Cop gave $300 speeding ticket...said did 86mph but really drove only 60mph with 65mph limit. Fight in court?

Question

I'm very upset. I was going 60mph with a posted speed limit of 65mph and a police officer had the nerve to pull me over, sayng I was going 86mph...telling me and my wife he used a laser. My wife was in the passenger seat, who seen the cop from far alrdy and agreed I was only doing 60mph...my wife asked the officer to show the laser reading...he just said to bring it to court if there any questions and DID NOT show us the laser reading. Also keep in mind that there was a second car next to us definitly going over speed limit that passed us up...my wife was trying to explain to the officer tht he might got the 86mph from the car tht passed us up...officer didn't want to hear it and wrote a speeding ticket for $300. We're very upset about it and wonder if there is a way get this dropped in court? Is it worth it to take this to court? PLEASE HELP!!!!

Answer 1

Yes go to court,  They will either drop it or reduce the fine and not report it to your insurance, it will be worth  your time to fight it

Answer 2

Take it to court, Do the best you can

To be honest you may lose easily because everybody goes on the "cops" side, suks but yea

Good luck :)

Answer 3

Take it to court. Plead "No Contest". The judge will  make you pay the fine but withhold points from your license as long as your driving record is decent. If you take it to court and you plead "Not Guilty" you would need to provide evidence that you were not doing 86 or hope that the judge believed you. And as for this guy above me that's been in law enforcement for 17 years that's just arrogance on his part. Yes sometimes judges are going to side with the officer but if he doesn't show up you have nothing to worry about.

Answer 4

There is no legal requirement for an officer to show the reading off a laser or radar.

As far as the speed, it is not how fast you were going when you saw him. It is how fast you were going when he saw you. If he did in fact clock the other car, you are going to have a difficult time proving it. The officer's testimony is almost always going to be given more credibility in court.

Answer 5

Dont go to court, you will lose cause of atleast these 2 reasons.

1) What the cop says is what goes

2) you have NO proof...(unless you took a picture of the Mph)

((by the way, i live in TX to :D ))

Answer 6

sadly the way it works in court on these situations is as long as the cop shows up your screwed i know many people who have tried and been very persuasive but still lost except one of my friends who had a lawyer but getting a lawyer is gonna cost you more than the ticket he used prepaid legal but you probably better off paying the ticket you could try to defend it but your chances of winning is slim

Answer 7

Take it to court and the officer will have to provide the evidence that you were doing 86. Make sure you bring your wife with you as a witness. More than likely either 1 the officer will not show up and you will win the case. Or 2 he will and will not have the evidence. If you in fact were not going 86 but 60. If he seems to have evidence than I would suggest pleading no contest and then you will probably only have to pay the ticket and court costs and not have any points on you license as long as you have a good driving record.

Answer 8

u should definitely bring this to court. I would say that u have a very good chance of getting the ticket dropped b/c mainly that the officer would NOT show u the laser reading AND u had a witness (ur wife).

Answer 9

If you HONESTLY weren't speeding, then of course I would take it to court.

It is about right vs wrong.  If you weren't doing anything wrong, then you shouldn't have to pay for it.

I took a ticket to court once, for not wearing my seatbelt.  Of course I was wearing it, you can't ride in my car without wearing one! It is my rule.

I took it to court and the judge dropped it since the officer couldn't prove I wasn't wearing one.

Answer 10

ABSOLUTELY but make sure you write down everything that happened and rehearse it as to sound firm and consistent in court. Research and question the device he was using and did you ask to see the reading? Because I certainly would have if i were wrongly accused of going 19mph over the speed limit.