I hate the f'n State Police

[Teflonworm]

So remember my story about car off the road and what not...well....so i finally got an answer today and they actually have my ticket filed. I call and say i want to petition the ticket. (plead not guilty) I informed the lady that the officer said given the weather and my speed, I have a very good case for a not guilty plea. The lady then said, speeding in medium traffic during bad weather.....plus having a witness saying you were careless...i dont think so.

After 10 seconds of silence with a "WTF" face on my grill. I said, it was light traffic, i was doing 50mph, the weather was very poor, I hit a puddle he even said was causing lots of trouble and there was no witness cause it was light traffic and the cop came after I had my car on the shoulder for about 10 minutes. She replied...thats not what the ticket/statement says....

What kinda crap is that??? So now i got a court appearance to fight this bull. I swear to god this system just is funked up beyond belief

:mad:

[Axio]

damn dude, that sucks. Good luck with that case. I just don't see why the cop would falsify the statement. I mean I never heard of a crooked state trooper. :rolleyes: You should shove an airforce up his ass.

FIGHT THE POWER :mad:

[MercMobile]

What does your ticket say?

Does not matter what he files later.. it matters what he marked on your ticket WHEN HE DID IT..

[Teflonworm]

The ticket is checked off with:
a Witness with a really bad signature that i cannot read

This is the check list for conditions:
Area - Rural
Road - Wet
Traffic - Medium
Visibility - Rain

In the Penalty It reads: One - Car Off Road. Statute # 39:4-97

[IntenseImage]

Just go and talk to the prosecutor .... dont tell him about ur phone convo tho.. and be VERY polite to him/her .. SHOW UP EARLY

Pe@ce

[Frank]

Statute # 39:4-97 is the same as careless driving.. i've had that one before :(

It usually becomes 'unsafe operation of a motor vehicle' in court... which is just a fine.

[Teflonworm]

See......im new to this whole ticket, judge, court room thingy....

Can i talk to the prosecutor early or do i have to wait for the day of my court appearance??? Im also chronically early, so thats not an issue. Only times ive dealt with judges is when playing tennis or golf at a country club down here, because they are all friends of my family :shrug:

Also El Franko, how much was the fine so i know how much to bring with me?

[IntenseImage]

Show up on the court date and get in line early -- first come first serve to talk to "the man". Then you go in front of the judge in alphabetical order... so ur gonna be sittin for awhile.

As stated they will prob drop it to unsafe driving with like a $150ish ticket -- cheaper than an insurance hike ;)

Pe@ce

[LeonsCat]

Teflonworm, I hope members of the NJ State Police don't visit this site...your badmouthing them may piss them off against you even more....:rofl:

[OJE]

Dress to impress!!! wear a full suit if you have to, i cant stress enough how much your appearance will help you. bring some kind of notebook with you too and have a few key notes written down just to look like you prepared for it and didnt just wake up and show up. judges want you to kiss their ass, do not go in there with any kind of attitude, always make sure to answer them yes sir/ma'am or your honor. try playing it off like your a complete moron and say that you always drive cautiously in that kind of weather not only for your safety but the safety of others and that is the first time youve ever lost control of a car and you got nervous. You also may be able to request a continuation, or that anything dealing with that witnesses statement not be considered if that witness doesnt show up becuase if they arent there i dont know that the cop can use them in their case. Also try to find out what method the cop used to know that you were speeding, if he got that from the witness then it isnt worth **** unless the witness had a radar gun on their dash. just remember to keep your cool and try come off as innocent as you can, ive had my share of run ins with judges.

[Teflonworm]

Well...if you want my driving history :)

Had my license since i was 17. This was the first time I have ever received a ticket and for that matter....approached by an officer for doing something wrong with my vehicle.

I'll be dressed to kill, dont worry about that. Outfit is already laid out, cleaned, pressed, and all the trimmings. Note pad, ticket, etc....im well armed when it comes to business matters, and this is business....

Also....there was no way for him to have a record of me speeding. Like i said, the officer came after i was already getting my car up onto the shoulder of the road. He asked me how fast i was going and i was completely honest, i said i was going 50mph and passing into the left lane because the motorist in front of me slammed on his brakes and i went around him....Im as clueless as to who witnessed this as the day i got my ticket....

50 mph is well below the 65mph zone and even still lower then the old 55mpg zone it used to be. I probably shoud've been going 45mpg, but thats assuming i saw the lake of water where i hit.

Im trying to find out who the prosecutor is from Upper Township right now, he may be a friend of my families or a friend of a friend....so im working to see if i can get it over with prior to court timing...again, i dont care if it's a fine, i just dont want insurance points...

[IntenseImage]

Originally posted by: Teflonworm

50 mph is well below the 65mph zone and even still lower then the old 55mpg zone it used to be. I probably shoud've been going 45mpg, but thats assuming i saw the lake of water where i hit.


45 and 55 mpg !!!! holy crap... i wish

Pe@ce

[CanadianBeerSucks]

Was just at traffic court last night, hope some of this is useful to you....

The prosecutor was approaching everyone prior to the judge coming in, offering no point tickets for anything that would have been 2 points, and 2 point tickets for everything else. I had my charge knocked down to failure to present drivers license (technically it was expired and could have costed me a few hundred bucks, plus surcharges).

A few things I have learned over the years. If it was a trooper, the ticket is issued for whatever city you were in when it happened. In most cases the trooper will not show up for the court date. Alot of you have heard storys where if he does not show charges are dropped but that is not entirely true. You can motion for the court to dismiss the charge, and if you get a cool judge, depending on the offense he may let you go. However, in most cases they will say "we just found out the trooper can not make it today and will reschedule". Of course if you plee your ticket down and are willing to plead guilty to something the trooper does not need to be there.

A freind in the state police explained the logic to me. Only something like 1 out of every 100 tickets goes to actual trial. The rest people just pay, plead down, or do not show up for it. Thus the vast majority of the time the trooper never actually needs to show up in court.

Also, when you plead down, be careful of what you agree to. I had a freind who pleaded a "careless driving" ticket down to a non point violation. HOWEVER, his insurance company still assessed him insurance points. These are the ones that matter most. just because you do not get dmv points does not mean that your insurance company will not charge you.

A interesting side note to what i learned in court last night. With the exception of drunk driving, the court seems to be very easy going for stuff i would consider serious. For instance, there was a guy there who had gotten stopped for driving on a suspended license for the 2nd time. I figured they would string him up.

He had to pay a 500 dollar fine, have an additional suspension of FIVE days, and serve a day in jail. The judge goes to him, instead of going to jail, I am going to let you just sit in court until we are all done here and think about what you did. I had to laugh at that one.

What really got me were people that were driving without insurance. As long as they could prove they were now insured, the court changed the charge to just not having the card on you. Nothing miffs me more than people who drive without insurance, seeing how expensive it is for those of us that pay it.