tlow

Got tagged last night for doing 95 in a 65 in California. Was thinking about fighting it with the ticketassassin technique but had one question you guys might be able to help me out with. If I attempt to fight it with the Trial By Written Declaration technique and lose will I be ineligible for traffic school? I do qualify since I haven't gone for over 2 years.

I think he tagged me from the apex of an on/off ramp with a radar. I was checking the rear-view mirror for a while and don't think he was tailing me.

If you fought the speeding ticket and won, do you have a sample letter you could post?

Any help you guys can provide would be much appreciated.

yu888

Using the written declaration approach, you do NOT lose your right to continue to fighting the ticket via traffic court, NOR do you give up the right to traffic school.

Ticket assasin seems to have a pretty good record overall.

Ask SilverSurfer, he's used it a few times.

tlow

Thanks yu888,

Wanted to make sure I don't shoot myself in the foot for challenging the courts. I'll check with SilverSurfer for more advice. Thanks.

Flayer

You might want to check a few other posts.... there was some really good info in one of the threads about the inside scoop. I, for one, tried to challenge my speeding ticket with ticketassassin.com but was found guilty. I was NOT eligible to take traffic school, even though I've never taken it before. Having said that, you CAN request a second trial and anything can happen there.

Also, another note is, do some basic research.... if the info about the length between speed studies on given roads was right, then I would've been not guilty, but there was a provision that was passed since, which extended that term by 2 years, and thus that broke my case.

tlow

Thanks Flayer,

I was afraid that it might be true. Dagnammit. Now I'm wondering if I should contest it. I'm eligible for traffic school, but don't want to forfeit it. The 1 pt is going to kill.

yu888

yeah, thanks for the info Flayer, I was under the understanding that when you request the "second" trial, you can again request traffic school and although the court has the right to deny you, it is actually easier for them to approve it, collect the full fine AND bail, and send you on your way to pay for Traffic School on top of all that.

I'm gonna look into this more...just in case. Tickets are just one of the road hazards when we drive and S2000 I guess...

LATEOTT

I have (am) recently gone (going) through this process (speeding, CHP), so I thought I would throw in my experience. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

While this is true, by filing a written declaration you DO waive your right to not incriminate yourself (you waive your 5th Amendment rights). That means anything you write in your declaration CAN be used in further proceedings to help prove you guilty, and it MAY mean that you must answer ADDITIONAL questions about your statement if you go on to an actual hearing. ("well how fast WERE you going then...?) So while normally in a trial it is up to the prosecution (officer) to prove the infraction without any "help" from you, they MAY be able to question you more than they otherwise would. I don't have actual experience with this, it's just my opinion.

Respectfully Ed, I don't think this is true. I have always been under the perception that traffic school is not a right, and that as soon as a judge gets involved it is purely the judge's discretion to allow you to go to traffic school or not. So if you have the choice now, you may not have the choice later.

My case was opposite: My citation specifically said it was NOT eligible for traffic school, but the judge offered it as an option after finding me guilty. I think this means:

A) My declaration wasn't good enough and
B) I asked nicely enough for traffic school...and the judge was in a good mood that day.

I really would like to know what the officer actually sent in for HIS declaration, because I can't imagine that he presented a case better than mine. But the process is completely blind--I have no idea what was submitted on his side. I could contest things further to a "real" trial, but I might still lose AND lose my chance to go to traffic school. And I KNOW if I had to drive the hundreds of miles up to go to court I would just get another ticket!

My main priority is to keep my record clean. Right now I think I'm just going to get the thing dismissed through traffic school. I consider it a partial victory (the glass is half full, right ) and I do feel like there was a good possibility that I would have been found not guilty so it was worth a shot.

If I went through this again, I would request continuences, request FULL and COMPLETE discovery, etc. If I absolutely needed to avoid a conviction I would just pay for an attorney.


I know Ticketassasin has a good reputation, and the site has helped some people around here, but I have to say I was a little disappointed in what they actually provide (I thought the stuff they provide is pretty thin, and pretty obvious).

I would say they provide an option. But on the face of things, dismissal through traffic school is a pretty good option too.

GeorgeP

My brother is a cop in CA. They laugh at the ticket assasin and he says it annoys the judges since everyone comes in saying the exact same things. He has lost one speeding ticket in 5 years. When you make a written declaration you are making it under penalty of perjury which is a felony. If you were doing 95 I would not sign a false statement. Some judges are getting so annoyed with internet lawyers as they call them it could go worse for you. If on the other hand you were not speeding I would fight it. I think the best thing is to hire an attorney. The second best option would be to go to court, plead guilty but make a statement that is polite and shows you have learned a lesson and see if they will reduce the ticket or give you traffic school. I am not sure 95 MPH would qualify for school so you would need to get it reduced. Good Luck.

Ulrich

As the judge explained to me last month, in traffic court they have a different threshold to cross in order to convict you. It's not "beyond reasonable doubt" but only "preponderence of evidence", which basically means that if you say one thing and the cop says something else, the cop will be deemed more credible and the judge goes with him unless there are supporting witnesses.

So my $0.02 would be that unless you have a water-tight case and supporting evidence/witnesses, you might not want to risk the chance to do traffic school by fighting the ticket if the offer of traffic school is a one-time opportunity. If it's your word against the cop's, you'll lose.

Now, as an aside -- what's interesting is that if I had just sent in my ticket with a guilty plea and asked for court supervision, I would have been required to do traffic school in order to clear my record. Going through the process (which I actualy thought was interesting if not fun -- call me a masochist! ) I was still found guilty (on a technicality, if I may add!) but the judge just gave me three months' non-reporting supervision WITHOUT mentioning traffic school.

Second-best outcome, as far as I am concerned.

Schatten

Sounds fishy to me - in Texas, if you put down....
--- "Not-Guilty" and you are found not guilty, you dont pay a dime, but if you are found guilty, you pay the fine. there are no options for traffic school and no way to back out.
--- "Guilty" you just pay the fine
--- "nolo contendre/no contest" - you pay a driver education fee and court costs and you go to defensive driving class.

other things that can happen, you'll plead not guilty, and they'll plea bargain with you the first time you come in to schedule your court date.