Throughout the years, there have been some pretty dreadful defense strategies used by many people when it came to their traffic ticket. But I don’t really blame them. Most were just relying on ‘insider’ information some website was selling.
Below I have listed the top five mistakes you can make when fighting your traffic ticket. I hope you too will see the futility in them and refrain from using these worthless defenses.
Mistake #1- Delaying the traffic court date
Almost every other book I’ve read on traffic tickets advises you to postpone the trial by asking for a continuance. They claim the longer your traffic court trial is from the original infraction, the greater the chance the officer will fail to show up to court on your traffic ticket.
Simply delaying your traffic court trial will not increase your chances of beating your traffic ticket.
My question is what if you do postpone your traffic court date and the officer still shows up?
Traffic officers get paid overtime to be in traffic court. They don’t bring them off their patrols to be there.
Mistake #2- Request the Prosecution’s Evidence Before Trial.
You have the right by law to see any information the court plans on using to convict you. The process is called discovery. And it would be useful if you were charged with murder, but this is traffic court. Don’t do this, it can hurt your chances of successfully getting your traffic ticket dismissed.
If you file a motion for discovery this tells the prosecution that you intend to plan a defense. In almost every case the prosecutor will make sure his case is airtight so you have virtually no chance of winning.
Don’t request anything or even contact the courthouse at any time prior to your trial about your traffic ticket. DO NOT let them know you are familiar with the traffic court process.
Mistake #3- Doing a lot of needless research
How many of you like to spend your free time at your local courthouse researching piles upon piles of law books? There’s absolutely no need to do this research. It’s time consuming and not to mention boring.
Although in some cases it may be wise to look up a certain law and see how it is worded, there really is no need to do it with all traffic ticket trials.
Mistake #4- Going after the police officers credibility
If you go to traffic court with the idea you are going to attack the officers credibility, don’t waste your time. You can forget getting your traffic ticket dismissed. Saying the officer didn’t use the equipment properly, or that he singled you out or any number of other excuses are useless.
Never go into a courtroom with the intent to challenge the officer’s training of the radar/laser gun. This type of defense is always attacked by the judge. He will accept the officer’s testimony as to his training and will tell you to ask your next question.
Lets face it, the officer has been properly trained on the use of the speed detecting device he used to give you a traffic ticket. There is no question about it. Where would you get the evidence the judge will ask for to support this claim?
Mistake #5- Showing up to traffic court unprepared.
This may be the biggest mistake individuals make when they try to fight a traffic ticket. They go into traffic court thinking they did their homework, when in reality they had no idea what they were doing, and end up paying the traffic ticket.
Those who did no research go to traffic court with the notion that they can just tell their side of the story and the judge will see things their way and dismiss their traffic ticket. Yeah right!
Its understandable that it can be nerve wracking showing up to traffic court. Just remember you aren’t on trial for your life, its just a traffic ticket. Traffic court is designed to be user friendly because of the volume of people going through there daily.
Avoid these five mistakes and you will have a better chance of winning your case in traffic court and getting your traffic ticket dismissed.
Learn more about traffic tickets and hoe to fight them. Stop by Steven Swihart’s site where you can find out all about traffic violations and how to protect yourself against them.
Tags: automobile insurance, Car Insurance, driving, family, law, law enforcement, speeding tickets