Some things to keep in mind when making this decision are:

• Was I doing excessive speed?
• Can I afford to have the points added to my record?
• Do I want the ticket on my records?
• Am I willing to pay the extra insurance premiums because of this ticket?
• Can I afford the fine?

If your answer to any of the questions is no, then you should consider fighting this ticket! If you truly feel you deserved the ticket, then you must deal with the consequences of such. You may even want to consider going to driving school and paying the fine in trade for a clear conscious.

How Do I Start To Fight This Ticket?

You may not need the use of a lowyer unless there are other circumstances surrounding the citation. Were you accused of drinking? Was anything illegal found in your car? If not, you probably can win this on your own and save attorney fees. After all, you have all the information from the ticket, and the memory of that awful experience as your defense. But this report is in no way a substitute for legal counseling from a competent professional attorney. It has to be your choice.

The first item on the agenda is to make sure your driving record is in impeccable order. If you have a parking ticket, take care of it. Make sure your tag and registration is up to date. If you have any previous tickets, get a printout of your points and what they were for. Review the ticket for accuracy. Was the correct statute used? If not, you may have grounds for "motion to dismiss".

The second item will be to arrange for a court date. To do this you must enter your plea of Not Guilty to the court. You can do this in person to the Clerk of the Court, the Judge himself or mail a copy of the citation with a formal request for a trial date. Contact you local authorities to see what is the best method for you. You may be requested to actually pay the fine at this time. If you lose the trial, you will have already paid the fine and are done with it. You cannot be charged additional fees because you challenged the ticket. Should you not be able to attend the trial for any reason, you do not want to be charged with a Failure to Appear for wasting the courts time.

Your trial will be within the next 45 days if you request a Speedy Trial. You don't have to have a Speedy Trial if you feel it would be at a busy time for you. Also, the longer you wait, the less the officer will remember about you and the ticket. However, some people just want to get this over with before they lose their desire to fight. Weigh all the factors before making a decision.

Should you elect to have a Speedy Trial and the courts respond that the officer will be off work that day, or possibly on vacation and would like to reschedule, you should say no and refuse to waive your rights to a Speedy Trial. If they proceed to reschedule, then you may now have grounds for a mistrial.

Do your homework. Go to your local library or law library (most court houses have one and are open to the public) and research your state statutes regarding speeding tickets and your rights to a Speedy Trial. Your time is as important as an officers days off or vacation time. If the judge finds that the prosecutor had reasonable cause to continue your case, then go with it. Do not do anything to make the judge angry. You can always appeal if you lose, and it will almost always be overturned.

Preparing Your Defense: Gathering Your Data

You have the right to subpoena documents used in issuing this citation or witnesses that will be beneficial to you. (Do not subpoena the officer or any officer who assisted in the ticket.) You can do this through a public Records Request Form. See your Clerk of the Court for details.

When requesting a subpoena for documents, make sure that you include records involving the radar gun if one was used. Ask for all logs referring to calibrtions, FCC License use (who at that that department was trained and certified to use it), any repairs, problems or specifications pertaining to that radar gun, including the tuning fork.

Ask for records concerning the officer issuing the ticket. Request information regarding his formal training and certification in using the radar gun, how many tickets were issued that day and for the previous 20 work days, specifics on the patrol car or motorcycle that he used to make this traffic stop. This is very important if he did not use a radar gun, but clocked your speed on his speedometer. The prosecution can request that your request be denied with "motion to protect" which could keep you from accessing these documents. Should this happen, you need to document it carefully and when your court dates comes up, ask for a "motion to dismiss". If this does not work, ask the judge why you are being denied pertinent information to help substantiate your case. He may decide to grant your request at this time and you can file for a "motion for continuance" so you can now prepare your case.

Once you have all the documents in hand, you will need to review every piece of evidence available. Did the radar gun's records show excessive repairs? If so, it could have problems of accuracy. If no records are found, it could show that the unit was under duress and in need of maintenance. The manufacturers manuals will detail how often routine maintenance is needed.

