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WHERE'S THE FIRE:
Plain Talk About Speeding Tickets And Little Courts

There is nothing like the thrill of the open highway. The music on the stereo provides a sound track, the car is running smoothly, your mind is on other things, and then, as you crest the hill, you see the trooper in the rear view mirror with red flashing lights. Or he's parked at the side of the road, radar gun in hand. You can slam on the brakes, a sure giveaway that you were speeding, but by then it's too late. You just got a speeding ticket.

A speeding ticket is perhaps the most common, minor legal problem. Although it is the "common cold" of legal problems, it's one that is seldom understood by drivers. A speeding ticket is strange because unlike most legal disputes, you can't win at trial, and trying to win only makes the situation much, much worse.

There are two ways effectively to handle a speeding ticket. There is nothing innovative about either of these. Both approaches are simply good, traditional legal practice. First, you can mail the ticket in with a guilty plea to the charge. That will result in a fine and points on your driver's license and, perhaps, an increase in your insurance premium. It will also begin a process that may culminate in license suspension or revocation if you get other tickets in the future or had others in the past. Mailing in a guilty plea will end the case immediately, but it probably won't get you the most favorable disposition.

The only other way to handle the ticket is to plead not guilty by mail. This means that you want the state to prove that you are guilty of speeding. The "not guilty" plea on the back of a New York State Uniform Traffic Ticket (called a "U.T.T.") also asks if you want a "supporting deposition." A supporting deposition is a long form, sworn description of the violation charged in the ticket. It is NOT recommended that you request this. Although dismissal of the charges may result if the deposition is not furnished on time, dismissal on this ground is a very long shot. Instead, the request for a deposition serves primarily to anger the officer by requiring paperwork and to make the officer's negotiating position less flexible.

After pleading not guilty by mail, you are notified of a trial date. On that date the officer is required to appear, and you, or your attorney, should be able to appear and negotiate a reduction in the speed or to some other charge that, hopefully, will not effect your insurance, or result in too many points or too big a fine. This negotiation will in all likelihood most often get you an acceptable disposition of the ticket. There are exceptions though: drivers who verbally upbraid the officer, drivers who flaunt radar detectors, drivers who argue their innocence at the roadside, drivers who are discourteous all receive harsher treatment.

Notice that one of your options is NOT going to trial. Going to trial is almost sure to garner you a conviction on the charged violation and subject you to the largest possible fine with the full compliment of points. Why? Because the trial is going ultimately to come down to whether the justice of the peace believes you or a trooper or deputy who has testified in hundreds of similar routine cases, who the justice realizes is a major source of revenue for the Town, and who appears constantly before this very judge. The trooper is never going to testify that your ticket was given in error. If the trooper were going to testify to that, you would be told that the ticket would be dismissed BEFORE the trial starts. To be blunt, you cannot win this case at trial, regardless of your version of events, and it's a tactical mistake to think you can.

Well, if you're not going to trial, do you need to be represented by a lawyer on your speeding ticket? The decision here is entirely economic. If your speed was a 4-pointer or less, if you live near the Court, and if have an evening to spend waiting, you can probably negotiate a reasonably acceptable plea bargain that will not effect your insurance or give you too many points. If you were charged with driving faster than a 4-point speeding ticket, if you also got some other kind of ticket, or if you live further away and don't have the time to drive to court, wait for your case to be called by the trooper, wait for the court to call the case, and then drive home, a lawyer can appear INSTEAD OF YOU, negotiate the best deal, and arrange for you to pay the fine by mail. This is not cheap, but it is probably the best, most reliable solution to your speeding ticket.

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