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Going to court

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pat-rickdaigle
Posts: 8556 - Karma: 1,020
so i got a ticket for riding a motor vehicle on a atv trail but want to fight it because all i was doing was using the trail to turn around. how do i go about doing this?
my dad says theyre gonna sk me if i plead guilty or not guilty and then he has no idea. if i plead not guilty do they figure it out right then and there or do i have to go back to court at a later date? can n e 1 help? thanks.
Dec 8 2005 8:29PM
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Ski_Unit_19
Posts: 8188 - Karma: 38
just hope the cop doesnt show up... then you win!!!
Dec 8 2005 8:30PM
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imotion
Posts: 1343 - Karma: 11
how much is the fine, sometimes its not worth it. but its ridiculous fight it, it takes a long as time for charges sometimes or they may just drop em
Dec 8 2005 8:31PM
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pat-rickdaigle
Posts: 8556 - Karma: 1,020
like 150
Dec 8 2005 8:32PM
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Timmy_G
Posts: 3735 - Karma: 15
tell the judge your side, maybe he will understand. Tell him your intentions werent bad. If you were cooperative with the cop everything should be ok.
Dec 8 2005 8:33PM
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crunkkrew*tck
Posts: 199 - Karma: 9
the cop doesn't have to show up, yeah you say what you plead and the judge will look it over and give you the fine.
Dec 8 2005 8:33PM
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SchweitzerSki
Posts: 4479 - Karma: 11
k no. you make your plead, then you will come back at a later date because the first court date you're in a room with a bunch of other fuckers who have to make their plead. the judge will set up another court date for you and most likely the cop will not show up. so just make sure you go to all your court dates and make your plead and you should be fine
Dec 8 2005 8:35PM
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imotion
Posts: 1343 - Karma: 11
plant a bomb or run in there with a gun hahah
Dec 8 2005 8:35PM
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Capt.Flannel
Posts: 10928 - Karma: 36
Plea Not guilty and talk to the prosecuter to pay off the fine and you'll be set. My buddy went to court last week for a hit and run and I called up my lawyer buddy and he said ALWAYS plead not guilty and ask to talk to the prosecuter.
Dec 8 2005 8:36PM
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skiierman
Posts: 28699 - Karma: -5,563
Plead not guilty and you do go to court where you appear in front of a judge in a very un-official manner. If the cop himself, or a representative of that cop doesn't show up then you are free to go because they failed to prepare a case against you. If he does show up, try anyways because in most cases the charges will be decreased or you'll be offered an ultimatem (spp?). In which case you can take a defensive driving course, or whatever else they give you.
Dec 8 2005 8:39PM
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pat-rickdaigle
Posts: 8556 - Karma: 1,020
ok
i will plead not guilty and heres another thing..the ciop told me it would only be a 50$ fine and i was fine with that but when i got the papers in the mail saying when my court date was it said it was not 100 pluss court fees, whats up with that?

