Plead Guilty Vs. To Not Plead Guilty

[Squeaks]

Okay I am sure many of you have had speeding tickets before. I am almost 30 and I think the last time I received one was in my teens. Well I got one today and boy was it a bad one.

I recently got a new 07 Mazda 6 and was on the turnpike late for an appointment. I knew I was speeding(the speed limit was 65) and then I saw the cop... It was definetly too late to do anything he had his radar going and I got pulled over. He told me I was going 99 in a 65 and that since it was over 30 miles above the speed limit it was an automatic suspension(I live in Pennsylvania). He also said I would have to go to court and take a driving test again.
I am not making fun of this in any way I was speeding the ticket was for 195 bucks. After he ran my liscense and registration he came back and said "Merry Christmas" I knocked your ticket down to 95 miles an hour so you don't loose your liscense yadda yadda yadda. I found out though that its 5 points which is going to make my insurance skyrocket....(I am already paying 213.00 a month). I knew I was speeding BUT to be quite honest since this car is brand new(have had it less than a month) I really didnt feel like I was going 99 mph..... infact not even ten minutes later my friend had to tell me to slow down again cause I was back up to 80. It's a fast car what can I say and I have a lead foot.

My question(finally) is everyone is telling me to plead not guilty and plead with the judge and most of the time the magistrate will lower the fine or knock points off. I don't mind paying the fine hell they can even double the fine for all I care I just would like to have some points taken off(6 and you loose your liscense)

Has anyone pleaded guilty knowing fully aware that they were in fact guilty and was able to get a reduced ticket/points?

Some are saying it cant hurt the worst they can say is no. The fact the cop did shave a few points off for me and was being nice is what scares me...... What if I go to court and the cop tells his side... can I infact loose my liscense outright or can the judge only sentence me what the ticket says if found guilty still?

I am not one to get traffic tickets usually for moving violations they have all been stupid stuff like expired inspection or broken taillight etc etc never for speeding....

 

[SA]

---> moving to Legal


I've been able to get parking tickets dismissed and one fine lowered substantially before by simply asking. That was a few years ago though and even here courts were a bit less overcrowded and a bit more friendly back then.

Do you have any free legal consultation places over there? We also have these ex-cop "we win or it's free" services here, but I've never used them so I don't know if they're even worth it. I'd want to seek some local legal advice though, to get a feel for the local courts.

 

[Kul69]

I'm pretty sure you can ask to take a driver's education course or whatever to get the points taken off. I don't know how the best way to go about making this happen is though. They'll usually let you do this if you haven't had any recent problems.

I would not suggest saying you're not guilty and begging for mercy. I would suggest saying you're guilty and begging for traffic classes to remove the points or whatever.

I imagine the best way of making this all go away is to hire a lawyer who specializes in traffic infractions. There are definitely a lot of them.

Don't feel too bad.. I got a ticket for going "95+" in a 65mph zone (the cop cut me the same deal with not actually writing 96 or more) and crossing a double yellow line (carpool lane) and it was $800 total. Can't say I really cared about the insurance stuff though as I don't have car insurance.

 

[Kalash]

One word...

Demurrer.

But that's suicide if you're not up for a year long legal battle.

Bright side - you won't be paying the higher insurance till afterward the trial is over.

And you shouldn't go to trial.


But... it's risky.
And even a little nutty if you don't know what you're doing.

If you're willing to research and put some time into it, think about it.
If not... skip it.


Is it a mandatory court appearance?
And...
Check out http://lawyerdude.8m.com for the demurrer stuff...
The prosecutor hasn't charged you with anything.
You only have an illegal summons given to you by the officer - who cannot press charges.

If you plead guilty, you're pleaing guilt to something you're not even properly charged with yet.


But... that might be a little much.
Depends TOTALLY on what you're willing to invest.



They expect you to just plea guilty.
If you don't, you're going to shake things up a bit and probably piss of the judge.

"Didn't know I was going that fast" isn't a valid defense.
I wouldn't plea not guilty for anything...
Demurrer or guilty.

Guilty to pay the fine and move on with your life.
Demurrer to try to get out of it, but you won't be moving on for quite a while.

 

[nightfun]

had a similar issue. speeding ticket have not had one in 8 yrs. went to court said i'm guilty with an explanation. pled my good driving record for the last 8 yrs.

i paid court costs (35.00) and went home much slower

 

[Banquo]

go to court and fight it. they are not goint to add the 4 mph back on to the ticket, no matter what.

 

[pennywise]

Yes always fight it if there is a lot at stake. There is always the chance that the cop will not show up. There's several websites with good advice on how to fight a ticket as well.

 

[AfterGlow]

I've gone to court and beat traffic tickets that I was guilty of. It's definitely worth it. The bad driver points can add up too fast if you have an unlucky streak and get more tickets. Just do some homework on how to fight tickets.

I beat one by submitting a request for discovery to the prosecutor. Even tho they mailed everything to me, they couldn't produce the radar calibration record in court so I was granted my motion for dismissal.

I beat a couple when the officer failed to show after I was granted continuances.

I bargained with the prosecutor on one and they were willing to drop a major moving violation down to a minor one.

The prosecutor was willing to put another on file for a year.