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Just wanted to alert vistors or folks thinking about moving to FL..that FL and Ocala area are known to have the some of the worst speed traps and highest fines in USA.
Miniumium speed ticket is $250.00! Law enforcement will ticket you for only 3-4 miles over limit.They don't even show you any proof and can make up what they thought your speed was... Law enforcement hang out in wolf packs of 6-7 cruisers and prey on out of town travelers and others on Interstates and state hwys.
If you decide to go to court for your citation you appear in front of a "civil infraction officer" in court , Chris Polak, who worked in past as local law enforcement and as their prosecuting attonery. Very inpartial and biased... no judge involved in the court at all. My case.I had lots of photogaphic and other evidense, list of cross exmine questions for trooper, that could of easily proven the trooper falsified the whole stop...POLAK would not even view or let me submit, or cross examine the officer!
Then if you decide to appeal, and go in front of a real Judge, you have to pay a $281 appeal filing fee., and get an attonery.
They purposely make the appeal filing fee just higher than the fine, so most all people will just pay the fine and move on.
I now found out C ****** has a history of threating other defandants the same way, not letting them submit photos or any other evidense to prove their case.
Its in google searches for area.. Very corrupt, how FL justice dept lets a county get away with this kind of corruption...
Just google marion county speed traps or ******, Ocala FL... you will be astouded at what goes onin this area!
I read an old news article where AAA auto club was so appaulded at their practices, that they paid for a large bill board in Marion county in the past to alert innocent drivers of the many speed traps in the area!
Dose'nt seemed to of helped.. still see folks being pulled over and shaked down all over FL Hwys and interstates most everyday.
The problem with your post is that it is full of non factual information and misleading statements. And that of course makes me question your entire story, and the hearing officer probably did also. I'm not trying to be rude but lets start at the top and go over what you wrote:
Speeding tickets in Marion are not the highest in the country. One google search showed me that a ticket for the same violation you got ticked for was $110 more in another state.
Minimum speeding ticket fine is $131. If you got a $250 ticket then you were charged going 15-19 miles over the speed limit.
Law enforcement can NOT ticket you for going 3-4 over. State statute prohibits that.
The police do not have to show you the speed measuring device. It is not safe or prudent to have people walking around on the side of the interstate to look at a device they dont understand. In court you had the opportunity to view all documents pertaining to the device to include certifications and calibrations.
Not sure why you would think law enforcement preys on out of towners. Its hard to tell where a car is from when it zips by at 89 mph.
Traffic infraction hearing officers are allowed to hear cases. Mr. Polak has been doing it for many years amd is fair about his decisions. If I got a ticket and had evidence that I didnt commit the violation I would feel comfortable in front of him.
What photographic and other evidence do you have? Pictures of you not speeding?
Why would a trooper have to make up a stop? Have you driven in Florida? There are violations every time you turn around.
Mr. Polak doesnt threaten anyone. The only time he wont allow photographs or "evidence" is if they are irrelevant to the case.
You do not need an attorney to appeal a citation.
Marion county does not have a billboard from AAA. That would be Alachua County.
Again, I am not trying to be a jerk, but if I can spot all of this misinformation in less than a minute why should I kr anyone else believe your story?
I don't think the police are too great in Marion County for a variety of reasons, but Ocala is far from being a speed trap hell. One needs to travel a bit north (Lawtey/Starke/Waldo/etc.) to enter speed trap hell.
The problem with your post is that it is full of non factual information and misleading statements. And that of course makes me question your entire story, and the hearing officer probably did also. I'm not trying to be rude but lets start at the top and go over what you wrote:
Speeding tickets in Marion are not the highest in the country. One google search showed me that a ticket for the same violation you got ticked for was $110 more in another state.
Minimum speeding ticket fine is $131. If you got a $250 ticket then you were charged going 15-19 miles over the speed limit.
Law enforcement can NOT ticket you for going 3-4 over. State statute prohibits that.
The police do not have to show you the speed measuring device. It is not safe or prudent to have people walking around on the side of the interstate to look at a device they dont understand. In court you had the opportunity to view all documents pertaining to the device to include certifications and calibrations.
Not sure why you would think law enforcement preys on out of towners. Its hard to tell where a car is from when it zips by at 89 mph.