so there is no way i can tell the judge tommorow what happened, i have to wait till he assigns a later date?
Dec 8 2005 8:43PM
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crunkkrew*tck
Posts: 199 - Karma: 9
the cop doesnt have to be there anymore, thats the crowns job to prosecute you. that is old skool law that he has to be there, too many people would get off simply cause the cop didnt show up.
Dec 8 2005 8:45PM
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skiierman
Posts: 28699 - Karma: -5,563
Dude there are no court fees, that cop is bullshitting you.
Dec 8 2005 8:45PM
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pat-rickdaigle
Posts: 8556 - Karma: 1,020
there is here man, i know that for a fact.
Dec 8 2005 8:46PM
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skiierman
Posts: 28699 - Karma: -5,563
What state?
Dec 8 2005 8:47PM
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grubix2
Posts: 2628 - Karma: 25
How old are you and do you have a previous record of moving violaions???
Dec 8 2005 8:52PM
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bueyan
Posts: 1092 - Karma: 34
dood, technically you were on a path that you weren't suppose to be on... they caught you... you have to pay a ticket...
its like saying ' i was only using the handicapped parking section for a minute. you were still in it
Dec 8 2005 9:06PM
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sherpasrock
Posts: 2382 - Karma: 10
if you do go....make sure you dress nice and be all "yes sir, no ma'am." first impressions are key. my friend got off of like a 300 dollar speeding ticket by fighting it, and it probably helped a ton that he dressed buisness like and acted accordingly.
Dec 8 2005 9:12PM
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pat-rickdaigle
Posts: 8556 - Karma: 1,020
yeah but there was no other way of getting out unless i would back up on this shitty dirt road for a mile, so it's liek taking a handicap parking space cuz it was the only one open and noone was leaving.
Dec 8 2005 9:12PM
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bigsoxfan
Posts: 734 - Karma: 10
still takin the spot tho buddy...sucks that u got caught tho hope they let u off
Dec 8 2005 10:01PM
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spyder1
Posts: 1529 - Karma: 11
ya fight it and look responsible, no hat, comb your hair, look mature.(i dont know how you dress now) my buddy got a speeding ticket and he fought it but it was 150$ also. He had it removed off his driving record but he had to pay the 150$ but it wasnt to the governmetn it was to a charity of his choice. GOod luck though
Dec 8 2005 11:58PM
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PurpleSkier
Posts: 5634 - Karma: 311
You might as well plead no contest. You'll probably get off with a slap on the wrist, and MAYBE traffic school. Since you're a minor, and your dad is clueless as to what you should plead, the judge will probably think you're out of control and were fucking around.
Dec 9 2005 12:06AM
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Jaskittin
Posts: 5606 - Karma: 195
Depends what you are getting charged with. I would just plead guilty, you will get the fine reduced and probably traffic school so that it doesn't go on your record. That sucks you had a dick for a cop.
Dec 9 2005 12:08AM
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PurpleSkier
Posts: 5634 - Karma: 311
If you plead guilty, it goes on your record. You should know better than that, in MT it goes on your crim record...duh man.
Dec 9 2005 12:10AM
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Jaskittin
Posts: 5606 - Karma: 195
^Nope not true with traffic violations. I got a speeding ticket, and got the fine reduced with traffic school deferred sentence. I did my traffic school and kept my driving record clean for 6 months and now its gone.
Dec 9 2005 12:14AM
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PurpleSkier
Posts: 5634 - Karma: 311
Yeah, if that's the case, the judge documented that you plead no contest. If you plead guilty, it's an automatic blurb on your record. He probably documented no contest because you're like 16-17 and didn't have any clue.
Dec 9 2005 12:16AM
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heavymetalwinner
Posts: 655 - Karma: 11
your case is based on compassion. traffic and parking fines have a a rule where they will not void tickets due to compassion cases. you have to have proof, and in your case theres no proof. you screwed. just pay the $150 and save yourself 2 days of trouble pleading not guilty.
Dec 9 2005 12:22AM
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.nafus.
Posts: 1298 - Karma: 10
i got a huge ticket for sppeding last year (113 in a 75+reckless driving) and got it reduced way down but it took forever although the actual days in court werent that bad, jsut dress nice and be respectful to tthe judge and depending on where you live if the cop dosent show up you may get off becasue there woudl be no witness against you, also if you dotn want to waste a couple days in court jsut pay the fine and court costs can get high($72 for me per day but that was bullshit. okay basically jsut pay it unless you really dotn want ot pay but know you might end up payin alot anyways
Dec 9 2005 12:28AM
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sneather
Posts: 6672 - Karma: 19
ya that happened to my parents. they got caught for running a red light in the states and the cop didn't show up to court so they got off
Dec 9 2005 9:18AM
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bueyan
Posts: 1092 - Karma: 34
ya they like never show up if its somthing little like that
Dec 9 2005 10:26AM
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Aseets
Posts: 2171 - Karma: 17
If you plead not guilty, go to your later court date and are found to be not guilty... then all your court fees will be returned to you.
A couple years ago I got fined for shitting into a golf hole on a country club course, and I got my ticket in the mail, sent in $50 for court fees and the I got another letter for my court date. When I went to the court the second time I talked with the judge and he and the officer agreed that if I stayed out of trouble for the next 3 months the charges would be dropped and everything would be as if nothing ever happened. I stayed out of trouble got my $50 back and here I am with a clean record.
Dec 9 2005 10:40AM
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OAK_TREE
Posts: 2683 - Karma: 12
I just went to court for a speeding ticket. You get to the building and you tell them that you are here and then you wait for your name to be called and then you go back to a court room with a whole bunch of other people. the judge comes in and then the baliff calls your name and you stand in front of the judge. he will ask you how you plead. if not guilty then he tells you a day to come back and then on that day you show up and then the actual case begins. if you plead guilty (which was what i did) the judge will tell you how much you have to pay and by what date. normally they will lower the cost and weaken the penalty if you show up to court. it isn't that bad of a thing. in fact it was pretty fun because the girl that went in front of me had to pay $400 in 90 days because she drove without a license, no insurance, and was tailgateing someone. she was funny looking too. but it isn't a big deal just plea how you want to and the best of luck.
Dec 9 2005 7:54PM
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garrett.
Posts: 9304 - Karma: 3,670
have you ever watched law and order?
Dec 9 2005 8:11PM
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Edward.
Posts: 9366 - Karma: 445
cant you just do community service or something?
Dec 9 2005 8:20PM
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CooksCorner
Posts: 3939 - Karma: 22
^for a ticket????? its not underage were talking about here
Dec 9 2005 8:22PM
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Ghost
Posts: 7116 - Karma: 339
Rule #1:
If you go to court. Don't ever mention '..want to fight it because all i was doing was using the trail to turn around.'

The law tries to be black and white. Either you're found guilty or not guilty. If you mention that you were on the trail even if it was only for a half second you will be found guilty right then and there. End of story. Because by mentioning that you were in fact on that trail just admitted guilt.

Don't mention it whatsoever. If the judge asks you what happened. Don't tell him a word. Simply say 'Your honor, I do not wish to testify against myself. So I choose to be silent.' And he will completely respect that. It's up to the cop (figuring he shows in the first place) to prove you were even on the trail in the first place.

Contrary to popular belief, the judge won't care what story you have to tell him. You could tell him you went on the trail in order to help out nuns at a misisonary, and he'd still find you guilty.

Both the judge and cop have been through this system a million times. It's just a source of generating money.

If they ask you to speak and tell them what happened, don't. You have every right to remain silent. And anything you say they can and WILL use against you. Remember you are the defendant here. It rests solely in the hands of the prosecutor (cop in this case) to prove you were even on the trail in the first place.
Dec 9 2005 8:31PM
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garrett.
Posts: 9304 - Karma: 3,670
^listen to him
Dec 9 2005 8:40PM
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spin
Posts: 1330 - Karma: 11
look for discrepancies in the ticket. wrong birthday, scribbled/ illegable words, contradictory info (your fine 50->150) can all get you out, because it shows negligence on the cops part, and makes his evidence illegitimate. fight it on that ground, and then take ghostdragon's advice if they wont pass you through on that.
Dec 9 2005 9:07PM
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