Radar calibration is used to check the unit for accuracy. It must be logged in and recorded each time it is checked and should also be certified each time. Some experts will way that to be completely accurate, a radar gun must be calibrted immediately before and immediately after a ticket is written with a tuning fork. Has this been done? Has the department met all the specifications of the FCC License that allows them to use the radar gun?

On the issue of the officer's records, you will want to look for excessive tickets issued, a certain area used, was the same gun used several times that day before you got your ticket? If so, you could prove that the gun was under duress from excessive use. Was the other tickets that day issued for approximately the same speed? Maybe the unit was malfunctioning. How many hours did the officer train before being allowed to use the radar gun? There are standards set by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. You should check with your local area to see if hours of classroom instruction with an additional 16 hours of field training through a qualified supervisor.

Should your stop have resulted from a patrol car speedometer or the officers estimated guess system, you will need to have records detailing the maintenance on the patrol car. If using the guessing system, most officers are trained to judge an oncoming vehicle within 3 miles per hour of their speed. Others may use their speedometer to pace the car going the same direction. If, records are very important to describe the stress on the vehicle and the officer.

Now that you have gathered this information, you will need to create a list of questions for the officer to be answered in court. Start with the most important. Some sample questions are listed in the next few pages.

Sample Questions, Motions, and Objections

These questions would be directed to the officer issuing the ticket:

• How long have you been a police officer?

• Have you had recent, extensive training in estimating a vehicles speed, or the use of radar detection?

• Are you certified as a radar detection officer?

• Have you ever had problems using a radar gun?

• What about this gun in particular?

• Are you aware of the maintenance records and calibration logs pertaining to this radar gun?

• Has this unit, or any radar unit available through your department ever had problems with accuracy?

• To properly use radar gaun, how close do you need to be to get an accurate reading?

• Do you know the range that is best suited for this type of radar gun?

• Is there anything that can encumber the radar beam? Would you give some examples?

• If two cars are both traveling side by side in the same direction, at close speeds, how can your radar gun distinguish which car is traveling faster?

• Are you trained in visual speed detection?

• Do you routinely use your patrol car speedometer to measure a motorists speed?

• When you observed my vehicle, was there any other cars on the road? In what direction were they going?

• Can you recall the position you were in when you first saw my vehicle? Were you standing still? Driving in your car? Sitting in a still car?

• Was my car moving in the same direction as your car or going in the opposite direction?

• Did you notice my vehicle before you used the radar gun on me?

• Approximately how long did you have my vehicle under observation?

• What brought my vehicle to your attention?

You may want to bring in some questions regarding more personal information at this time. Do not start with trivial questions first. Get the important information out first and try not to waste the courts time.

Motions to Research:

• Motion to Dismiss due to:
  1. The denial to a Speedy Trial
  2. Lack of evidence
  3. Deniel access to necessary evidence
  4. Missing officer
  5. Inadequate procedures

Objections to Research:

• Irrelevant
• Immaterial
• Foundation
• Speculation
• Hearsay
• Conclusion

Be prepared to use any and all of this information in court. Be thorough and precise in your documentation. Make a list of the most important information for quick reference. You don't want to be nervous in court and forget something important.

Your are ready for battle! While the prosecutor may be more familiar with these situations, you have the benefit of actually being present at the stop and memory recall.

• Use it to your advantage.

Make sure that you are dressed to make a good impression. This means tasteful clothing; nothing flashy or inappropriate. The first impression you make will be before you ever get to say anything.

Who's Who In The Court Room

There may be several to many trials going on that day, and you will have to wait your turn. It could take all day! Be patient. Get there early and let them know when you arrive, that you would like to be placed as early as possible on the docket for your scheduled time.

