Minnesota speeding tickets (Minneapolis, Duluth, Foley: insurance, house, wages)

[tvdxer]

I live near Duluth and though I rarely speed I got caught doing 51 mph at night in one of those freaking 30 mph zones on the highway in Foley, MN. The officer ticketed me for the full amount. My court date is set on December 23rd at 8:30 a.m...I've heard that in some or most states, if the officer doesn't make it to the court date, they automatically find in your favor. Is this true in MN?

[kuan]

You can talk to the hearing officer and have it reduced or have it not go on your record if you promise to be good for one year. Sometimes it's six months. But since it's 21 mph over I think you'll probably have to go a whole year. You pay extra to have your license "monitored" which means overall it's more than the ticket itself.

[orange869]

There are many options-- I know, I have used most of them.. You can go to court- the first day you would just plead not guilty and they would set it for trial. the officer would generally appear and you would be expected to put on a some sort of defense.
In most cases you could appeal to the sensibility of this option and have the county atty. offer you a deal- generally that would be a continuance for dismissal. You pay the fine and do not get a same or similar offense and it will not go on your record.

The option of the officer not showing up is slim and they would still be able to refile the case - generally they wood not because the judge would dismiss with prejudice.

Don’t expect that outcome. more likely the first two and you will not win if you bring it to trail. I have done it 3 times and put on a great case but still lost. If you go this route I have questions for Radar ( prepared for you to ask the officer at trail)-- my guess is you were put on laser

[Thegonagle]

I wouldn't bet on the officer not showing up for trial. In Minneapolis, for example, the police actually get paid patrol wages, including OT, for the time they're in court, so they tend to show up (especially if they belong to the MPD's traffic division!).

Talk to a hearing officer (if available in your county) or judge (at your 1st appearance, aka the arraignment hearing) and do the continuance for dismissal thing. If the hearing officer or judge doesn't offer it, ask anyway. (It may not have been offered if you already have any moving violations in the past 1--or is it 2?--years.)

The continuance for dismissal is where it's at because it keeps the violation off your driving record permanently if you have no "same or similar offenses" (in other words, moving violations) go on your Minnesota driving record.

It's a good deal, because insurance never finds out if you don't get another ticket, and even if you do get another ticket, your insurance company won't find out about the first one for at least an extra year, saving you year or more of increased premiums--or at least underwriter scrutiny--from the first ticket. (Insurance companies can look back as far as 3 years for most violations, so instead of them "seeing" the ticket for 3 years, they only see it for 2.)

I'm not very familiar with procedures in Benton County, but in Hennepin County, if you get the continuance, you generally pay the exact same fine as a standard fine, but no additional monitoring fee. That monitoring fee must be a county by county thing--it kind of makes sense though, because in one year, they'll have to pay a court clerk to access your court case, check your driving record though MNDPS, and refile it either as case closed: dismissed, or case closed: guilty, and send the violation in to the DPS.

If it's a matter that you can't afford the fine, they may offer a reduced fine for a guilty plea (in Hennepin, it's 1/2 off), but that means it goes on your record right away. They may also offer a few additional weeks to a month more to pay in full.

[bobbbyy]

They definately do not find automatically in your favor. Mr Judge can do whatever he wants.

[Marlowe Syn]

Yeah I got tagged for doing 44 in a 35 mph on Division Ave in St Cloud many years back. The cop didn't show up. I plead not guilty because of that. Also the fact that I asked the cop to see the results on his radar gun and he claimed that he didn't gun me but calibrated my speed from pacing behind me. Which is BS in my mind, because I feel the burden of proof should be on the prosecution. When it was time for the trial, Officer Friendly was a court appearance no show. So just because they don't show up as a a prosecution witness don't assume that you'll skate scot free.

[marmac]

Here is my story--------driving to work at 2:30 AM on a deserted State hwy (mid week)

A car, with one headlight on bright, approaches from the rear at high speed and is riding my bumper. I speed up from 50-55, he does----------I slow down to 40, he does. This continues for 10 miles and I am scared to death.

The next small town I approach, he puts on his brakes so he can fall way back and not be indentified by street lights--------after I am through the small town (and thought he turned off) he approaches at high speed again riding my bumper with his one headlight on bright. I slow down a little, he does,---------finally out of frustration and fear I hit the gas hoping to get to a bigger city 10 miles away that has 24/7 gas stations.

The flashing lights then come on and the Minnesota State Highway patrollman has a grin on his face as he writes me a speeding ticket. (I was shaking both in fear and ,now anger)

Twice my court date got moved by the request of the patrollman
On the 3rd date, I appeared alone and the highway patrollman was not there AGAIN.

The judge said there would be a delay and he would call the patrollman at home.
Thanks to the County baliff (court house cop) who listened to my story and said --WE--should approach the judge and I should request the case be dismissed cuz the patrollman didn't appear.

The judge dismissed the case, I thanked the court house cop and drove 30 miles home.

Despite this happening over 30 years ago, I no longer automaticly give my respect cuz a guy is driving a MN State Hwy Patrol car !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!