, however he hit me with the max fine for civil which I think was $280 (at the time).

Zonie

May i suggest sending a PM to LegalBill? I think he's on the East Coast boards somewhere, but I understand he's been known to give top notch advice...

Ragingazn

^^ that is a good suggestion but unless he knows az traffic laws then i dont think he would be that much of help, but then again I've never used him.

WLAURENT

I have had a couple of CRIMINAL class traffic tickets in AZ over the past 14 years. In each case I went to a standard hearing with a ton of other traffic court criminals (no lawyers really involved - although there was a prosecutor in the court room that was asked by the judge if there were an objections to the rulings).

Got traffic school 2 times and a reduction to civil traffic ticket on a third occasion. Of course I did not have any previous tickets in the leading 3 years in any of the incidents.

In all cases I admitted to the judge that I was an idiot. I truely believe that there is no shame in humbling yourself in front of the judge.

Crazy88

Ok, I'm sure some lawyer will correct me. A criminal traffic ticket usually mean's if you don't show up for your court date the judge will put out a bench warrant for your arrest. You have three options.
1. Pay the fine and forget it.
2. Take the class (you may be too far over the speed limit to take it) it used to within 20 miles of the posted speed.
3. Fight the ticket. don't assume the cop won't show up. They pick the day of your trial and they get paid to show up. Yes, you can plea it down as well.

I suggest taking the class. lose 8 hours of you life and forget it. You can call the court and find out if your eligible for the class.

I have lived in AZ for the past 26 years and have had my share of tickets.

Good luck!!!

walkabt

As an FYI, you can delay the trial and you can request the officers notes. If they don't provide them to you, show the judge your written request.

All of the details for Arizona can be found online...