How to beat a traffic ticket
... were going?" Your answer to either of these should always be "no". Never admit your guilt. If the officer asks to search your vehicle, say no. He or she can only search your car if there is probable cause. Give the officer as few things to remember about you as possible. This is not the time to get upset or try to make excuses. While your ticket is being written, make note of as much data as you can. Weather conditions, exact locations, and what you were wearing are things that you should write down. Little things that do not seem important then may help you win in court later. After you sign your citation, ask the officer if you can see the radar readout. If you are permitted to see it, make note of the model number or manufacturer of the radar unit. After the officer returns to his car, stay at the scene for no more than a minute or two, writing your notes. When you leave the scene, pull away safely. It is always a good idea to plan ahead. Be prepared for your day in court. If possible, return to the scene of the citation. Take pictures, and look around carefully for anything you may have previously missed. When you go to traffic court to plead your case, there are many different defenses you can use. If the officer wrote the ticket out of jurisdiction, there is an excellent chance that your case will be dismissed. The same goes for factual errors on the ticket, such as a mistake in your name, address, or license plate number. Another defense is the "speed defense". Speed defense implies that your need to speed was a determining factor in protecting yourself. Perhaps you were doing 55 in a zone where everyone else was doing 70, and in order to avoid the potential of an accident, you had to accelerate to match the speed of the surrounding traffic. You might also have had a tailgater behind you who is coming up rather quickly and you had to accelerate to get out of their way, in order to protect yourself. If you know anything about how radar detectors operate, you can try to prove that the officer's unit was not properly calibrated. A calibration by tuning fork must be performed on a radar unit before and after a citation is issued. That is a good thing to ask the officer. Do your research, all it takes up is some of your time, while a ticket takes up a lot of your money. Sometimes your best defense is none at all: the officer may not show up in court to testify. This means that the prosecution cannot prove their case and you will get a dismissal. Also, if two officers were involved (one to write the ticket and one that operated the radar unit) and one is not present, the prosecution cannot possibly prove their case. Even if the officer or officers do come, he or they may not remember enough of the details necessary to find you guilty. One of your basic rights is to ask questions of the officer; do not be afraid to ask for clarification of anything you do not agree with or understand. Previously, I mentioned that you should make notes of every minute detail when you were pulled over. The reason is simple: you are acting as your own defense attorney in this case, and your job is to discredit the officer. Asking the officer questions such as what shade of blue your car is, or how many passengers were riding with you, is a good way to break down the officer's testimony. He will most likely not remember many of the details you are asking him to recall. If the officer looks to his notes for answers, object, citing that the officer must show independent r...