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What is ADA? Do I have to wait til my court date to talk to an ADA or i can go to court at anytime?
ADA is Assistant District Attorney... the prosecutor... yes, I believe you have to wait until the court date unless you just want to pay the ticket. In my one experience she was calling people up 1 at a time and talking with them, most were there to discuss pleading guilty to the lesser charge. If you do want to try to plead not guilty be prepared for them to go through 3 - 6 hours of others pleading guilty and other court business before they get to you.
use a lawyer something like "mr ticket" off the internet.
the fee is usually low and often the case is dropped.
this is a "weak ticket. do not attempt to defend yourself.
you could 40 years ago. not now not even if you are dead right and present well
been there done that.
Last few years 99% of the time the cop isn't even anywhere near the court. The prosecutor tries to make a deal with you beforehand. You go into court then everybody who pleads not guilty is told to line up outside and you go into some small room and speak privately with the pros to work a deal. Sometimes before the cop even writes the ticket you can ask him to make it none-points and if he's ok with that they might writ you up for something like seat belt, no ins card avail, or obstructing traffic. these are all no points just $$.
If you go into court for a regular ticket the prosecutor will always offer you the no points unsfae driving deal, but that is about $480 or so. If you have some reason otherwise or if you n da boyz know each other, etc, they might give you obstructing traffic which is no points and doesn't show up on any records and about $90 or so.
With speeding tickets they will often offer t olower it ti the lowest range.
Just for giggles I told the prosecutor I wasn't speeding or even moving at all. I was sitting in one place while the earth was rolling undereneath my car. Asked him if I was supposed to be responsible for the speed of the Earth's rotation?
use a lawyer something like "mr ticket" off the internet.
the fee is usually low and often the case is dropped.
this is a "weak ticket. do not attempt to defend yourself.
you could 40 years ago. not now not even if you are dead right and present well
been there done that.
out of some kind of dirtbag professional courtesy, it seems like the judges reward you for paying one of his fellow dirtbag lawyers so you get treated better with a lawyer. i remember when i had my case and the people with lawyers go first, the judge was telling all the people to thank their lawyers for the deal they got them.
Points (not that kind) for the best description. They want/need your money. That is the bottom line. Times are tough for everyone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by captne76
Last few years 99% of the time the cop isn't even anywhere near the court. The prosecutor tries to make a deal with you beforehand. You go into court then everybody who pleads not guilty is told to line up outside and you go into some small room and speak privately with the pros to work a deal. Sometimes before the cop even writes the ticket you can ask him to make it none-points and if he's ok with that they might writ you up for something like seat belt, no ins card avail, or obstructing traffic. these are all no points just $$.
If you go into court for a regular ticket the prosecutor will always offer you the no points unsfae driving deal, but that is about $480 or so. If you have some reason otherwise or if you n da boyz know each other, etc, they might give you obstructing traffic which is no points and doesn't show up on any records and about $90 or so.
With speeding tickets they will often offer t olower it ti the lowest range.
Well actually in NJ they let you do that only 2 times, I think its called unsafe driving, ther eare no points, but it does appear on your record, so your insurance co might bug you about it anyway.
Generally, insurance companies will not assess any surcharges if there are less than 3 points on your license.
Is pleading not guilty and hoping for a fair trial ever an option? I'm coming from NYC, where there is no plea bargaining, the burden of proof is lower, almost everyone is found guilty, and the judge raises the fines out of spite. I heard NJ was fairer, but it sounds like both places are just finding new ways to back-door tax people -- in this case motorists through more tickets.
It's not a fair process, I doubt anyone actually cares what you have to say in court. But the money-hungry corruption actually works in your favor, in a way, since the state is so after their money they'll often trade a no-points offense for a higher fine.
The only ticket I've ever gotten was a speeding ticket on the Turnpike. I called the prosecutor's office in town and it turned out my "trial" would be a day I had off anyway. So I decided to go just for the hell of it, really. I dressed all nicely with a suit and tie (boy was in for a shock on that one!) and two people actually came up to me and asked if I was their lawyer they had a phone-consult with. I get it's just municipal court, but the way people dressed was entertaining to say the least. Hearing all of the cases was actually pretty interesting and I learned a lot. In the end, they knocked my speeding ticket down to some no-points violation. I didn't even TALK to the prosecutor, he just called my name and told me what they were doing.
There was one case from that day I'll never forget:
JUDGE: You were cited for speeding and reckless driving, sir, do you have any explanation as to why you were going so fast? DRIVER: My speedometer was broken. JUDGE: Well, you were clocked at 137 m.p.h. Are you telling me you can't tell the difference between 65 m.p.h. and 137 m.p.h. on your own?
out of some kind of dirtbag professional courtesy, it seems like the judges reward you for paying one of his fellow dirtbag lawyers so you get treated better with a lawyer. i remember when i had my case and the people with lawyers go first, the judge was telling all the people to thank their lawyers for the deal they got them.
They let the people with lawyers go first because the lawyers charge by the hour. If the judge really wanted to grease the pockets of his fellow lawyers, he'd take their cases last so they could pile on a couple more billable hours.
Also, those cases are heard first because if you're in the position where you have to hire a lawyer, it's often more than just your average traffic ticket. They like to deal with those cases first and then move on to the minor issues like minor traffic infractions. It's a pretty standard drill. When I worked for the newspaper I'd often have to go to court to cover cases and the like. It's pretty entertaining, actually. I would suggest anyone go purely for the fun of it if they get a ticket.
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