How To Defend Against A Speeding Ticket In Court

General information, not legal advice.This post describes how traffic stops, accidents and traffic court work in general. Every case turns on its own facts, and reading this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your own ticket, call The Traffic Ticket Attorneys at (310) 455-6810 for a free consultation.

Just because you have been given a speeding ticket by an overzealous cop does not mean that you are on the hook for the fines and penalties.

If you take sufficient time to research the reason for which you were issued a citation, or consult an attorney who can represent your case in the court of law, there are number of ways in which you can defend against a speeding ticket in court .

Here’s a few things you need to know if you receive a speeding ticket in the state of California.

Defend Against Technicalities

• The first thing that many people do is to personally monitor the ticket for any discrepancies.
• They will also have a lawyer look over the ticket and juxtapose it against the recorded or written record of what the cop said the ticket was for.
• Different states and municipalities have vastly different laws about the actual enforcement of speeding ordinances and just because you were driving above the “posted speed limit” does not mean that you are automatically guilty in court.

Taking Advantage of Extensions

Depending on where a driver was given the speeding ticket, the court may allow extensions. Some of the extensions that are often used may include the following:

• A “grace period” that allows the defendant to delay the entire process of the court for a month or many months;
• Logistical delays because of the court schedule or the schedule of the officer, and
• Technical delays because of a number of other issues.

It is usually up to the defendant to keep up with court schedules and timelines.

Lack of A Valid Case

Although it may not seem as though the defendant is innocent until proven guilty when it comes to traffic tickets, if the prosecution cannot come up with a case, then the ticket must be nullified by the court.

• It is always in the best interests of the defendant to never miss a court date for a deadline for any paperwork that must be turned in. This may be used against the officer if he or she does not adhere to the same standard.
• This is why many successful cases have been based upon the discovery method, showing that the officer did not keep accurate records about the ticket and was therefore unable to properly testify about it in court.
• The memory of the officer may also be affected by an extended time period.

Legal Defenses Focusing on Traffic Tickets

Many of the successful traffic ticket nullification case and dismissals have come from the help of an experienced attorney or a law firm that focuses on traffic tickets. If a ticket is threatening a license, this is often a very good option for a defendant to have.

An attorney who focuses on defending people against traffic tickets will be able to help with the logistical and technical aspects of the court as well as building a case against the actual ticket. This increased vigilance in the organization of a case is the deciding factor for the defendant in many cases.

Because the lawyer understands the entire process, the officer must keep up with his or her records that much more readily and since majority of cops are not used to this, in many cases it will work out in the defendant’s favor.

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