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I got a speeding ticket in Candor Village, Owego, Tioga county in NY. This is my first one and got it for 49 in 30 MPH zone. Although I do not believe that I was doing more than 40 but I don't think I can prove that. I am from NJ so I have to drive 180 mi to fight this in the court. Can anyone please tell me how much the ticket will be for and what are my chances here.
Hello, I live in Owego. I've dealt with a speeding ticket in Broome County.
My advice to you is that you plead Not Guilty by mail, immediately, and MAKE SURE that you include the demand for a supporting deposition if you were not given one with your summons and ticket. Who pulled you over? If it was a state trooper that ticketed you, you may well have gotten a printed deposition with the ticket. If it was a sheriff's deputy or village police, then I doubt you did.
Normally you can plead not guilty by mail with a form they gave you, so you WON'T have to show up for arraignment--doing so is a waste, the DA or local attorney won't even be there. Always double-check, though.
What court is your ticket out of? I am guessing the Candor village justice court.
I cannot tell you what fine you will get unless you give me the exact charge. However, for 19 miles per hour over the limit you can get up to $300 fine plus a $60 surcharge and 15 days in jail. If convicted of this you will have a minimum fine of $90 and $60 surcharge. You will NOT get jail, so you are looking at between $150 and $360 fine if you just plead guilty.
So, in short, what I would do:
1. Plead Not Guilty by mail and demand a supporting deposition. You can always change your plea to guilty.
2. Make sure you keep track of your court dates. Make sure that your plea is received and you receive a trial date so you don't have an unexcused arraignment absence; that would be BAD.
3. Make sure you get the supporting deposition from the DA. If they don't mail it to you within 30 days of when the court gets your demand, or 5 days before trial, whichever is earlier, then the ticket MUST be dismissed. Often this is enough to get your ticket dismissed! Local cops hate paperwork.
4. WAIT until you get the supporting deposition. If you don't get it in the time mentioned above, call the DA Gerald Keene's office at (607) 687-8650, and tell them that you didn't get it and ask them to dismiss the case. Also call the court and tell them the same. The DA should dismiss it. If he doesn't, you'll have to file a motion with the court to get it dismissed, or ask the court to do this at your trial.
5. If you DO get the supporting deposition, and it looks good, then you might want to call the DA up and offer to plead guilty by mail to a Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device (VTL 1110). That's a two-point violation with a maximum fine of $150 plus $60 surcharge, and you'll probably get significantly less than the maximum. Tell them you'll go to trial otherwise, be nice but firm. The DA will probably accept; if so make sure he mails you a signed change of plea form that you can mail back to the court, and double-check that the change of plea is entered. The you won't have to go to court. Otherwise, if he won't make a deal, you need to prepare for trial.
6. Examine the supporting deposition. See if you can attack their case. How did they clock your speed? If they used radar or laser, mail the DA a demand for copies of all calibration records and training information for the officer, and send a copy to the court. Think about what you will argue at trial.
7. Show up to the trial. Chances are very good that either the lawyer or the cop that pulled you over doesn't show up. The justice MUST dismiss your case if that happens. You'll be out only the cost of driving 180 round-trip (blah). Otherwise, you might want to renew your offer to make a deal with the DA, but after all this trouble he may or may not agree.
8. If it comes to trial, don't be nervous. This isn't real bigtime court. The justice is a part-timer who is not even a lawyer and rarely does trials. The officer will testify first, and you should try to question him. Don't give him softball questions that will make your case worst, just TELL him why he was mistaken and try to get him to admit that he wasn't really so sure. Do NOT testify yourself. Why? Because you were speeding. Saying "I don't think I was going more than 40" won't help. If you were 10 over the limit, you are guilty. The extra 9 miles per hour is irrelevent. Do NOT lie and say you were only going 30, that is perjury. BUT, you don't have to testify, and you should not do so. Instead, ask to make a closing statement in which you testify that for various reasons the cop was mistaken, distracted, whatever, and that they have failed to prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT that you were going more than 10 miles per hour over the limit (if that's what you were charged with). Say 'it is REASONABLE to suppose that Officer Jones was mistaken that I was going more than 10 mph over the limit.'
But your chances are very good of not going to trial. Even if you are unwilling to make the trip back, you can always call up a week or so before your court date and ask to change your plea by mail.
And the moral of the story is beware the little speed-trap towns. Candor is a tiny little 30 mph blip on a 55 mph highway, but people live there and kids play there and the cops do enforce the limit. Safety matters, so keep an eye on that needle.
