| Author | Message | ||
     Xl1200r |
So I think I just got the shaft. Looking for concrete info from someone who knows what they're talking about. If you get a ticket in PA and the issuing officer doesn't show up to the hearing, is the case supposed to be dismissed? I showed up and another cop was there in the place of the one who wrote my ticket. I don't understand how another officer can testify to a matter he knows nothing about, didn't witness, nothing. There are other details here because I was supposed to have been let off anyways, and now I'm ending having to pay, probably more than the original ticket with court fees, plus $60 in gas and 8 hours worth of driving round trip for this thing. Can anyone enlighten me? | ||
| Hexangler |
sorry bro, I hate traffic cops. I get tickets for protecting my safety in the world of SUV's and cell phones. Your case doesn't sound fair to me. Can you say revenue enhancement? Just give the judge some cash (joke). Hex | ||
| Old_man |
I would contact the A.C.L.U. The case should have been dismissed. | ||
| Zane |
Contact the office of the supervising judge (or whatever PA calls them). Make your complain in writing. They will at least have to explain how the law works. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Heresay may be admissible in some courts. As bad as that municipality needs your $100 or whatever, I don't think they'll stoop as low as to violate the rules of their judicial procedure for such a paltry sum. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I did some looking online and apparently in PA the issuing officer doesn't have to be present so long as an officer from the same dept shows up as a liason. Still doesn't make any sense to me though - there was no radar - the guy said he clocked me by following me for .3 miles. I could have told the judge I was on the side of the road taking a crap when this guy pulled up and wrote me a speeding ticket, and this other officer woudln't have anything to say about it. I'd rather pay a lawyer $200 than pay this court $200, but I'm sure it would far more hassle than it's worth. I also found out I'm allowed to file an appeal where the issuing officer MUST be present, but again, 8 hours in the car and another $60 in gas just makes it all seem not worth it. On top of this, I never signed anything that I accepted the reduced charge, never proved to anyone who I was, never showed the judge my ticket or court summons, never signed in at any desk or anything, never showed my liscense to anyone. I may as well have not ever been there. But I'm just the little guy. | ||
| Tq_freak |
I think its because PA is a commonwealth, A state where the lowest for of Government ( local twp) has more power then the state, I know it sounds wacked but welcome to PA, I lived there for 5 years and had a few screwed up tickets. | ||
| Etennuly |
Didn't you see the boarder guards when you entered the state? I had it explained to me one time as a teenage driver "Son I pulled you over for three miles per hour over the limit. That sign says 55 mph, not 58!" Got to admit I did get away with a fair amount of crap when I was a kid, but when I turned 21 I couldn't catch a break. Four tickets in a month! Anyhow, the cops were never present when I had my day in the Township District Magistrates office, "plead guilty and pay the fine". By the fourth one she recommended counceling and driving school. In the driving school my "instructor" was a State Trooper who had written two of my tickets. I aced the test and he made me drive an extra twenty mile loop to 'make sure'. | ||
| Hammeroid |
You got bent over sweetheart. | ||
| Alchemy |
Fought one ticket in PA with a lawyer and it helped but cost the same in the end. Appeared in court for one case hoping the officer would not show (not sure of present law regarding officer requirement) regarding a parking ticket (unfair - had pictures and all) and the judge proceeded to rip me a new one for taking the court's time for a parking ticket. Ok, probably right to some extent. First ticket was many years ago in Huntington, PA and the JP (justice of the peace) was a barber on the side. He didn't like my longish disrespectful hair and hit me with the maximum fine... or he said if I got a decent haircut he would lower it. I paid the fine and lost a ton of respect for the justice system and learned a lot about the cost of rebellion. Part of the good thing about getting a ticket and going to court is to get a peek at our legal system in action. | ||
| Xl1200r |
and the judge proceeded to rip me a new one for taking the court's time for a parking ticket. As a citizen of this nation, your are entitled the right to fair trial. If the contesting the ticket in the APPROPRIATE court is a waste of the court's time, then writing the ticket in the first place was a waste of time. It's not about fighting a $30 parking ticket (or whatever it might have been), it's about the PRINCIPLE - and not letting the law push the little guy around because it can. | ||
