[martelds]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Based on some of the specifics in your original post and how you worded it I'm afraid you might come off as pretentious or arrogant to the local authorities. You did not get very far with your initial efforts. I think a lawyer is the better choice here.
I'm not saying you ARE arrogant or pretentious, but the choice of neckwear in this photo gives me some concerns about the locals:
https://www.dcourier.com/news/2009/d...superior-cour/

My initial hearing, went really well. There was only 2 people in the court house, me and another lady from Phoenix, and the lady had her ticket dismissed. The judge said the cop messed something up and she had to dismiss the ticket. So then it's just me and the lady judge(not relevant to the story her being a lady, but she was super nice) I asked to have my ticket dropped from criminal to civil. She said she that was for the prosecutor to decide. That's when I said, Ok I'm going to plead not guilty. Again she was super nice and said because I live so far away should would allow a phone pretrial hearing. she could have forced me to come all the way back there. I'm guilty nodout about it. Again the judge was super nice. Hence my apprehension for spending 1200 on a lawyer. I'm thinking they don't want a trial either, it's a small town my guess is they don't have a large budget.

[martelds]

Originally Posted by fastball

$1200 sounds very high, but if it's what it takes to get the ticket dropped, if you can afford it I wouldn't hesitate.

A few things to remember when you appear in court:

Get your hair cut, comb it nicely, and completely clean shave I don't care how much you or your girlfriend love your beard/goatee/mustache or whatever else you have

Wear a suit. Pressed, no wrinkles, fits you properly. Tie your tie tight to the collar.

Cover your tattoos if you have them, if your suit doesn't

Be respectful and use proper English grammar.

You have no idea what your appearance and language can either do for you or against you in court. Seriously.

Yes I did all that. This is good advice, but unfortunately it's not always common sense. When I got pulled over, I was wearing my bright red puma driving shoes and no sleeves so my tattoo was showing. I thought the cop might beat me, but he was nice as well. But when I went to court, I was dressed very nice and was very presentable.

[mekirk2]

You could ask the prosecutor to lower it in exchange for you pleading guilty to the lower charges if you dont want to pay the $1200 for an attorney. Im not sure if I would want to do that via phone, however. Hard to read his reaction and body language via phone. Also hard to demonstrate that you've learned your lesson over the phone.

[Racerman27410]

Originally Posted by gdgraph

How does a lawyer get a ticket completely dropped? I always thought it was either you were speeding or you weren't and the only way out of a ticket was if you could create doubt in the radar (it either picked up a different car next to you or the radar gun was not calibrated)... what was the basis for getting all charges dropped?

I'm curious to know because I live in VA, so if I ever did get a ticket I'd call whatever lawyer you used!

There is a loophole in VA law i found out about after my last ticket there.... if your speedometer is off by as little as 1 mph a "local" lawyer is your best bet and can usually get the ticket changed to a mechanical something or other which in my case equaled a 25.00 fine. The weird thing the lawyer told me the speedo can even read FASTER than indicated and the same thing applies.. just one mph off..... and every car out there will fail this test.

50 bucks for me to take the car to an official testing facility and obtaining an "official" report from the testing agency that i forwarded to my lawyer.... I didnt even have to appear in court at all. 300.00 lawyer 25.00 fine (lawyer took care of everything) and a 50.00 speedo test.....375.00 for making a 74 in a 55 just disappear.

You definitely want to get a lawyer... preferably local to the court . I found out the hard way years ago that DA's and Judges do not like you to self represent as it portrays a general lack of respect for their profession....IE in how long they went to school and how much they paid to go to school and you think you can walk in and represent yourself? Never go to court without a lawyer.... its worth every penny.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by martelds

When I got pulled over, I was wearing my bright red puma driving shoes and no sleeves so my tattoo was showing. I thought the cop might beat me, but he was nice as well. But when I went to court, I was dressed very nice and was very presentable.

What was your excuse for speeding? In my experience this is an important part of getting the charge/fine/points reduced. My wife always uses the "I have to pee really bad" or "I have diarrhea" excuse. My son got a "60 mph in a 25" dismissed because he drove through the night coming home from college (florida to New Jersey) and the Jersey judge was sympathetic. My wife swears the excuse is very important, as she gets speeding tickets and heads to court about once every two years (this is not counting the more frequent times she gets pulled over and the cop reduces it to a warning on the spot).