Most important: Don't miss any unexcused court dates and don't fail to pay any fines if there's a conviction. You might get away with it living in Jersey but if it ever came back to haunt you it would be much much worse than just paying it now.
Thank you very much for your reply. I did not get disposition from the cop. I was planning to plead not guilty too. Spoke to Court clerk yesterday about how it works.
When I plead not guilty, is it advisable to send a letter along with the ticket explaining the entire situation in detail. How about the points on DL, it will be max $360 fine plus points on the DL? How many points? Should I hire a lawyer to fight this?
Do NOT mail an explanation to the court with your not guilty plea. Simply fill out what is necessary to plead not guilty and demand a deposition--the demand is very important, because if you don't demand it then you will never know what evidence there is against you until it is introduced at trial. This form is for arraignment only, the procedure is governed by the Criminal Procedure Law and this is neither the time nor the place for explanations. The court does not and cannot consider any facts until a trial starts and evidence is presented under oath. The only thing your "explanation" could possibly do is hurt your case down the line if the prosecuting attorney tried to use it against you at trial or during plea negotiations, as well as indicate to both the court and the state that you don't understand procedure. Also this may be obvious but keep a copy of everything you mail to the court and note what date you mailed it on.
19 mph over the limit is a 4 point violation. I don't know how that transfers over to New Jersey if you are licensed there.
A lawyer would be IDEAL for fighting this. I would definitely say hiring a local attorney from Owego would vastly increase your chances of getting a complete dismissal, both because he won't make basic screw-ups and will do the right thing AND because prosecuting attorneys have limited resources and are likely to balk at fighting an attorney over a traffic ticket. However, for most people it just isn't worth it, since you will definitely be paying an attorney more than the fine would be if you just pled guilty.
But, if you add in travel costs for fighting the ticket, missed wages, increased insurance, and if you have a reason that you can't afford more DL points (need car for work? in danger of losing license?) then potentially it could pay for itself. Owego attorneys cost a lot less than most NJ attorneys especially for a little traffic ticket.
If you do want to go the attorney route, then retain one immediately and fax your summons/ticket over as well as a copy of anything you sent the court. If you wait too long you lose a lot of the benefit of representation.
Note: It's a supporting deposition, not disposition. A deposition is a sworn statement of facts, a disposition is an outcome of a case (not guilty or guilty + sentence). I'm correcting you because if you call up the DA or the court and talk to them about not getting a disposition from the police or the DA they won't know what the hell you are talking about--only the court gives dispositions.
You didn't mention what cops pulled you over. I'm guessing if you didn't get a deposition it was probably the local police. That probably increases your chances of a dismissal. Some village police will never go to court over a speeding ticket, and many of them cannot handle the basic paperwork involved. Wait for the supporting deposition to arrive and if it does, scrutinize it very carefully. If it doesn't have enough facts to charge you with speeding 10+ miles over the limit you can get the ticket dismissed, otherwise you will be on trial track. Do NOT call the DA to ask about the supporting deposition or your case until it arrives. Hopefully they will forget about it, and then after 30 days you can call them up and demand a dismissal. Otherwise if the supporting deposition looks good you may want to call the DA and ask about pleaing down to VTL 1110. Also note that you when you reference your case either to the DA or the court, you will use your name and the ticket number.
Last edited by citydated; 07-22-2008 at 09:44 AM..
i dunno man, i witness jersey drivers all the time, and drive through jersey every couple of months....are you SURE you werent REALLy going over 19mph? LOL j/k.
i dunno man, i witness jersey drivers all the time, and drive through jersey every couple of months....are you SURE you werent REALLy going over 19mph? LOL j/k.
Yes, I am sure I wasn't going 19 miles above the limit but I am not sure how can I prove myself. I do not have single violation in my 8 years driving history all in NJ.
but i got the SUPPORTING DEPOSITION/CPL710.30(1)(A) TO SUPPORT
SIMPLIFIED TRAFFIC INFORMATION on the spot together with ticket
which printed out our conversation in between Officer and me. Then what
do I have to do ?
My Court is Windsor Town Court, hwy 17, 80/65mph.
i was not running 80 at all, and this cop issued the another ticket
to other driver who was behind me after i got the ticket and i was driving
slow and the other car was not passing me just following me but still
this cop gave ticket to him as well.
i had 4 friends riding with me and witnessed it
how can i fight this wrong ticket ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by citydated
Hello, I live in Owego. I've dealt with a speeding ticket in Broome County.
