how to fight a ticket in NJ Options

[i love porsche]

ok..im getting alot of mixed opinons but im still going to try to do what i can....its better than not trying

and ive already sent my info to a law firm and they are going to get back to me on what can be done

[jet1]

My advice above is based on what happened to me a few years ago and also from what I have heard from other people in NJ. (I don't think it is bad advice, or I would not give it.) I would like to add that the first thing I did when I recived the court date was to call the court and ask what I should do. I was told by the officer who answered the phone that pleading not guilty was common and that with first offences the charge was very offten reduced. So, try calling the court they may have good info for you. It can't hurt to ask. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[cgnj]

Hi,

All the town wants is the revenue from the ticket plus court costs. There is a violation that is a non-moving no points offense that will net the town the required revenue. Something about being an obstruction on the roadway. You find the statute, call the DA and offer to plead guilty to this particular offense. I wish I could tell you the the statute, but I cannot recall. If he doesn't bite, offer to plead to 5mph over. He really doesn't want to screw you, if it's a small town, he is working on a political appointment and doesn't want to be hanging in court all night. He wants to go home and watch the Yankees or Mets.

Yoour ticket has got to be a 6-8 point violation. That will put you in the pool for sure, and most likely you'll be surcharged. Try to handle this yourself. Your attorney is just going to use the same tatic I've just described to you, but charge you $300/hr for it. If you fail in pre-negotiating your plea, then get the attorney involved.

Carlos

[Rand]

Under what circumstances would it be better to plead something different than not guilty? I don't think there is any other plea that has a better chance of getting this dismissed. If you plead not guilty, there's a pretty strong chance the cop won't show up for the court date over such an offense and the whole thing will just be dismissed. I have experienced that first hand - what a relief!

If the cop does show, how much does having a lawyer increase the chances of it getting dismissed? A lawyer will have to answer that. If it is significant enough, then you just have to balance those odds with the extra cost.

[redshift]

QUOTE (scott thacher @ Jul 13 2005, 11:48 PM)

ways to affect the speedo tire size internal adjustments

lol

[ArtechnikA]

QUOTE (Rand @ Jul 14 2005, 07:37 PM)

Under what circumstances would it be better to plead something different than not guilty?

if you plead not guilty, you run the risk of the court finding you guilty of the whole enchilada, plus court costs.

if you plead guilty to a much lesser offense, you accept a much smaller penalty. less fine, fewer points, plead out early, probably no court cousts.

if you believe it's totally bogus - e.g. you weren't there, or it wasn't you driving, or it was a similar license plate but not yours - you can feel morally entitled to fight it, and if it *is* totally bogus, probably you'll get off. if you actually did something like you're being accused of, you're still legally entitled to fight it all the way, but your chances of being acquitted fall into the 'fluke' category, and the risk of a stiffer penalty is real.

i am not a lawyer - but i was married to one for a long time, and i've taken my share of law classes as electives... anyway, that's the circumstances, per your request.

[Rouser]

QUOTE (i love porsche @ Jul 14 2005, 05:45 PM)

ive already sent my info to a law firm and they are going to get back to me on what can be done

Law firm ... Pa-leeze.

You were in the wrong; it'll be your snot-nosed self, a veteran cop, and a long-sitting Traffic Court judge. Easy gavel.

Man up. Just plead No Contest, pay the fine, and drag yourself to Traffic School to prevent points on your license. Just drive like there's a cop 'round every corner (in your case, there WAS), and live long enough to enjoy grandchildren. This ain't worth losing sleep (and "law firm" $$$) over.

[cgnj]

Me Again,

40 in a 25, you aren't walking away. The judge and the DA will make you pay. The only reason you will get mercy in NJ is that everyone knows how screwed up the insurance system is. You'll have to pay, any lawyer who tells you different is lying to you. It's whether you want the gift that keeps giving, 3 years in the in the pool plus at surcharge of at least $350/yr.

You screwed up. No excuse for 40 in a 25. You just need to get the offense changed to something bearable and pay the town.

Carlos

[i love porsche]

yeah...im really just looking for it to be reduced as much as possible....its going to be hard to afford insurance now

im not counting on them dropping it...but im just aiming to get it as good as i can

[Rand]

I have to agree with the last few posts. You WERE speeding and you ARE guilty.

HOWEVER.... what can I say... I also was guilty of speeding and plead not guilty and showed up in court and the cop wasn't there and therefor the whole thing was dismissed. This happened to me, so I can speak from my experience.

Even IF the cop showed up, I don't think I would have been slammed with something worse than if I had plead anything else???? I think the judge would have heard my statement (spoken respectfully as a first-time-offender) and my penalty would have been reduced at least as much as if I had plead something else to begin with. BUT I have to admit, this last statement is only an assumption that I cannot speak to from experience. I dunno, maybe I could have been slammed with extra court costs? All I know is I got everything dismissed.

