Cop gave me a break, should I fight the speeding ticket?

[vyfxdotcom]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

Last week I was on the Parkway here in NJ and was (very stupidly) driving 88MPH in a 65MPH zone.. traffic was moving at about 80MPH steadily, which is no excuse, but I wasn't otherwise recklessly driving, etc.

I came around a bend and a State Trooper nailed me for speeding and pulled me over. He was very nice and asked about my prior record. Given that I had no points and was honest and upfront about speeding, he cut me a huge break and instead gave me a 2-point ticket for going "74 in a 65" (a 9-over-the-limit ticket). In NJ that means 2 points and a $85 fine vs. 5 points and a $500 fine.

He let me go with no reckless/careless driving, no mandatory court appearance, etc.. now is where ethics comes into play. Should I still plead Not Guilty and try to get the prosecutor to lessen the offense to prevent the points from going on my record?

I have never had a moving violation since I began driving 10 years ago. I don't know if pleading Not Guilty will be offensive to the trooper, or if the prosecutor will be able to tell I was going 88? The ticket itself had no notes on it, just "74 in a 65". What I don't want is to go to court and have the trooper recant his break and tell the judge my true speed.

Any advice? First time fighting a moving violation. Thanks.

 

[cbg]

So despite being admittedly guilty and having been cut a huge break, acknowledging that you were indeed guilty of an offense for which you could have had a much heavier penalty, you think you would be justified in going into court and looking for yet another break you don't deserve?

Nice job taking responsibility for your own actions.

 

[vyfxdotcom]

So despite being admittedly guilty and having been cut a huge break, acknowledging that you were indeed guilty of an offense for which you could have had a much heavier penalty, you think you would be justified in going into court and looking for yet another break you don't deserve?

Nice job taking responsibility for your own actions.

Thanks for your input. I'm not the first person to take a ticket to court that had been reduced due to having a clean driving record.

 

[cbg]

I'm sure you're not. That doesn't make it right.

If the only answer you wanted to hear was that yes, you should absolutely fight the ticket no matter what, you should have said so at the beginning. But you asked whether we thought you should, and my opinion is that you should not. My opinion is that moral, ethical adults who know they were wrong and deserve consequences will accept them.

Guess you don't fit into that category.

 

[HighwayMan]

Should I still plead Not Guilty and try to get the prosecutor to lessen the offense to prevent the points from going on my record?

That is entirely up to you. Your past record has no bearing on this.

Keep in mind that you don't know what information the prosecutor may be getting on this. If you fight it the charge may be amended to what it should have been and then you'll be screwed.

 

[adjusterjack]

Thanks for your input. I'm not the first person to take a ticket to court that had been reduced due to having a clean driving record.

Highwayman is right. You plead not guilty, you go to trial, the officer testifies that you were doing 88 and admitted it, might even have recorded you, the judge amends the citation and you're toast.

Take the gift and pay more attention to your driving in the future. Never mind what other drivers are doing. You do the speed limit and you'll never get cited for speeding.

 

[vyfxdotcom]

Thanks all, I will probably just pay it and deal with it.

If I were to request discovery for the stop / officer's notes, and the officer did *not* make a note of the initial speed at which he clocked me (88MPH), would a verbal testimony of him saying I was traveling 88MPH hold up in court? If the notes are either non-existent or only mention 74, I would imagine it would be hard to prove otherwise.

I am thinking of seeing what's in the discovery and if a mention of the initial clocked speed is in there just paying the ticket.. but if not, working with the prosecutor on 0 points and a fine.

Thanks again.

 

[HighwayMan]

... would a verbal testimony of him saying I was traveling 88MPH hold up in court?

Yes it would.

There IS such a thing as independent recollection. Notes do not have to be recorded for every facet of the encounter.

 

[ejames23]

Thanks all, I will probably just pay it and deal with it.

If I were to request discovery for the stop / officer's notes, and the officer did *not* make a note of the initial speed at which he clocked me (88MPH), would a verbal testimony of him saying I was traveling 88MPH hold up in court? If the notes are either non-existent or only mention 74, I would imagine it would be hard to prove otherwise.

I am thinking of seeing what's in the discovery and if a mention of the initial clocked speed is in there just paying the ticket.. but if not, working with the prosecutor on 0 points and a fine.

Thanks again.

You are free to do what you want, however you indicated it would be a minimal fine and small points. I do not see you getting out of this speeding ticket anyways. You admitted you were speeding. Are you going to lie on the witness stand and say you were not speeding at all?

Is your time (taking off days of work, going to court multiple times, etc) worth saving 85 bucks and a couple of points? Even if you admit to speeding 1 mile an hour over the speed limit, it is the same amount of points as you are sitting at now.

Also, if you complete 1 year of no violations (which seems pretty easy given your past record), then those points will drop off.