My advice to you is that you plead Not Guilty by mail, immediately, and MAKE SURE that you include the demand for a supporting deposition if you were not given one with your summons and ticket. Who pulled you over? If it was a state trooper that ticketed you, you may well have gotten a printed deposition with the ticket. If it was a sheriff's deputy or village police, then I doubt you did.
Normally you can plead not guilty by mail with a form they gave you, so you WON'T have to show up for arraignment--doing so is a waste, the DA or local attorney won't even be there. Always double-check, though.
What court is your ticket out of? I am guessing the Candor village justice court.
I cannot tell you what fine you will get unless you give me the exact charge. However, for 19 miles per hour over the limit you can get up to $300 fine plus a $60 surcharge and 15 days in jail. If convicted of this you will have a minimum fine of $90 and $60 surcharge. You will NOT get jail, so you are looking at between $150 and $360 fine if you just plead guilty.
So, in short, what I would do:
1. Plead Not Guilty by mail and demand a supporting deposition. You can always change your plea to guilty.
2. Make sure you keep track of your court dates. Make sure that your plea is received and you receive a trial date so you don't have an unexcused arraignment absence; that would be BAD.
3. Make sure you get the supporting deposition from the DA. If they don't mail it to you within 30 days of when the court gets your demand, or 5 days before trial, whichever is earlier, then the ticket MUST be dismissed. Often this is enough to get your ticket dismissed! Local cops hate paperwork.
4. WAIT until you get the supporting deposition. If you don't get it in the time mentioned above, call the DA Gerald Keene's office at (607) 687-8650, and tell them that you didn't get it and ask them to dismiss the case. Also call the court and tell them the same. The DA should dismiss it. If he doesn't, you'll have to file a motion with the court to get it dismissed, or ask the court to do this at your trial.
5. If you DO get the supporting deposition, and it looks good, then you might want to call the DA up and offer to plead guilty by mail to a Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device (VTL 1110). That's a two-point violation with a maximum fine of $150 plus $60 surcharge, and you'll probably get significantly less than the maximum. Tell them you'll go to trial otherwise, be nice but firm. The DA will probably accept; if so make sure he mails you a signed change of plea form that you can mail back to the court, and double-check that the change of plea is entered. The you won't have to go to court. Otherwise, if he won't make a deal, you need to prepare for trial.
6. Examine the supporting deposition. See if you can attack their case. How did they clock your speed? If they used radar or laser, mail the DA a demand for copies of all calibration records and training information for the officer, and send a copy to the court. Think about what you will argue at trial.
7. Show up to the trial. Chances are very good that either the lawyer or the cop that pulled you over doesn't show up. The justice MUST dismiss your case if that happens. You'll be out only the cost of driving 180 round-trip (blah). Otherwise, you might want to renew your offer to make a deal with the DA, but after all this trouble he may or may not agree.
8. If it comes to trial, don't be nervous. This isn't real bigtime court. The justice is a part-timer who is not even a lawyer and rarely does trials. The officer will testify first, and you should try to question him. Don't give him softball questions that will make your case worst, just TELL him why he was mistaken and try to get him to admit that he wasn't really so sure. Do NOT testify yourself. Why? Because you were speeding. Saying "I don't think I was going more than 40" won't help. If you were 10 over the limit, you are guilty. The extra 9 miles per hour is irrelevent. Do NOT lie and say you were only going 30, that is perjury. BUT, you don't have to testify, and you should not do so. Instead, ask to make a closing statement in which you testify that for various reasons the cop was mistaken, distracted, whatever, and that they have failed to prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT that you were going more than 10 miles per hour over the limit (if that's what you were charged with). Say 'it is REASONABLE to suppose that Officer Jones was mistaken that I was going more than 10 mph over the limit.'
But your chances are very good of not going to trial. Even if you are unwilling to make the trip back, you can always call up a week or so before your court date and ask to change your plea by mail.
And the moral of the story is beware the little speed-trap towns. Candor is a tiny little 30 mph blip on a 55 mph highway, but people live there and kids play there and the cops do enforce the limit. Safety matters, so keep an eye on that needle.
Most important: Don't miss any unexcused court dates and don't fail to pay any fines if there's a conviction. You might get away with it living in Jersey but if it ever came back to haunt you it would be much much worse than just paying it now.
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Thanks
