Unless you have a lawyer- you just lost your case
But i suspect you will represent yourself.
The judge will not allow any latitude- you will be expected to be as knowledgeable as a lawyer. The prosecution will be able to rune circles around you
Far better to have trial by judge- I suspect great latitude will be given then
See if you can go to 'traffic school' then the ticket does not appear on your record
I was on a traffic Jury once, After five minutes of this clown ,if it was the "Gong Show" the gong would get hit
BTW we voted guilty with maximum fine
Originally Posted by instfixer
You are correct about having to be as knowledgable as a lawyer. But some things need to stay off dmv reports (read cdl drivers) and a trial by jury is your best bet to get off. Unless you really F*d up and did a dumbass a jury trial will likely result in not guilty. Judges and prosecutors and in a lot of cases the officers work together in a way that they sometimes get the benefit of the doubt. A trial by jury removes that element. Jurors are significantly more understanding and lenient on how things can be interpreted. "Did that 1 foot past the stop sign really mean he ran it? " and they remember how often they have done the same thing.
But DEFINITELY pay to have a lawyer represent you and make sure you show up to fight it. A lot of times the officer is not present and it can be dismissed. They can't reschedule it indefinitely.
Just a little infor from experiance.