John Krawczyk

I got popped in May for 79 in 65 on I-95 near Columbia. I pled guity, got one year PBJ, court cost of 25 bucks and i have to attend one night class where they show the snuff films. I hadnt been convicted of a moving violation since 1990 (and after the PBJ is up i still wont) and the judge had my sorry record dating back to my first ticket when i was 16 in 1979 on her computer. The car i drove when i got nailed never came up.

If you have a clean record, plead guity.

Sharkbody

Pay the fine and take the driver improvement class. Don't try to take it online as it is designed to hold you captive. You can't go to another learning module until the allotted time period for study and reflection expires. Four hours with a bunch of bored people who sleep through the snuff films is the way to go.- I recently got a ticket for 78 in a 55 in Ohio. Ohio is the wrong state to speed in. They have these construction zones where the fines are doubled. 250.00 later I was glad to get out and into Kentucky. Good news is that Florida doesn't seem to have access what happens in Ohio. The trooper asked me if I had any tickets in the last 12 months, which I didn't, and that appeared to be the threshold for whether or not the violation is reported.

scirocco

Good information from all! I will look into these things, and report back. If i go with fighting this, i'll certainly use a lawyer. That's sure to cost me WAY more money than just paying it, probably even amortized over the time of increased insurance rates, but...

We'll see.

Thanks all for the great info! I hope this thread will be useful for the next guy... (tho if you have more to say on the topic, bring it on! This is far from over...)

PS: Any SOLID recommendations on traffic lawyers in MD? PG County...
~aaron

Ron_H

1-858-673-1926 = lawyer and good advice for you.

Ben B

LOTS of good advice so far but just to play the Devil's advocate...

You were clocked by a speed detection device that is scientifically proven to be accurate. A well-trained law enforcement officer witnessed the violation & will attest to it.

The ticket was for 19mph over. That is a signal that you've already been cut a break by the cop. If it would have been 17 or 18 over, then it probably was your true speed... but 19 over?? Obviously, you were going much faster & the cop gave you a break due to your cooperative attitude. The judge will know this just by seeing the speed. They know the score!

You have an out-of-state driver's license, so you're not a local. If you ARE a local, you may have violated a state law by not obtaining a state D.L. within a specified time frame (usually 10 days after establishing residency).

Finally, you were not driving a church van or habitat-for-humanity truck, you were driving a HIGH DOLLAR PORSCHE!!!!! By association, you are a snobby, wealthy speed freak who should be locked in jail!

Whatever you do, good luck! Let us know how it turns out!

Oldtee

Go to court. Good chance the cop will not show up. If he doesn't you go free. No points, no fine. If he does tell the judge you were traveling with the traffic. Everybody was going that speed and a mile back a big truck was on your bumper and it scared you to death. Maybe he will let you go with a warning, smaller fine and worst case is the same fine plus court costs and a lecture.

DFWX

If you pay the ticket, insurance is gonna kill you... Take it up on appeal - they tend to toss them.

Ron_H

Appeals is a different animal. Point to remember: traffic court judges (at least in California) are often pro tems, and must drive the same streets as the bears who testify in their courts. Appeals court judges don't necessarily need to do that, especially state appeals court judges. Lots of emotion in traffic courts, and I have had an irritated traffic pro tem judge tell me that certain parts of the penal code DID NOT APPLY in his court. He will not say such crap if an attorney is present, so remember that before you tackle this yourself. And no such BS will occur in appeals courts which are succint, deal with points of law, and are orderly and more noble it seems. The downside is that appeals take time: I just finished one that took more than two years to be heard, and it was all over in fifteen minutes, because the briefs were thorough. (I won). Now I get all my increased insurance premiums refunded for the three years of being accused, but no interest. There are other tactics to remember, but its time for bed. Just remember if you want to win an appeal, you must set up the appeal BEFORE the arraignment and definitely during the trial in the lower court.

DFWX

Each state is different - and even each court. IF it is not a "court of record", appeal is automatic and "de novo" - meaning a new trial from scratch. This also often means the "conviction" is set aside.
In that instance, the appeals court tends to have little interest in spending time for the trial.
If it is a court of record, however, appeal only works if there was "error" in trial.
To know which the traffic court is, just call and ask. "Is this a court of record?"
Absolutely get a lawyer. Traffic court is often called "police court" in many jurisdictions as that is who the judge dances for...
Mark

DFWX

Oh, does your state allow defensive driving to eliminate the ticket? Many states do that now. Easiest way to go if so. Cost you $50 or so. And the ticket then is dropped.

AFARR

A thought on the Out Of State issue:

I have heard (and have a bit of anecdotal evidence from other stories) that Cops will give tickets to Out of State plates more frequently than they will to a local--a local is likely to come to court, someone from out of state is more likely to pay. If the Cop thinks you are entirely out of state (DL & Plates, and you gave him no reason to believe otherwise), he may have not even bothered to make notes on the stop--A CT driver going to show up a month or more after the fact in an MD court? If he had all out of state tix for that court date, he may not even show up.