Traffic infraction hearing officers are allowed to hear cases. Mr. Polak has been doing it for many years amd is fair about his decisions. If I got a ticket and had evidence that I didnt commit the violation I would feel comfortable in front of him.
What photographic and other evidence do you have? Pictures of you not speeding?
Why would a trooper have to make up a stop? Have you driven in Florida? There are violations every time you turn around.
Mr. Polak doesnt threaten anyone. The only time he wont allow photographs or "evidence" is if they are irrelevant to the case.
You do not need an attorney to appeal a citation.
Marion county does not have a billboard from AAA. That would be Alachua County.
Again, I am not trying to be a jerk, but if I can spot all of this misinformation in less than a minute why should I kr anyone else believe your story?
Wrong..Google research does state that FL has some of the highest speed fines in US.. only other state that comes close is VA.
Also, I meant the cop did not have to show any proof of his radar evdiense in COURT..not along side the rd. He merly stated in court he read the radar as 64!
No, they did not present, nor allow me to see any documents in court... only stated radar was calibrated within last 6 months. Units are supposed to be calibrated each day, according to mafacturers manual.
FL law enforecment DO prey on out of town drivers because they know they are less likey to contest because of the distance. I see them in wolf pacs of 6-7 crusiers many times on Hwys. Thats why they're were atleast 15 officers at court!
I did not mean C ****** threated anyone... after a google search I found he TREATED others the same way.. would not let them present any photos or other evidense at his hearing! my evidense was very relavant and wouldof easly proven many false statements by the cop. I will not tell you what evidense I have, because I intend to appeal... YOU may be MR ****** or realation??
It's the priciple of the thing... I will spend what it takes to bring this corruption to light. You do need an attonery to make sure your rights are not trampled on in this local court.
C ******'s bio does show he has primarly worked in law enforcement as a LOCAL cop, and even prosecuting attonery. No wonder he favors these buddies he worked along side in past against a defendant. This is BIAS and inpartial and in no way should be allowed in any American courts . It is a conflict of interest.
Only in FL... it was just in the news of a FL JUDGE assaulting a defense attonery in court! Only in FL...
I don't think the police are too great in Marion County for a variety of reasons, but Ocala is far from being a speed trap hell. One needs to travel a bit north (Lawtey/Starke/Waldo/etc.) to enter speed trap hell.
Not Ocala per say.. but much of Marion county. Yes many areas of N central FL are bad... many hwys where speed drops from 55 to 45 very quick... then back to 55 again... then another 45 zone only a few miles a head again.
Last edited by city365; 08-07-2014 at 11:38 AM..
Reason: typo
The problem with your post is that it is full of non factual information and misleading statements. And that of course makes me question your entire story, and the hearing officer probably did also. I'm not trying to be rude but lets start at the top and go over what you wrote:
Speeding tickets in Marion are not the highest in the country. One google search showed me that a ticket for the same violation you got ticked for was $110 more in another state.
Minimum speeding ticket fine is $131. If you got a $250 ticket then you were charged going 15-19 miles over the speed limit.
Law enforcement can NOT ticket you for going 3-4 over. State statute prohibits that.
The police do not have to show you the speed measuring device. It is not safe or prudent to have people walking around on the side of the interstate to look at a device they dont understand. In court you had the opportunity to view all documents pertaining to the device to include certifications and calibrations.
Not sure why you would think law enforcement preys on out of towners. Its hard to tell where a car is from when it zips by at 89 mph.
Traffic infraction hearing officers are allowed to hear cases. Mr. Polak has been doing it for many years amd is fair about his decisions. If I got a ticket and had evidence that I didnt commit the violation I would feel comfortable in front of him.
What photographic and other evidence do you have? Pictures of you not speeding?
Why would a trooper have to make up a stop? Have you driven in Florida? There are violations every time you turn around.
Mr. Polak doesnt threaten anyone. The only time he wont allow photographs or "evidence" is if they are irrelevant to the case.
You do not need an attorney to appeal a citation.
Marion county does not have a billboard from AAA. That would be Alachua County.
Again, I am not trying to be a jerk, but if I can spot all of this misinformation in less than a minute why should I kr anyone else believe your story?
