Getting a traffic ticket can be frustrating, with the high fines and other penalties like points on your license and the possibility of suspension, you may even find that your insurance premiums go up. But you don’t have to make the city’s or county’s work easy for them by paying or pleading guilty.
You have every right to fight the ticket in court, after all, you have the right to the presumption of innocence. If you’re unsure how to navigate this process, you may seek the services of a traffic ticket attorney who will represent you in the court. An experienced attorney will not be intimidated by the evidence presented by the police officers, nor the prosecutors, and will be easily able to find loopholes in the case against you.
5 things you can do in court:
- Challenge the Officer’s Subjectivity: Often, cops use their judgement to decide if you have violated the law. You can easily challenge this by arguing that the officer’s vision was partially or fully obstructed at the time or was busy with another task and so on.
- Challenge the Cop’s Observation: Usually the cop has an advantage as officers are called upon to make an objective judgement. However you can use witness statements, diagrams and/or photos to show the location of your vehicle, the officer, the signal or stop sign, and so on, to prove your innocence.
- Argue Mistake of Fact: You can always argue the traffic sign was obscured by a tree leaves, or that the pedestrian cross walk markers had faded and were not clearly visible, and that is why you committed the infraction.
- Legally Justified Conduct: You can argue that the circumstances forced you to commit the infraction, for example, you had sudden chest pain or loss of vision and so increased speed to reach medical help.
- Avoiding Harm: You can also argue that you had to speed to get out of the way of another dangerously swerving or speeding vehicle, and to safety. Often you have to take evasive action to protect yourself or others.
Judges often give due consideration to these challenges before passing judgement,
however, the law is complex and it’s not very easy to arguing this yourself. Hiring an experienced ticket lawyer would be your best chance to beat a traffic ticket and possibly avoiding penalties and/or fines.
At the Law Offices of Kevin Heaney, we have the experience to efficiently and effectively fight your ticket in court. Call (415) 302-9609 to schedule your free initial consultation.