I recently got a speeding ticket in Minnesota and the cop gave inaccurate vehicle information.?

Question

on the ticket it claims i was driving a red chevy Avalanche and i in fact drive a green ford escort and he got the plates wrong. I think i have a ticket half written for another car. Should i try and fight the ticket in court? if yes what should i say to the judge?

Answer 1

I recommend that you contact an attorney.

The police are allowed to amend the complaint so that the correct vehicle is described in the complaint.

However if the police officer was that distracted or negligent he may also have been too distracted or negligent to accurately determine your speed.

Many years ago I received a ticket that said that I was speeding, even though I was not speeding.

I hired an attorney, fought the ticket in court and won.

Essentially the police officer was distracted with several other issues that he had going and did not accurately determine my speed.

It takes an attorney with trial experience to bring this out is that is what happened.

Even though the attorney's fees were far more than the cost of the ticket I have found the money that I spent on that attorney to be the best investment that I have ever made.

I was just a kid in high school at the time. Winning in court gave me an enormous boost to my self confidence.

I found that older adult gave me much more respect because I had succeeded on my own in doing something that they had never succeeded at doing.

No matter what age you are, if you are not guilty there is nothing that beats winning your case in court, even if it is merely a piddling traffic ticket.

With respect to the responders who say that you can ignore the ticket, that is not true. Just because the vehicle description is not correct does not mean that you can ignore the ticket.

Not only would it be a mistake to ignore the ticket, but you would also miss out on winning this case in court which has benefits to you far beyond just winning the fight against the ticket itself.

Answer 2

You need to be very careful with some of the advice you are getting.  You cannot ignore the ticket.  If it has your name and license on it, YOU will be held responsible no matter what.  Having said that, there's a very good chance that you can get out of the ticket or get it reduced somehow.  You'll need to go talk to the prosecutor to make that happen, but it could definitely be worth your while.  Do some research and give it your best shot.

Answer 3

You can ignore it.  It does not match your vehicle.

I had a ticket once and the plate entered was a different state.  I ignored it.

Answer 4

Forget it.  The judge will side with the cop.

Answer 5

If your name is on it, you're still susposed to appear in court.  No, you cannot get out of it because of the incorrect vehicle information.  

Fight it how you would fight any ticket.  Explain the circumstance, why you sped, ect.  The incorrect info should have no bearing on the hearing's outcome.

Answer 6

If the plate is wrong, the ticket is void. Better look it over again just to be sure. Show your registration to the judge, then its up to him or her to decided.