[newto914s]

QUOTE (cgnj @ Jul 14 2005, 03:12 PM)

Hi, All the town wants is the revenue from the ticket plus court costs. There is a violation that is a non-moving no points offense that will net the town the required revenue. Something about being an obstruction on the roadway. You find the statute, call the DA and offer to plead guilty to this particular offense.

In Ohio they call in "continous inattention" or something, voilation #432.38b. I was in traffic court for 3 1/2 hours Monday(F-thous Bastards) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/flipa.gif) for driving an "unsafe vehicale" my wheel fell off.

In Ohio you can plead "No-contest" to avoid "real" court precedings. Which basically meens you are pleading guilty but you get to talk before you grab your ankles for the judge. Yes, I'm very very bitter about this Monday.

If you're only concerned with points you're probably going to be OK, do the guilty, or no-contest thing and mention how your mostly concerned with points, never had another ticket, good driver, don't want to ruin clean drving record, bla bla. and hope for the best, but be ready to pay

If you don't want to pay anything. Go the not-guilty route, hope you get a softy prosecutor and the Cop doesn't show, and your golden. Other wise be ready for them to take the glorious waste of time you put them through, out on you.

Good luck

Four tickets in three years and I've never noticed a change in my insurance. What's the dilly in NJ?

[jet1]

QUOTE

Four tickets in three years and I've never noticed a change in my insurance. What's the dilly in NJ?

Ha! You have to drive there to understand.

[larryp]

Last tidbit:

There is one more misconception in the thread: this is not like a trial where the tribunal (jury, judge) is seeking the truth or justice. That is saved for the tickets where you were DUI, or there was an injury or property damage. Here, the system in based on an old boy network. There are a few lawyers who do traffic work and there are a few judges who do traffic work and neither of them are especially satisfied with their lots in life. So when they meet up, they know each other and smile and make deals. That is what you are paying for, their friendship. You get the benefit of that, which will be some reduced nonpoints offense. The other benefit is that when you are represented, you do not have to wait the 3-1/2 hours, you are called first.

BTW, this is not the case when you get tagged in an honest-to-god speeding trap, typically in the south, or goofy little towns elsewhere.

That's what I meant when I said you are going to pay someone for this, either the town or the lawyer.

[Jaiden]

Guys,
As a recently ticketted driver I have to tell you how NJ speeding tickets work.
1. Go to court.
2. Speak to the prosecuter (having a cops name that you can use as a friend will open the door to the surcharge instantly)
3. Tell him you would like to plead guilty(pucker up and get ready to kiss butt) but you would like to pay the one time surcharge instead of the speeding violation.
4. He will then tell you that it is a one time surchare of $250 plus the cost of the original offence I believe that 15 over is $89-109. You will not get points and you will not get insurance rate increases. You will have to deal with paying out $300-400. This is also called the rich mans get out of jail free card. You can use this up to 3 times a year.
5. Be glad that they at least kissed you first before screwing you

[D1A3]

I would confirm Jaiden's experience above is possible and go for that. With this approach you at least know what the outcome is and don't have to chance it. That's why I like the no-lo plea we have here, you know what the outcome is before even going to court.

With regards to No-Lo, I'm not sure if LarryP is a lawyer, but I have used this defense twice... once for speeding, once for "beign stupid when I was in college" and it makes no difference as to the number of charges you have. You just plea it, you are not found guilty, pay a fine and go on about your way. Without being found "Guilty" you have nothign to worry about long term. Of course, like Jaiden wrote above, you are limited about how many times and when you can use it. Again, I know from personal experieince you can have a single speedign ticket and use it successfully.

BTW: I'm not racist at all, but when I used this plea for my speedign ticket I was the only non-minority in the courtroom except for a few cops and a few lawyers. The judge was very "forgiving" of defendants who were there for much more serious reasons than speeding... When I got up there, she made a smart comment about my speed, then a real asmart ass comment that I was driving my Lexus GS430, and that she woudl have to "check my record" before accepting the no-lo plea. She called me back an hour or so later to her bench and told me that since I had not used the no-lo before, she would accept it, but that I should consioder this "as a walk." The judge was pretty intimidating to say the least...

Keep us posted with the final disposition of your ticket.

--Jason

[Pnambic]

I don't know what it is about NJ, but I work for a pretty big insurance company and we won't write anything there. And we even write in NC where you can apparently tell the judge you'll pray for your offense and get off (once every so many years). I think they call it "Prayer for Judgment" or something.

Good luck! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)