95 C4 993

I would contact the CT DMV and ask them if they have or offer a traffic school.

I did this in Utah and paid a $70 ticket and that included the cost of the class as well. Thanks to the ticketing officer who gave me this information. I was a 1.5hr class with about 75 other people all guilting of some moving violation. Commical is what it was and you hear stuff like this during the class "I can speed in gated community....you cant give me ticket for speeding going down hill......you picked on me because Im a girl.........I have a sports car and thats why you pulled me over.....everybody else was speeding so why did I get pulled over..."

I would call the CT DMV

HeelToe

You can only appeal after a trial and the reviewing court simply reviews the record of the testimony and the evidence to determine if the decision was arbitrary and capricious. Since the trial court actually heard the testimony live (body language, etc.), they will defer to that court's ruling and will only overturn it or remand the case for a trial de novo if the decision was clearly wrong, i.e. the facts of the case, as revealed by testimony and evidence are clearly not in violation of the applicable law. It's not an easy burden to prove.

More importantly, here is that attorney's number. I have absolutely no affiliation with him. I simply ran into him in court one day and was very impressed with his proficiency in this area.
Just quickly - we were waiting for the ADA to conference cases and were just BS'ing. Eventually he asked what I was there for and off the top of his head gave me an absolute defense to the charge that I was not aware of. So when my turn came to conference the case I confidently blurted out section suchandsuch and the ADA had no idea what I was talking about. She had to go back and check it out and eventually came back very impressed with my knowledge of the intricacies of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and promptly dismissed the case against my client.
I was a genius!!! (thanks to my new friend)

Benjamin Blatt
Law Office of Michael Josephson
118-35 Queens Blvd., Suite 1205
Forest Hills, NY 11375
917-667-2360

Good Luck!

Arrwin

Guys,

I just want to thank everyone, esp. Marco for all the advice and feedback. I never thought i'd get that many responses. I'm still debating whether I should hire a lawyer, or spin the wheel of luck with the prosecutor. Quite honestly, i'm leaning towards latter.

Marco, i'm assuming I wouldn't be able to call Mr. Blatt (he is up the block from me!) and ask his advice on whether I should hire counsel or not? I'll always remember a lawyer at court one day saying advise = $$.

HeelToe

He'll tell you you should never go into court without a competent legal expert.
If you make an admission, like...say..."I was only going 65" you've just admitted guilt. You can't take that back. A lawyer knows this and so does the court. A layperson may not even realize they've just screwed up.
Make an appointment and find out how much he charges - it will be worth it.

Arrwin

Thanks. Just left a msg with him. Will let ya'll know the outcome.

Mike Murphy

I've been pulled over more than 35 times in my life (I'm only 27 years old). I have been inssued a ticket about 10 times, but never once had a ticket remain on my record. You probably lost this one due to admission of speeding at 65mph, but you can and should always go to court. You should always start by pleading not guilty. If your arguments fail you (and they will most of the time), you can bargain with the judge to get supervision, pay the fine of $75, and have a clean record. In my state (Illinois) supervision is listed by county and not shared with other counties. This means you can have supervision in mulitple counties and still not get into trouble. Check with your state.

Having a clean record, showing up to your court date, providing an argument - these will help you get your "sentence" reduced or eliminated.

kkim

Excellent move... that's what I would do if the resources were so readily available.

Good luck, my friend... don't go down w/o a fight!!

Wish you the best!!

Arrwin

Ok....just spoke with the lawyer that Marco referred. He wants $400. Think it's worth it?

g_murray

Tough call.
You gotta ask yourself ...is it worth blowing $400 on 'potentially' NOT having 6 points slapped on my lic. and also 'potentially' NOT having to pay a whopping fine --

OR

going in cold, not knowing the ins-n-outs of the system, getting nailed by the judge and coming out feeling like u got totally screwed.

Gotta admit, if it were me, I'd blow the 400 and just treat it as if I went to Atlantic city and was feeling a little giddy at the blackjack table.

I DO get the feeling, having read all the posts/advice, that if you do NOTHING then you can expect 'NOTHING'.

G.

kkim

Yes

Dudley

I spent $300 and would have spent double. Still a big savings over insurance points here in MA.

Now repeat after me, "Officer, I was just keeping up with the flow of traffic."

mtv65

http://www.ticketassassin.com/index.html

pedsurg

Arrwin: Fight, fight, fight. Don't let that XXXhole take advantage of you like that. Lying under oath to raise revenue is contempable. Hopefully the judge will issue him a reprimand. The reputation of the police, earned over a lifetime if not generations, is easily ruined by jerks, such as the one desribed in your scenario.
Best of luck

Jack

grmnxtc

Hell yes... well worth it!!!

You could screw yourself many times over in the system about which you know nothing.

Do you expect to do your own surgery if the need arises? Or will you let the good Doctor do his thing (for a fee) ??

Same logic applies with court. Let the attorney do his thing.

95 C4 993

My prediction is that if you admitted going 65mph and its in writing, you have a challenge. Cop says 80, you say 65, speed limit is 65-up hill battle. However, anything is possible today and who knows.

Did you ever see if traffic school was an option? Thats is the easiest way to erase a ticket without doing anyting but sit in a class. Several states have the option and you dont need a lawyer or have to show up and court. Its a get your hand slapped and just pay the fine and no points on your record.