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Old 05-19-2015, 11:24 AM
 
3,424 posts, read 3,328,706 times
Reputation: 6171

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Ok. So I get a letter in the mail...apparently I'd received a ticket way back in 1997 in a neighboring town. They are threatening to suspend my license for this so-called violation. I don't remember getting any tickets, and if so, I'd have paid them immediately! I never received such notices between then and now! Do I fight it or just buckle under? Who knows - the cop that wrote the ticket could have retired by now; what happens in that case?
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Old 05-19-2015, 11:54 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,343 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57351
If you fight it in court and the cop doesn't show up the case is dismissed, in our state. You didn't mention where you are to get specific help, however there may be a deadline to fight it that has passed, in which case a warrant can be issued for ignoring it. At the least, ask for a copy of it showing the violation. car license number, time and date to see if it's truly yours. Most people would remember getting a ticket, especially a moving violation. If a parking ticket (you didn't mention that either) it may have been blown away in the wind or some passerby may have removed it. Still, it seems unlikely that they would go to any trouble tracking a ticket that old, I wonder if this is some new kind of scam. Look up the address to which the money should be sent and see if it's really the court/city.
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Old 05-19-2015, 01:30 PM
 
33,387 posts, read 34,745,522 times
Reputation: 20030
i agree with hemlock, start by getting a copy of the ticket and go from there. if the ticket is really yours, then you have two options, fight it, or pay it. if you decide to fight it, then start by checking the statute of limitations. if there is a statute that limits the time the jurisdiction has to prosecute these tickets, you might be able to get off on that technicality.
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Old 05-19-2015, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Vermont
11,754 posts, read 14,611,102 times
Reputation: 18503
I'm surprised that people think the OP still has a chance at fighting the ticket.

Obviously he should find out what happened, but don't be surprised if there was a very short time period, like twenty days, to contest the allegations. After that you may be out of luck.
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Old 05-19-2015, 02:45 PM
 
Location: WA
5,641 posts, read 24,904,544 times
Reputation: 6574
City and county bureaucracies often don't follow the rules so be careful.

I was charged with an infraction by a cop that was suspended and eventually fired for writing bogus tickets. Since I was out of town I retained a lawyer to handle the issue.

Five years later I am back in that town and find there is a warrant for my arrest and the lawyer is disbarred and gone. The judge and appeal judge were not interest in the facts and in the end it cost me over $1500, the ticket went on my record, and was told I was lucky I did not spend some time in jail.

BTW, even if the cop does not show (in my case he was gone) the prosecutor for the government can continue the case claiming he just needs time to get his witness lined up. Some small towns make a living going after drivers.
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Old 05-19-2015, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Florida
7,754 posts, read 6,334,569 times
Reputation: 15732
The issuing town may be going through old unpaid tickets in the interest of generating revenue. I would not let it fester and get worse. I would go to the town and investigate what they actually do have.

A lot of years ago a Jacksonville lady was getting harassed by NY for an unpaid ticket. That was back when new license plates were issued every year. NY had issued the ticket to the motorist who had that license number the year before.
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Old 05-19-2015, 07:00 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, Texas
4,287 posts, read 8,010,246 times
Reputation: 3938
Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting behavior by fiscally incompetent municipalities. PATHETIC!!
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Old 05-20-2015, 03:24 AM
 
Location: Old Bellevue, WA
18,782 posts, read 17,321,941 times
Reputation: 7990
As Hemlock put it, it is 'some new type of scam.' When I went to renew my WA driver's license last year I was told that I had to clear up a matter from Illinois. I hadn't lived in Illinois since around 1987, and in any case didn't remember any outstanding tickets or other problems. I've had a WA driver's license for over 20 years and renewed it every time without incident.

Illinois just wanted $70 to get on with my life so I logged on to their site and paid those Illinois scum suckers their $70. I wasn't going to fly back there and hire an attorney to fight it. Welcome to grifter nation.
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Old 05-20-2015, 04:19 AM
 
13,395 posts, read 13,457,370 times
Reputation: 35711
Or could it be...the OP really has a ticket he's forgotten about?

Get the details and if it all sounds in line, then pay it. Done deal.
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Old 05-20-2015, 05:25 AM
 
19,067 posts, read 25,221,023 times
Reputation: 25387
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlygal View Post
Or could it be...the OP really has a ticket he's forgotten about?

Get the details and if it all sounds in line, then pay it. Done deal.

+1

I believe that the OP has the right to demand a copy of the ticket.
If the ticket correctly notes the make and model of the OP's car (or the car that the OP was driving at the time of ticket issuance), then I think the OP has to assume that the ticket is legitimate.

Given the possible penalties for continuing to ignore a valid ticket, I think that the OP should just pay his/her bill and put this situation in the rear view mirror.

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