[Oldfart]

Some times a local lawyer can make it magically disappear. I once went to a local magistrate to fight a speeding ticket with my attorney. We went together, the attorney told me to give him some cash before he went in by himself while I waited in the car for a few minutes. The attorney came back out and laughed, said we were all done & it had cost $100 for the guy. Best money spent EVER! That was 20 some years ago, I'm sure the prices have gone up a lot by now.

[martelds]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

What was your excuse for speeding? In my experience this is an important part of getting the charge/fine/points reduced. My wife always uses the "I have to pee really bad" or "I have diarrhea" excuse. My son got a "60 mph in a 25" dismissed because he drove through the night coming home from college (florida to New Jersey) and the Jersey judge was sympathetic. My wife swears the excuse is very important, as she gets speeding tickets and heads to court about once every two years (this is not counting the more frequent times she gets pulled over and the cop reduces it to a warning on the spot).

I said I was passing cars because I was. He asked me who. I said people back there, way back there.

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by martelds

I said I was passing cars because I was. He asked me who. I said people back there, way back there.

Should've told him you were trying to get away from some drunken road raging a-hole that was trying to run you off the road. When asked for a description just describe an ex's car, or nasty neighbor or likewise, if you know the plate number, all the better. (never mind, karma and all that)

[90503]

You said initially the judge could not reduce it down at that time.....Why was that?...so you plead not guilty....I think you may have inadvertently set in motion a route you did not want to go...Did you tell your 1200 dollar attorney you plead not guilty?....He probably thinks you want to fight it with a trial....

....Regardless, things aren't going smoothly so far....I say, if you think you need an attorney, you probably do...If you show up at another hearing without an attorney after pleading not guilty, it may really go bad.

Good luck.

[travislambert]

Forget the custom rims... Get the lawyer! The $1,200 is nothing compared to a criminal offense on your record. A hometown lawyer who knows the prosecuting attorney is probably your best bet unless you go with a much more expensive high-end attorney.

[pkincy]

If you are allowed to do Traffic School there is no conviction in my experience. It all just disappears. Is that not the case? Can you take Traffic School with a 93 in a 65?

[Hot2016Red]

Always, always, always get a lawyer. The $1200 for the lawyer is money well spent. A speeding violation ends up in the Department of Motor Vehicles and insurance companies pick this information up. Next insurances rates go up. Not just a little, but a lot. It will be much more than the lawyer cost in the long run just with increased insurance rates. This is how it works in Michigan. Also, get a lawyer from the area where you received the ticket. The "good old boy" network is amazing. One hand washes the other between lawyers and judges. They have connections and can make things happen. Get a lawyer.

[90503]

Originally Posted by martelds

I'm lucky to live in AZ where once a year if you get a civil speeding ticket you can take a driving course and have the ticket not add points to your record. So I was doing 93 in a 65.

If they don't plead it down I'll have a misdemeanor on my record, but because i wasn't doing 96 I can still take the driving course and not get points on my record. Judge said 3 more MPH and I would have been taken to jail.

Originally Posted by pkincy

If you are allowed to do Traffic School there is no conviction in my experience. It all just disappears. Is that not the case? Can you take Traffic School with a 93 in a 65?

Really?....He only mentions it twice in his first post....

[Oil Man]

Originally Posted by martelds

I'm guilty nodout about it. Again the judge was super nice. Hence my apprehension for spending 1200 on a lawyer. I'm thinking they don't want a trial either, it's a small town my guess is they don't have a large budget.

Really not trying to bust your balls here, and I am really sympathetic to your issue. So let me offer a little advice:

This quote COULD be construed as a spontaneous statement made on a forum available to the public, associated with an account whose username is suggestive of a last name and initial that may well appear on a speeding citation in a certain podunk town in Yavapai County.

Of course, a good attorney could blow all sorts of holes in this if the DA even tried to use a apparent admission of guilt from a message board from someone that might possibly be the defendant in one of their cases... but I am not sure that you've hired a good attorney yet.

We live in a new reality where our social media and internet presence can often come back to haunt us or bite us in the ass. It's more important than ever to make sure you don't give anything away for free.

tl;dr: NEVER admit guilt, even if you're guilty. There is absolutely NOTHING that you can say on or off the record that can help your cause, and you don't get extra points after the ticket has been written for being a stand-up guy.

Signed, an ex-cop.