| Hammeroid |
Sounds like the judge is going to APPROPRIATE some of your PRINCIPLE. Grab your ankles fella. | ||
| Krassh |
I have heard varying percentages but this sounds about right. "Only a small fraction (about 2%) of all traffic tickets are seriously contested. The vast majority of these contested tickets are dismissed or the defendant is given a significantly reduced penalty. If just 10% of the people who received citations fought their tickets, the entire system of government extortion would collapse within a matter of months" | ||
| Xl1200r |
Yeah, but it comes down to dollars. Let's assume i've already spent $60 in gas and lost a half a day of work, and my "reduced" fine (plus court fees) is $200. If it's going to cost me another $60 in gas, another half day of work and $300 for a lawyer to get the case dismissed, who wins? Not me. | ||
| Krassh |
Completely understand but wouldn't it be cool to get a movement going nationally where more people fought their tickets? Maybe even get some non-profit setup to help with some of the costs people complain about like time off work, gas, etc. If the court systems were clogged up and cops were still writing tickets that get contested then something would have to give. Either the courts would stay clogged or they would tell the cops to stop writing tickets and do real police work. Actually I commend you for going in the first time to fight it. You did your part. I grew up in Pennsylvania so I know how they can be there. | ||
| Etennuly |
When mine happened it was in the late '70's. I don't think all four tickets cost me more than $180.00. And I was guilty. What got me was later on, when I was put on what they called Risk insurance. It went from about $130.00 a year(youthful driver, PIP, liability, with my own car)to over $950.00, that was with no claims. That was a BIG bunch of money back then. My annual wages were probably on the order of $7500.00. That whole situation for me was totally self induced. If I hadn't been busted and slowed down on the street, my luck (and or someone elses)may have run out one day. As it were, it was what inspired me to getting onto a race track and having my fun there. As far as the legal situation I could not afford an attorney then and I didn't know anything about the law. I knew I was wrong and had to pay somebody. To me, it did not have matter if the officer was there or not. | ||
| Xl1200r |
As far as the legal situation I could not afford an attorney then and I didn't know anything about the law. I knew I was wrong and had to pay somebody. To me, it did not have matter if the officer was there or not. I knew I was wrong as well, and would have no problem paying the $165 ticket. However, I was traveling with another officer and that wasn't known to the cop until after he started writing the ticket. He told me to plead not guilty and call him when my summons came and he would take care of me. Instead, he failed to return any of my calls and left me with a court date 230 miles away. I decided to go to court assuming he'd either be there and take care of me, or not be there and have the case dismissed. Instead, I'm now out the gas, the time off work and the additional court fees in addition to the original ticket. That's going to be a LOT more than the original ticket cost. I understand the officer didn't have to do a damned thing for me, but if he wasn't, I wish he had just said so instead of leading me on and costing me far more than what was neccesary. Again, if he wasn't going to help me out, I would have plead guilty, mailed the check an been done. My state doesn't import points, and I was guilty, no doubt. But the way it was handled after the original citation just did nothing but smash my face in the mud, which wasn't needed nor warranted. The kicker is I was pulled over in the rain and 30 degrees out. Ibviously, I just wanted to get home. And through it all, the cop was a rider himself. He said he wasn't taking his bike out for another month and a half. | ||
| Hammeroid |
They must think you have a purdy mouth. Squeal boy, squeal. | ||
| Thumper74 |
The immediate costs suck. It's the long term insurance costs that are going to get you. Fight the ticket, get an attorney | ||
| Xl1200r |
NY doesn't import points from any state, so insurance is good. | ||
| Etennuly |
So on a personal level the officer, no, the man, did a sucky thing. I don't blame you for being pissed. Can't depend on anybody anymore. They earn the respect that they get. | ||
| Bombardier |
Were you speeding? If yes than cop it sweet and pay the fine. If no then fight it. | ||
| Brumbear |
I say we ask court what to do |
