Request trial. At the trial ask him what specific equipment he used to determine your speed. Based on his response, question him about his equipment. Ask him to name the components, the nomenclature, the abilities of his equipment, etc... Once he is not able to tell you everything about everything, state to the judge that the officer can not operate it (his laser, radar, etc...) properly since he doesn't even know the previously asked questions. Dad is a 22 year retired cop, gets me out of speeding tickets all the time. He grills the officer about his knowledge of his equipment and they have failed his test every time. Judge has no choice but to agree. Dismissed.
I assure you, if you want out of it, take my advice. It is what it is. The system can be beat easily. If the cop is good at his job, which I highly doubt, then you will end up paying regardless. Otherwise, especially if he is younger, he wont know what hes talking about. Like I said, my dad is a retired cop, 22 years. I spent 6 years in the Marine Corps as an MP. If it was a murder or something I wouldn't be giving you any advice, however, speeding tickets are a different matter.
sullo n sullo for hpd.....dismissed over 20 citations over the past 10 yrs for my uncle n I....sullo handles about 70% of the speeding cases for the different hpd courts....save your deferred for small courts like sugar land, troopers, basically anyone except HPD....most important thing is it does not hit your insurance.....do not just pay up...that is just plain stupid
I think it's only between (2) and requesting a trail. No one in his right state of mind would choose to let his insurance rise without going to a driving class, especially when you can even do it online now. so choice (1) is basically meaningless.
you are so right on that. The bum officer didn't even ask me for insurance! HAHA and for those people telling me to "own up" to speeding.. ya'll are just peons of the system
Your Insurance is either confirmed or unconfirmed via the in-car MCT before I ever make contact with the vehicle. No need to ask if it is confirmed. Can't speak for HPD BC I don't know their policies but as for most agencies a speeding ticket with a Laser Radar is tough to fight by yourself, I advise that you get a lawyer and let them settle it with the City Attorney without it going on your record
You know you were speeding. Just do the freaking deferred adjudication and stop wasting everyones time.
Its happened to me 3x in Houston. I've even received a ticket from a lady cop while running a stop sign and she didn't show. Its a little nerve racking, especially since I didn't know what to argue. But it has definitely happened to me.
It's different when you are arguing your word VS theirs. When you question them on their knowledge of their equipment and they fail, that's all the argument you need.
If you pay an experienced traffic ticket lawyer they will most certainly get it dismissed...even if the cop shows. Don't take a chance and ask for a jury trial without having a lawyer. The city will make sure it goes to trial and that the cop shows if you don't have a lawyer. My lawyer was 100 bucks and I was in court by 8am and out by 9:30 that morning.
I have used Citizens, Wilkerson, but I find Sullo & Sullo most effective for HPD....You should save your deferred judication and defense driving for smaller courts such as Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Northside, troopers, and other small counties in Texas, as it is much harder for lawyers to dismiss those citations. Sullo is only $75. You go there, sit for 30 mins to 1 hr, and then you are done. Actually, I believe there are back pay involved with the attorneys and the courts, but that is another story..... If you use the "see if the cop strategy" good luck man. You can do trial by jury, but I think the cops and DA are trained much better than most of us in front of a courthouse.....good luck man
I want to hire Sullo & Sullo. Anyone know their success rate? I admitted guilt to officer. The old "do you know why I stopped you" question, and officer noted it on citation. I just hate to pay lawyer and fine both. Defensive driving or deferred is not an option. I have a commercial drivers license.
Why not? They're wasting his time and money. If he was driving recklessly, the cop could have charged him with that. This is all about the money. Cops have quotas. If they don't hand out enough speeding tickets, they wouldn't have the money to hire so many cops. For them, it's job protection. Frankly, I'd prefer if the police would let us keep our money so we can spend it in the industries we see fit rather than giving these assholes the job security none of us have. My advice would be to reschedule your court date until they don't allow you to do so. Then request a trial by jury. Then change it to a trial by the judge in the weeks prior to your trial. Then hire a lawyer. I'd rather pay a lawyer $100 than to reward the state for wasting your time and money. This way, you waste a bunch of their time and resources rescheduling and preparing a jury for your trial. **** the state.
By the way, I used Scott Markowitz. If we all abused the system like the police, lawyers and the courts do, they'd get a whole lot less out of us, and they might be more hesitant to constantly rob us.
