Question about a traffic ticket

[UTIceberg]

Ok, for those of you that have contested tickets in the past, I received a "questionable" (in my opinion at least) speeding ticket as I was exiting the freeway in Houston's midtown. I'm considering going to court to see about fighting it but I had a couple questions.

1) If I show up for my court date that is listed on the ticket, will that be the opportunity I have to discuss my situation, present evidence, question the officer, etc?

2) Will I need an attorney for my court appearance (if I do, then this probably isn't worth it)?

3) Does anyone know if Houston has ticket "quotas" for their officers or if there is any other pressure or "expected" number of tickets that they must issue within a particular period (that I assume ends at the end of the month)?

 

[UTinBigD]

I would find an atty that specialized in getting speeding tickets 'fixed'. You pay $50, show up in court and say "here" when called and 10mins later your ticket is gone.

I used one in Dallas, so I know there has to be one in Houston that does the same thing.

Just based on posts from here and anecdotal evidence, seems like people who take the time to go down and contest the ticket are also successful in fighting the ticket. So doing it yourself might be a good option.

I suppose if you were a complete jackass to the cop and he makes a point to come to the court for your hearing then that would make it difficult to get off.

 

[UTIceberg]

I wasn't a jerk or anything like that, and was in fact quite respectful. Still, I feel like it was a bit of a speed trap that I got caught in. Additionally, there were several officers just standing there and it appeared to me that they were just taking turns handing out ticekts to the next sap that got off the freeway that wasn't gonig 30 MPH. The fact that it was the first of the month on a Friday afternoon made me question if there was some sort of quota they were all rushing to meet.

Again, any insight on this is helpful.

 

[mishatx]

If you go the lawyer route, you have to find one that specializes in speeding ticket dismissals in that court. My lawyer friends tell me that this is always a quasi-legal arrangement between the judge and that lawyer, and the magic ticket dismissal is not something any lawyer can do nor can it be done in just any court.

If you're willing to take the time, making the appearance by yourself will usually be a good proposition. If you get there and there is no witness to your case (the citing officer, since you didn't get in an accident), the case will be dismissed. I showed up at traffic court one day to serve as a witness when the lady who caused $8000 in damage to my car tried to fight her ticket, and I'd estimate 75-90% of the cases that day were dismissed because there was no cop there. Of those where there was a witness present, the prosecution spoke to each of them individually and offered defensive driving or deferred adjudication, so they were no worse off than if they hadn't come at all.

Supposedly, you can petition to change your court date, and doing so will increase the chance your officer will not appear.

I don't think knowing if the officers have quotas is going to help (and you'll get the standard line "we don't have quotas, but if we don't write enough tickets the brass will wonder what we're doing with our time"). If the speed limit off the ramp was 30 and you were going faster than 30 and got a ticket, the judge will probably hold it up unless you can prove the road or ramp wasn't properly signed or something. "He only gave me a ticket to fulfill his quota" or "he only gave me a ticket because it was a speed trap" are not good defenses.

 

[UT TOPS]

I would first see what an attorney who specializes in tickets will charge you, If the rate is tolerable to you go that route, if you end up trying to fight it your self- be prepared, take pictures of the exit ramp and where in relation to the ramp was the speed sign , where on the ramp you were clocked- and make an issue that you were clocked in front of the sign and by the time you reached the sign your speed as at the limit and that the
officers illegally ticketed you from a reading taken before the sign and that slowing down before entering the ramp was a hazard to the traffic not exiting the ramp- drown them in evedience- was there a witness in your car?
if there were multiple officers at the ticketing location try and call them as witnesses- at some point most prosecuters or judges will give up or at least try to get you to take defered adjudication
still i would try to have an attorney do my battle for me

 

[Statalyzer]

Also, most exit ramp speed limits are yellow, not white. This means they are "warning" or "advisory" limits, and it's not illegal to exceed them like a normal speed limit, it's just saying "Watch out, you probably shouldn't be going normal highway speed for this part".

If a corner says "Sharp turn - 45 mph" on a yellow sign and you can take the corner safely at 60, more power to you (unless 60 was also above the normal speed limit).

 

[scottsins]

the cop will definitely show up. their job requires it. they are disciplined in some manner for missing a court date.

also, if they are off duty, they are paid overtime to be there.

 

[zzzz]

In reply to:

---

---

 

[UTIceberg]

scottsin, I know you are an attorney so what's your take on handling this?

I'm a civil engineer and so I understand (and can speak to) things like safe stopping distances, roadway markings, etc. That is why I'm questioning this ticket in the first place. In my opinon, I'm not sure it would have been safe to reduce my speed from the rate I was traveling to the apparent posted speed (I was given a ticket for 40 MPH in a 30 MPH zone). I'm also not sure that there is a sign indicating the speed but I believe you must assume a speed fo 30 MPH in unposted areas.

Anyway, apparently you get on some sort of list when you get a ticket (I assume this is public information somehow) and I've gotten 8 or 10 letters from attorneys that "specialize" in handling traffic cases. If its gonna cost me less that $100, then is probably worth it, but I admit I wonder if hirning any of them will do me any good. I don't mind trying to represent myself, but if I show up at my court date, will that be the time I get my case heard? Do all the rules of evidence, witness, court proceeding, etc (about which I know very little) apply? Again, thanks for any comments/feedback/advice.