So you got a ticket...

If you’ve been driving any time at all, it is bound to happen to you...

You are cruising along, minding your own business, and out of the corner of your eye, you see it. Red and blue flashing lights attached to a menacing looking vehicle with a big, black steel guard on the front bumper. “Surely, he’s not pulling ME over,” you say to yourself. You glance at your speedometer, start to brake slightly 
(don’t want to be too obvious) and gradually drift to the right, giving ample space for the car to go by you and carry on fighting crime. The car simply slows and starts to track you to the shoulder. 
You ARE being pulled over. 
Your mind starts to race, “What was I doing?”… “Do I have any other tickets I haven’t paid?”… “What’s my story?”…“What will this do to my insurance?”

Okay, it’s not the end of the world. Annoying, and time consuming, but not the end of the world. There are a few things you can do to give yourself a better than average chance of coming out of this unscathed, or at least a few hundred dollars richer.

Rule #1: Be courteous, and answer direct questions without embellishing. Many times, drivers fail the “personality test,” and the officer will give them a ticket just for being insolent, or offering up information that will damage your case, either on site, or with the judge. If asked “Do you know why I stopped you?” A simple “No, I don’t” will suffice.

Do NOT; Tell him (or her) “I’m late,” “I thought the limit was ____” etc.

Rule #2: Be “unmemorable”. Do not be overly friendly, or rude. Do not ask for the officer’s badge number, or any detailed information about him. Most of this will be on the citation-if any- or can be procured later. You don’t want to give him additional motivation to “see the ticket through,” or any particular reason to remember you, what your said or how you acted. It goes without saying, that you want to avoid any quips about whether or not he “has anything better to do,” or “Apparently all of the other crime in the city has been solved.” He likely goes through this several times per day, and you want to be forgettable.

So, you got a ticket. What to do now?

Your options-in some form or another typically are:

- Pay the ticket. This will not only cost you the amount of the ticket, but could possibly cause your insurance to go up $100 to $200 per year for 3-5 years! If you have NO extra time (unlikely) to deal with the matter, you could go this route. Not advised.

- Plead guilty with mitigating circumstances. You are admitting guilt, but would like to explain whyyou committed the offense. This will likely get you a reduction in your fine, but will still be recorded as COMMITTED, and will still affect your insurance. Not advised.

- Plead not guilty, and request a court date: You will likely have to take a day off of work, drive to the courthouse, find parking, wait for your case to be called, listen to one preposterous sob story after another, and then watch as the judge becomes more and more agitated and worn out, as your name’s letter in the alphabet approaches. There are many factors here out of your control; The judge’s disposition, caseload, whether or not the officer shows up etc. that can affect your case’s outcome. Either way, you will waste the better part of a day, and likely STILL lose. Not advised.

So what IS advised?

- Trial by Written Declaration: You can, in most states request a Trial By Written Declaration. This option allows you all of the same options as appearing in court but, does not require that you appear, and gives you a better chance of prevailing. You can still request the officers credentials, including; Experience, certification with radar equipment, and even certifications of the radar equipment calibration itself. You should also provide photographs, diagrams (if relevant) and any details about the location, day, time, or situation that might bolster your case.

So why is this better than appearing in court?

Several reasons:

1. You do not have to take time off work, or waste a day appearing.
2. You do not have to worry about nerves or presenting your case effectively in person, something that most people are not very good at.
3. The officer does not receive extra pay (as he does for appearing in court, $200-$300 in overtime pay) for preparing a statement. He gets NOTHING to prepare his statement. Officers have a lot of paperwork to fill out. If you require that he fills out more, chances are decent that he will not, or will not get it submitted in time.
4. This whole process takes time. This works in your favor as that officer might be transferred, leave the force, or will have a whole new list of cases to respond to or appear for, by the time he gets to yours.
5. The officer will have more trouble remembering the circumstances if he does not see you in person.
6. The judge will have the opportunity to look at the case objectively, without the pressures of the courtroom, other defendants, and at the risk of embarrassing the officer publicly. AND if he, or she does not have the documents you have requested; Officer statement, radar certifications etc. chances are they will deem that there is not enough evidence to proceed and will throw the case out.

The Trial By Written Declaration has proven to be extremely effective, and in many cases results in a complete dismissal of the case. AND you can prepare your case in your free time, and not have to sit in a court room with a bunch of people with nothing better to do.

We are not encouraging you to break the law or drive in an unsafe manner. Sometimes law abiding citizens are cited unfairly, and this advice could help you.