My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Minnesota
Hello everyone;
I am seeking advice on how to fight a traffic ticket. Please let me provide some background information.
I moved to Minnesota after completing graduate school in Biomedical Engineering in Australia. I came to obtain another graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Although I am African-American, I have lived in about 25 countries globally and have never committed a crime. Although I get jacked up by cops a lot.
On September 28th 2017, I was making my way to school. A cop pulled me over and walked up to me with a disdainful attitude. I remained very polite. He started barking at me and I patiently waited for him to calm down before I responded to him. In the back seat were my 5 previous diplomas that the school wanted to see and certify. He saw them and said so you are one of those smart ones. I did not respond. He gave me a ticket for allegedly going 40 miles per hour in a 30 zone. After I got home, I remarked to my wife who is caucasian that I got a foreboding feeling from that guy and that I didn't think he cared for people of color. But I have been treated well by so many people of all races in my travels that I never judge people. However, that feeling remained with me. That same night I paid the $126 ticket.
Today January 23rd is the day after we had a massive snowstorm in Minnesota. The conditions of the roads are terrible with ice everywhere. Like a bad dream, the same cop pulled me over in the general vicinity of the first incident. But this time I had activated a feature in my Mazda 3 that says "You are over the speed limit" if you go even 1 mile per hour above the posted limit. That thing had not spoken. I knew I was not speeding. The cop approached me and said do you know what the posted sign is? I said it's 30mph. I have been very careful to observe the speed limits since you gave me a ticket last September. I said I was not speeding. This time he gave me a ticket for going 43mph in a 30mph zone. I said to his face you are a ****ing liar. I will fight this. I did not speed. I was royally pissed.
On my way back from school, I stopped and took numerous pictures of the road and the intersection he claimed I was speeding at. It was not possible to have sped there. A snowplow came to clear the snow and ice as I was taking pictures of the place. I saw cars spinning their wheels there. I took pictures of Snelling Avenue and Palace intersection where he claimed I was speeding. I took pictures of snow piled 5 feet high into which I pulled in for him to question me. I was about to write a letter to the precinct to demand the following items when I noticed something remarkable in the ticket:
I was going to ask for: The make and model of the radar detector; the instructional manual; the certification requirements; operating conditions; training requirements; service history; failure rate; the number of tickets issued by the officer; the racial breakdown of the recipients; the officer's personnel history file; record of disciplinary actions; the last time he was trained to operate his guns, traffic monitoring devices and so on. I was mad as heck.
I noticed that the ticket says ID method: DL - meaning Driver's License; But it gave my name as Heather - My wife's name; It gave my wife's height instead of my 6'3"; it gave my wife's eye color of blue and blonde hair; I have brown eyes and no hair; I am 300lbs and not 175lbs; It gave the tag of my car, and then says Sex: Female, Race: Black.
The race part was manually entered because Race is not listed on the Minnesota Driver's License, nor on the New South Wales license that I gave to him. To me this is a clue that this man had it in for people of color. I would like advice on how to go about fighting this ticket.
Please believe me. I was not speeding. I have never smoked nor consumed alcohol in my life. I am 47 and have never ever been to a night club because for some reason cops love to question me and I am tired of being cuffed for hours until they then say sorry, it was not you. I am in the house by 8PM everyday.
Do I fight it on the ground that this is a faulty ticket, or do I go all out and use my skills as an Engineer and Scientist to demonstrate that it was not possible to be going the speed claimed by the officer? Traffic was plentiful there and there were more than one video cameras on buildings that I could probably obtain by asking.
Thank you very much.
Henry
Hello everyone;
I am seeking advice on how to fight a traffic ticket. Please let me provide some background information.
I moved to Minnesota after completing graduate school in Biomedical Engineering in Australia. I came to obtain another graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Although I am African-American, I have lived in about 25 countries globally and have never committed a crime. Although I get jacked up by cops a lot.
On September 28th 2017, I was making my way to school. A cop pulled me over and walked up to me with a disdainful attitude. I remained very polite. He started barking at me and I patiently waited for him to calm down before I responded to him. In the back seat were my 5 previous diplomas that the school wanted to see and certify. He saw them and said so you are one of those smart ones. I did not respond. He gave me a ticket for allegedly going 40 miles per hour in a 30 zone. After I got home, I remarked to my wife who is caucasian that I got a foreboding feeling from that guy and that I didn't think he cared for people of color. But I have been treated well by so many people of all races in my travels that I never judge people. However, that feeling remained with me. That same night I paid the $126 ticket.
Today January 23rd is the day after we had a massive snowstorm in Minnesota. The conditions of the roads are terrible with ice everywhere. Like a bad dream, the same cop pulled me over in the general vicinity of the first incident. But this time I had activated a feature in my Mazda 3 that says "You are over the speed limit" if you go even 1 mile per hour above the posted limit. That thing had not spoken. I knew I was not speeding. The cop approached me and said do you know what the posted sign is? I said it's 30mph. I have been very careful to observe the speed limits since you gave me a ticket last September. I said I was not speeding. This time he gave me a ticket for going 43mph in a 30mph zone. I said to his face you are a ****ing liar. I will fight this. I did not speed. I was royally pissed.
On my way back from school, I stopped and took numerous pictures of the road and the intersection he claimed I was speeding at. It was not possible to have sped there. A snowplow came to clear the snow and ice as I was taking pictures of the place. I saw cars spinning their wheels there. I took pictures of Snelling Avenue and Palace intersection where he claimed I was speeding. I took pictures of snow piled 5 feet high into which I pulled in for him to question me. I was about to write a letter to the precinct to demand the following items when I noticed something remarkable in the ticket:
I was going to ask for: The make and model of the radar detector; the instructional manual; the certification requirements; operating conditions; training requirements; service history; failure rate; the number of tickets issued by the officer; the racial breakdown of the recipients; the officer's personnel history file; record of disciplinary actions; the last time he was trained to operate his guns, traffic monitoring devices and so on. I was mad as heck.
I noticed that the ticket says ID method: DL - meaning Driver's License; But it gave my name as Heather - My wife's name; It gave my wife's height instead of my 6'3"; it gave my wife's eye color of blue and blonde hair; I have brown eyes and no hair; I am 300lbs and not 175lbs; It gave the tag of my car, and then says Sex: Female, Race: Black.
The race part was manually entered because Race is not listed on the Minnesota Driver's License, nor on the New South Wales license that I gave to him. To me this is a clue that this man had it in for people of color. I would like advice on how to go about fighting this ticket.
Please believe me. I was not speeding. I have never smoked nor consumed alcohol in my life. I am 47 and have never ever been to a night club because for some reason cops love to question me and I am tired of being cuffed for hours until they then say sorry, it was not you. I am in the house by 8PM everyday.
Do I fight it on the ground that this is a faulty ticket, or do I go all out and use my skills as an Engineer and Scientist to demonstrate that it was not possible to be going the speed claimed by the officer? Traffic was plentiful there and there were more than one video cameras on buildings that I could probably obtain by asking.
Thank you very much.
Henry
Speeding Tickets: Seeking Advice on Fighting a Ticket
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