Once it is your case's turn, you will be sworn in by the Clerk of the Court to tell the truth. The prosecution will be allowed to go first to present their case. (Remember to always refer to the judge as Your Honor> He/she is not someone you want to start off on the wrong foot with by making a simple mistake in showing respect.) Should the officer not appear in court at this time, the judge can give reasonable time for him to appear or throw the case out. The prosecution will be allowed to give their opening statement first to present their case. Then you may proceed to give your opening statement. Take notes of what they plan to prove and how, and compare it to your notes. You may have to do some rearranging at this time.

Next, you will be allowed to make your opening statement and state how you plan to defend yourself. Give only the basics, and keep it simple and short. You may elect not to give an opening statement. You might choose this option if you don't want to give the prosecutor any idea what your defense is going to be, so he can dispute it before you have a chance to defend yourself.

Once opening statements are completed, the prosecution will call his/her first witness, the officer issuing the citation. He will ask him for details of the event. Remember, the burden is on the prosecutor to prove you are guilty. If the officer must read from his notes, you should object and request that the officer testify from 'independent recall'. You can also ask to see what the officer is reading from even if it is only the citation itself. If the officer cannot testify without the use of notes, then he should be considered incompetent to testify. If the judge allows him to use the citation or notes to continue, make sure he refers only to the specifics on the notes. Any abbreviations should be abbreviated in court. He must read it exactly as written.

If you feel a question is completely irrelevant to the ticket, you may object and you certainly should if the situation warrants so. But beware, if you object too many times without due cause, the judge will just become annoyed with you.

Now you will have a chance to cross examine the witness. This is where your list of questions will be utilized. Ask each one precisely and with surety.

Example:

• "Officer Smith, on the day this ticket was issued, do you recall what the traffic pattern was ten minutes before and after this stop?"

Go through each of your questions and ask the officer to be very specific with his answer. Chances are, he will not remember very much about minor details concerning this stop when he has stopped many others since then. Your job is to make him lose creditability with the court. Make him appear to not remember very much about this entire situation.

When you are through cross examining him, the prosecutor will have a chance to once again question him. He may then request any physical evidence they have, such as a diagram, photos, the citation itself or a police report if one was written. During this time, the officer may give a narrative, or brief statement in his own words of what happened and why he issued the ticket. The prosecution will most likely rest his case at this point, unless other witnesses are necessary. If so, the same procedure will follow.

Once the prosecution has rested his case, you can make a Motion to Dismiss by Defense if you feel you have sufficient evidence to do so. Otherwise, you will now present your side.

You will be offered the same respect and courtesies the prosecution, and may now state your side of the story if you so chose. You do not have to testify. If you do, the prosecution will have the opportunity to object to your testimony just as you had when the officer was testifying. The prosecution will now have the chance to question you directly concerning the citation. Otherwise, you now present your evidence (diagrams, photos, reports, etc.) which will now be recorded as Exhibits (A, B ,C, etc.). You should give detailed statements concerning why you feel these are pertinent to your case. You may want to rest your case now with a closing argument reiterating your innocence

Note, the prosecution can once again call for witnesses to clarify any statements.

Once both parties have rested their case, it is now in the hands of the judge. The judge may take a few minutes to review his notes or may respond immediately.

You are looking for a verdict of Not Guility. If this is the case, congratulations. Drive carefully and celebrate your win! If however, the verdict is Guilty, then know you have done your very best to defend yourself. Should you decide to appeal this to a higher court, you will need to hire a lawyer and be prepared to pay a fee regardless of the outcome. This could be a very expensive endeavor and you should think very seriously about whether or not to appeal.

Finally, take a good look at your driving habits. do you tend to be a little heavy footed? Are you always in a hurry? If so, consider slowing down. It not only will save you the time and aggravation of defending another speeding ticket, it just may save someones life.

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From the Declaration of Principals jointly adopted by a committee of the American Bar Association and a committee of Publishers and Associations.

The author and publisher does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities resulting from the actions of any parties involved.