My question involves traffic court in the State of: California
So here's the story....
I have had a really bad year with moving violations. I received two traffic tickets this year, within less than 4 months of each other. The first was a moving violation for failure to completely stop at a stop sign. I paid that one off an did traffic school - it was dismissed, and a couple of weeks after that received another ticket, this time for unsafe speed (V.C. 22350). On the ticket the officer cited me as going 57 in a 40 mph zone. Ofcourse it was during morning rush hour, the conditions on the ticket were cited as follows: Medium Traffic level, Clear, Dry, Day. Worst nightmare for me because I have never been in serious trouble with the law, hate confrontation, knew I was screwed because of the previous ticket and wouldn't be able to opt for traffic school, etc. So I received the ticket, and postponed my decision about what to do. I knew I was in for a point on my license and an insurance increase if I just forfeited and paid the fine. I had no problem with paying the fine, I just didn't want the point on my record. So I ventured into the happy land of traffic court at last.
I decided to go to court for the arraignment, where I planned to (and ultimately did) present and explain my predicament to the judge. She said the only way I'd be able to avoid the point is to plead not guilty, go to trial, and try to bargain with the officer/prosecutor to offer me a plea that would allow me to keep the point off of my record (I'm assuming this would be community service, higher fee, whatever). Well being my uninformed self, I took her advice and plead not guilty. This was this morning. As I was leaving the court, a young woman in the court room ran after me and explained that I should research the Engineering and Traffic report for the street/area I was cited, and mentioned a term I'd never heard: speed trap. I've been researching it on the internet, but to my frustration with the legal jargon and how they make it all sound so complicated so that unexperienced persons (like myself) will be too intimidated to go further, I have found myself in a buckle. I honestly don't know what to do in regards to my trial (which is exactly 6 weeks from now). Should I hire an attorney? Should I go to court and hope to bargain with the prosecutor/officer? Should I try and prove the speed trap idea? Please help! I'm a fish out of water. Really frustrates me that that's how the system thrives. Much appreciated.
P.
So here's the story....
I have had a really bad year with moving violations. I received two traffic tickets this year, within less than 4 months of each other. The first was a moving violation for failure to completely stop at a stop sign. I paid that one off an did traffic school - it was dismissed, and a couple of weeks after that received another ticket, this time for unsafe speed (V.C. 22350). On the ticket the officer cited me as going 57 in a 40 mph zone. Ofcourse it was during morning rush hour, the conditions on the ticket were cited as follows: Medium Traffic level, Clear, Dry, Day. Worst nightmare for me because I have never been in serious trouble with the law, hate confrontation, knew I was screwed because of the previous ticket and wouldn't be able to opt for traffic school, etc. So I received the ticket, and postponed my decision about what to do. I knew I was in for a point on my license and an insurance increase if I just forfeited and paid the fine. I had no problem with paying the fine, I just didn't want the point on my record. So I ventured into the happy land of traffic court at last.
I decided to go to court for the arraignment, where I planned to (and ultimately did) present and explain my predicament to the judge. She said the only way I'd be able to avoid the point is to plead not guilty, go to trial, and try to bargain with the officer/prosecutor to offer me a plea that would allow me to keep the point off of my record (I'm assuming this would be community service, higher fee, whatever). Well being my uninformed self, I took her advice and plead not guilty. This was this morning. As I was leaving the court, a young woman in the court room ran after me and explained that I should research the Engineering and Traffic report for the street/area I was cited, and mentioned a term I'd never heard: speed trap. I've been researching it on the internet, but to my frustration with the legal jargon and how they make it all sound so complicated so that unexperienced persons (like myself) will be too intimidated to go further, I have found myself in a buckle. I honestly don't know what to do in regards to my trial (which is exactly 6 weeks from now). Should I hire an attorney? Should I go to court and hope to bargain with the prosecutor/officer? Should I try and prove the speed trap idea? Please help! I'm a fish out of water. Really frustrates me that that's how the system thrives. Much appreciated.
P.
Traffic Court Issues: How to Avoid the Point: Plead for Leniency, Negotiate, Fight the Ticket?
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