Please see attached link.. shows someone else experienced EXCATLY what I have . And the appeal went in front of this same "court officer" and court again on Appeal... sounds very dishonest. This happened in 2012.
I can't read the link because it is blocked due to spam. I am not related to Polok nor do I really care much if you appeal the ticket or not. Have at it. Thats the beauty of our justice system. If you dont like the final answer you can always appeal to the next higher authority. The problem you have is that you have to step back and make this whole thing less personal. You got a ticket. Its just a ticket. We all get them at some point in our lives. You need to stick with the facts and not go off on a tangent about someone being mean, someone framing you for speeding, or not showing you the piece of equipment that they used to clock you. There is no evididence to show in court for radar or laser speed measuring devices. What sort of evidence did you want the officer to have? In traffic court the officer always testifies first, not because their word is favored over yours, but because they have to prove their part of the case before you say anything at all. If the officer is done with his side of the testimony and all the elements are not met to sustain a guilty verdict than you never would have had to say a word because the ticket would have been thrown out.
I can't read the link because it is blocked due to spam. I am not related to Polok nor do I really care much if you appeal the ticket or not. Have at it. Thats the beauty of our justice system. If you dont like the final answer you can always appeal to the next higher authority. The problem you have is that you have to step back and make this whole thing less personal. You got a ticket. Its just a ticket. We all get them at some point in our lives. You need to stick with the facts and not go off on a tangent about someone being mean, someone framing you for speeding, or not showing you the piece of equipment that they used to clock you. There is no evididence to show in court for radar or laser speed measuring devices. What sort of evidence did you want the officer to have? In traffic court the officer always testifies first, not because their word is favored over yours, but because they have to prove their part of the case before you say anything at all. If the officer is done with his side of the testimony and all the elements are not met to sustain a guilty verdict than you never would have had to say a word because the ticket would have been thrown out.
That's just it, the officer totally lied in court on many details and I had great photos from the actaul stop and maps and other questions that would of easly shown officer was fibbing and Polak would not let show any of them.I had asked atleast 3 times. Polak seemed to know all the troopers personally and used to be a local cop himself. He would'nt let me ask the trooper the list of questions I had prepared. This seemed very Bias... court is supposed to be where Judge hears all the evidense, from BOTH sides.
And then to find out later that Polak has denied other defandants in this same way.(look at [domain blocked due to spam].. under Ocala forums) My court summons said I was allowed up to 30 mins of hearing time... Polak declared me gulity without hearing any physical evidense or letting me question trooper of speak hardy any.. even though I was very polite through the whole ordeal. He declared me gulity after only 5 mins into hearing.
I can easyly pay the ticket... it's the priciple of the thing... I was'nt speeding at all, and the whole citation was fictitous to generate revenue for the local goverment.
Update... I just called FL bar , Polak has another complaint against him just filed in 6- 2014 .. Bar is sending me details about the complaint. I may be able to get involved in the investigation.
By the way, please do not make me sound like someone that just whines about a speed ticket.. I am not! I am just a firm believer in Honest, Justice and hate witnessing corruption and it seems this is what is going on with this court.
Ive been pulled over 3 times for speeding since I moved to Florida, twice in Marion County and once in Alachua (that was the worst one, doing 55 in a 45). I received a warning for all 3; I was polite and respectful to the officers.
If you got fined that much, you were rolling pretty fast, and probably ignored the 55 to 45 mph sign. If your going to drive stupid, be prepared to pay fines.
The minimum speed ticket is NOT $250. Nor does Florida have the most expensive fines. Since theres so much erroneous info in your post, I have the feeling the rest of your post is a total farce. I dont know why you think if your speeding, probably over 15 mph, that you should get a break on that. Yes, you're whining.
Judges get a million complaints about them all the time. By people who couldnt get out of paying their fines.
I have been driving in Marion County/Ocala area for 30 years and have never gotten a speeding ticket despite having a bit of a lead foot at times. The OP's assertions are not the reality for most folks here. Just another rant.
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Yes many areas of N central FL are bad... many hwys where speed drops from 55 to 45 very quick... then back to 55 again... then another 45 zone only a few miles a head again.
link attached
