challenging a moving violation ticket in PR (price, discount)
U.S. TerritoriesPuerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.
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Any ideas on how to do it? I have done it in the past in the mainland and it was a relatively easy process. However, here I have no idea where to begin.
I've done it in the past, back in the 90's. The instructions should be on the ticket itself. IIRC, you have to notify in writing the Secretary of Justice and you have to call to set a court appointment. The two times that I fought my tickets, they were dismissed on the first court appearance. One was for driving the wrong way on a one-way street (there were no signs) and the other one was for illegal parking (again, no signs or yellow curb). One thing that I have found useful, both in PR and in the mainland, when appearing in court over traffic tickets is to wear suit and tie. I've seen too many people show up in court with baggy pants, t-shirts and baseball caps. It doesn't help their case.
I was just looking at DTOP's website and it appears that the procedure has changed, so I'm not sure how it goes now. However, I found that they are having an amnesty program giving 40% discount on outstanding fines until October 31. You can find info in Spanish here https://secure.dtop.gov.pr/amnistia2009/ (broken link)
Also, they have this website DISCOtech.dtop.gov.pr where you can find info about any outstanding fines against you or your vehicle. You can click on "perfil" and select English for language.
I got 2 tickets in one night in Luquillo, both tickets were only 15.00 each. I thought that was the price for all tickets there, if that cheap why even bother. I told my friends that 15 bucks isn't enough to slow me down haha
cops like to pull you over for NO REASON down there,they will always find an excuse and be careful because they can get away with a lot of crap.
That wasn't my experience. Actually, I saw a lot of cops let things slide. I got a ticket once in 1993 for speeding, 71 in a 55 zone (I was actually doing 90, but slammed the brakes when I saw the cop and was clocked at 71 MPH). From 1993 until 2000 I never got a ticket. I was pulled over once for doing something really stupid on a rural road. I looked at the cop in the face, told him that I was sorry and I'll never do it again and he let me go.
Also, if you talk to any cop on the island, they'll tell you that judges tend to side more with the defendants. If you get pulled over, DON'T ARGUE WITH THE COP. That'll give you a 100% chance of getting a ticket. Be nice and he might let you go. If he writes the ticket anyway, you can always contest it in court.
That wasn't my experience. Actually, I saw a lot of cops let things slide. I got a ticket once in 1993 for speeding, 71 in a 55 zone (I was actually doing 90, but slammed the brakes when I saw the cop and was clocked at 71 MPH). From 1993 until 2000 I never got a ticket. I was pulled over once for doing something really stupid on a rural road. I looked at the cop in the face, told him that I was sorry and I'll never do it again and he let me go.
Also, if you talk to any cop on the island, they'll tell you that judges tend to side more with the defendants. If you get pulled over, DON'T ARGUE WITH THE COP. That'll give you a 100% chance of getting a ticket. Be nice and he might let you go. If he writes the ticket anyway, you can always contest it in court.
Yeah that is also true but the problems are mostly with younger locals and mainly the "fuerza de choque" members (equal to riot police),my brother got SO many tickets just because he had a nice ride but the cops already knew about it because it was kinda unique so they always pulled him over NOTHING and always found excuses to give him tickets because of his car(we wasn't even racing). A friend of mine was walking down the street and his jeans were a little low on the rear,so this cop sees him and tells him to pull his pants up! ( how is having your pants a little low unintentionally breaking the law?) so my friend asked him what was the problem with that and they ended up getting in an argument so he went to the station to report the cop,all the cops turned against him and even wanted to beat him up!!(he was like 100 lbs or less and skiiinny).Another situation that was even on the news,some locals were celebrating a girl's quinceañero so they were parading on their ATVs on the backroads towards her house(this is in the country side where traffic is very minimum) so they end up parking their ATVs in a organized line along the road infront of the house,along comes these 2 or 3 police officers and start arguing,the guy wasn't doing anything to challenge the cop except asking him what was the problem because they were infront of the girl's own house,and the cop starts pushing him and ends up beating him up with the back of his pistol,and finishes up by shooting the guy on the head several times infront of EVERYBODY. They caught all this on video in case you were wondering how do i know. It is true that some of the cops will let you go easy if you're nice and such MAYBE,but a lot of them take it way too far for no reason at all so do not trust all of them.
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