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Just got a bull**** ticket. Should I get a lawyer?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Xerobull, Jan 17, 2012.

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  1. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    Here's what happened:

    I had just entered the freeway, where the speed limit is 60. Just over a hill, there was a cop who had pulled over a car. Of course, the guy in front of me slams on his breaks. I had to jerk into the next lane or have to slam on my breaks as well. A second later, the cop pulls out with his lights on and pulls me over.

    The cop proceeds to tell me that I was going 70 in a 40. I said '40? It's the freeway.' he says that there is no posted sign so it's a 40. He asked what my hurry was and I said, no hurry, just been on the road a bit. I asked him again if it was not 60 and he says yes. I never admitted to any speed.

    He comes back and writes me a ticket for 70 in a 60, Failure to signal lane change and following too closely. He reads these off to me and says he is giving me a break by giving me these tickets in lieu of taking me to jail for a class B misdemeanor.

    So not only does the ticket being written for a 60mph zone completely contradicts what he told me, I don't think he was in the position to clock me or clearly witness what he wrote me a ticket for. I also don't think that his dash cam could have picked that up, either.

    Should I get a lawyer here?


    EDIT-

    Just got the butcher's bill:


    Speeding 163
    Fail to signal 148
    Following too closely 198

    Total 509

    I'm getting a lawyer.
     
    #1 Xerobull, Jan 17, 2012
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2012
  2. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Hell yes, that is pure quota madness.

    DD
     
    #2 DaDakota, Jan 17, 2012
  3. javal_lon

    javal_lon Member

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    Why not??... what's the worse that can happen if you get one...
     
    #3 javal_lon, Jan 17, 2012
  4. Surfguy

    Surfguy Member

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    cops who sit just over hills are asking for an accident. i've seen it firsthand and i laughed my ass off when it happened. it was a four car pile-up with everyone trying to slow down last second. the last car ended up crushing the cop's motorcycle. oh man...did i laugh my ass off driving by that right when it was happening. and, the look on the cop's face was just priceless as he watched his motorcycle get run over and call for back-up.

    that said...i would probably just pay it and be done with it. i can't stand to be around cops or courtrooms.
     
    #4 Surfguy, Jan 17, 2012
    1 person likes this.
  5. finalsbound

    finalsbound Member

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    ugh, sorry that happened to you.

    cop sounds like he was grasping for straws.
     
    #5 finalsbound, Jan 17, 2012
  6. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    Speeding sounds like you can fight. Sounds like you were following too closely and did change lanes without signalling.
     
    #6 Joe Joe, Jan 17, 2012
  7. BrieflySpeaking

    BrieflySpeaking Member

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    I swear, Houston cops are pricks. Out here in LA rarely do you see cops out in the freeway posted up clocking your speed. Yes, they hide every once in a while, but not on every freaking tricky spot prone to speed traps.
     
    #7 BrieflySpeaking, Jan 17, 2012
  8. Rashmon

    Rashmon Member

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    Maybe for the discrepancy in speed limit.
     
    #8 Rashmon, Jan 17, 2012
  9. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    You don't need a lawyer to get it dismissed, but they will make you sit in court all day. Show up, plead not guilty, ask for trial by jury (never judge), then sit and wait. You'll take to someone about a plea, say you don't want it if you don't like it, then sit around until its dismissed. A lawyer wont necessarily help save you time either.
     
    #9 Ziggy, Jan 17, 2012
  10. tmoney1101

    tmoney1101 Member

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    sound like you dun goofed.

    were you speeding? did you signal a lane change?
     
    #10 tmoney1101, Jan 17, 2012
  11. ChievousFTFace

    ChievousFTFace Member

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    He had to slam on his breaks and change lanes to avoid the car in front of him.
     
    #11 ChievousFTFace, Jan 17, 2012
  12. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    I may have been going above 60, but not 70. I contend that there's no way he clocked me.

    My only concern is retaliation. It's the local cops in my town.
     
    #12 Xerobull, Jan 17, 2012
  13. CrazyDave

    CrazyDave Member

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    Sounds like you're going to be in the wrong, but should get a lawyer anyway and have the tickets dismissed that way.


    Them: Were you going 70?
    You: **shrugs**
    Cop: Yep, he was.

    Them: Did you change lanes without signaling?
    You: **shrugs**
    Cop: Yep, he did

    Them: Were you changing lanes quickly without signaling because you were following the car in front of you by closer than 1 car length per 10 miles an hour?
    You: What?
    Cop: Yep, he was.

    At no point are they going to go into anything but what's on the ticket and whether or not the cop is there to stand by how he filled it out. They won't ask if he was being an ass.

    Again, sounds like you're going to be in the wrong in their eyes, but should get a lawyer anyway and have the tickets dismissed that way.
     
    #13 CrazyDave, Jan 17, 2012
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  14. rhadamanthus

    rhadamanthus Member

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    Lawyer up to at least avoid paying excessively.

    Cops are assholes.
     
    #14 rhadamanthus, Jan 17, 2012
  15. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    What's the mechanism that the lawyer uses to get the tickets dismissed? I've never gotten one.
     
    #15 Xerobull, Jan 17, 2012
  16. bobmarley

    bobmarley Member

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    this.
     
    #16 bobmarley, Jan 17, 2012
  17. tmoney1101

    tmoney1101 Member

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    i get that, how would he go about proving it?

    i think ziggy offered up a reasonable solution.
     
    #17 tmoney1101, Jan 17, 2012
  18. aeroman10

    aeroman10 Member

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    Who gave you the ticket?
    If it was HPD, what Ziggy told you may work to get it dismissed...maybe.
    This may not work in other municipalities, especially smaller ones.
     
    #18 aeroman10, Jan 17, 2012
  19. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    I'm in the Fort Worth area now. Small yokel town about 10 miles out.
     
    #19 Xerobull, Jan 17, 2012
  20. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Pushing court dates as many times as he can and hoping the Officer forgets and doesn't show up. One the officer takes the stand you are cooked because their testimony will be viewd with extreme favor by the judge.
     
    #20 REEKO_HTOWN, Jan 17, 2012
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