otakki

Well written letter. Hopefully things will work out for you soon. Best wishes.

CoolBDPhenom03

Thanks. It wasn't my intention, please explain.

farhadahmad

Damn this wont work for me. I had a few speeding in the past 5 years....
Congrats tho

bobafett

Verbiage means that you're bloviating - basically that you're writing long-winded and unnecessarily convoluted or technical or both. A negative connotation. Your letter was generally succinct, as you rightly indicated.

Did the officer respond or was it a default judgment based on non-response?

--Dan

bobafett

Yes it will. You have the right to a written declaration in CA regardless of how many tickets you've had. That's why I asked him whether the cop responded. For the very great majority, the officer doesn't respond (they're not paid to do extra paperwork, they are paid overtime to show up in court). The tactic is to offer ZERO information when you receive the ticket (don't admit to speeding, don't try to talk your way out of it, don't do anything except answer in the affirmative, negative or silence. Then, delay the process as many times as you can through extensions, etc. Finally, write your letter. The LEO only has his notes on the back of the ticket to go by, but if you proffered no information (driver admitted to speeding (if even by 1mph), etc) then he has something to report.

Between stacking the deck in your favor with respect to the possible argument and also doing as much as you can to ensure the officer doesn't respond, you'll win. Most of them (and I mean >90%) of the ones I've done or helped with have been won on summary judgment based on a lack of response. In CA, even if you lose the written trial, you have the right to a Trial De Novo. It's literally a free second chance. So why not try this every time and see if it works?

--Dan

jvanbrecht

And at the same time you probably won't make any friends in law enforcement..

I am pretty sure I pissed off every cop and local politician in my county after I ripped through the officers evidence on a traffic camera offense (they still send a LEO instead of the camera operator to court).

Rule number 1 of any digital device.. time stamps are the most important and must be accurate (the camera marked the ticket as 1130 am, I went through that stretch of road at 730). While the photo and speed were accurate, the time was off invalidating any evidence, my ticket, and every other ticket from that particular camera was invalidated (at least for those who contested it) between the last maintenance, and I am guessing the day after I went to court when they sent someone to fix it.

Police officer vs IT Security and Forensic specialist and consultant...

I usually win these cases.. not so much when I get pulled over though.

CoolBDPhenom03

Got it. My mistake. I don't think the officer responded either. I only know that I beat the ticket because I received a check in the mail (because you have to pay for the fine PLUS the traffic school fee if you're eligible when you contest a ticket, then they refund whichever portion after they decide on your case).

Yeah, you just have to watch out for the counties who DO pay overtime for this because the cities/counties rake in lots of revenue compared to the overtime they shell out.

Nice work! The cities are always retroactive like that. My buddy got a ticket for an illegal right turn off of a highway exit (there was a separate off ramp for that). However, one sign that was supposed to clearly indicate was obstructed by foliage and there was a second, smaller sign above the traffic light. But if you catch the green, you don't see that second sign until you turn the corner and are basically in the intersection. He fought it and lost, but that week, someone went by to trim the hedge that was blocking the first sign.

bushburninc63

if you were driving over the speed limit, admit fault and pay the fine. People like you is what is wrong with the world today.











just playing, good job :o

boost420

^No, sheep like you are the problem with society today. We all have the right to defend ourselves in court, and are assumed innocent till proven guilty, it is one of the god given rights of living in this country called the United States of America. I would rather see someone actively participate and make sure that the different branches of government are following checks and balances then to just see someone roll over and take it. Complacency does nothing but add to the erosion of our already shrinking civil rights. Thumbs up to the OP for fighting the fight.

bushburninc63

I guess you didn't read my "just playing, good job :o" comment

gthal

boost420

Whoops, sorry.....

GrnLantern

+1

Congrats on getting this resolved. And best of luck with your job situation.

CoolBDPhenom03

Thanks folks. Just got a call this afternoon to fly out to DC next week for a second interview. Wish me luck!

CoolBDPhenom03

Small update: I start a new job on the 27th

DiceCedes

Congrats and that is a big update! Good luck on the 27th.

CoolBDPhenom03

Hah, thanks man

BO Knows

Congrats!! Now you can put more mods on your car

CoolBDPhenom03

Like a SUPERCHARGER!!!







JK

flomofo

Congrats.

Also, you don't really offend Officers when you win in traffic court from experience. As long as your respectful like the officer hopefully is as well. I've also gotten tickets before and just pay them when I was in the wrong.

If someone wants to contest them even if they are guilty then I have no issues with it, but BOOST give me a break and don't call me a sheep please, you definately sound like a true believer lol.

CoolBDPhenom03

Actually, I got pulled a couple of weeks ago for speeding, but I talked the CHP down to a couple of fix-its. In retrospect, I had a suit hanging in the back for an interview and I should've just said I was late for an interview and had been unemployed for a while...maybe he would've let me off altogether. Anyway, one day before hitting the lap pool, I happened upon a couple of Walnut Creek officers. I approached them with my ticket and the guy was like "Oh, here, let me take care of that." No explanation or inspection needed.

So I obviously chatted with them for a bit thanking them for watching over our community - not just lip service. We had a break-in a year ago where some parolee had managed to break into a bunch of storage units in my condo and stole a ton of stuff including ALL of my motorcycle gear. Through an HOA facebook page, one of my neighbors was contacted because his name was on a receipt among stolen goods from his car. He knew most of us and our belongings and called us to retrieve them. So WCPD and SFPD helped recover almost all of the stolen items

So I figure the least I can do is thank them for signing my citation ($50 in the end for no front plate and tinted windows) and for playing their part in recovering probably $4k in moto gear.

flomofo

Always nice to hear about a good experience, especially in the bay area.

I think SFPD actually use their own citations now when possible, some people, including possibly a poster on this thread, think a cop writes you a ticket and is supporting the city's budget or something. But I think most of the money actually goes to state coffers (maybe it benefits CHP more then), so the local officer who writes it doesn't really collect a bunch of money for the city.

CoolBDPhenom03

Well, they do have quotas to fill...

flomofo

lol

drsullivan

Good luck with job hunt and your future.