Should I go to court on this traffic ticket? Fairfax County (Centreville: appointed, lawyers) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Rick Lee · 09-24-2008, 08:16 AM

Fairfax Co. has some tough judges, but IMHO, they march to their own tune and couldn't care less about whether the county needs the money or not. When I've gone to court, I always go an hour early to watch the cases before me to see how the judge is.

BTW, about two years ago there was a judge in Fairfax Co. who was tossing DUI's out for the sole purpose of getting challenges to VA's presumption law started. VA's law states that anyone who blows a .08 or above "shall be presumed guilty of" DUI/DWI. Judge had a real problem with that language and so tossed a bunch of cases based on breathalyzer results just to see others get outraged and try to change the wording of the law. So don't assume you're gonna lose because the county needs money. That may be why they wrote you a ticket, but the judge doesn't care about that.

Also, in my experience, the vast majority of people I've seen in court were poor, poorly dressed and barely spoke English, if at all. I saw one judge get a little testy having to wait for a translator to show up. When I showed up in a suit, speaking pretty clearly, I was already well on my way to a dismissal.

Gary Reed 1974 · 09-19-2009, 02:53 AM

I dont have respect for Police, I am in the Military have been for 14 years and in every state im stationed in they always wait right outside the gate waiting for the military to get out of work so they can pull over the ones in a hurry to get home. I Cant stand cops, I was traveling down 64 had a mini van in front of me (civilian clothes) and a Jeep behind me, he was also wearing civilian clothes, we were all traveling with no one in our vehicles and we drove in the HOV lane, the cop pulled behind the last vehicle in our group , turned on his lights went around the Jeep and pulled over the only one in uniform, so no, I dont have respect for pigs in cruizers, I dont understand why they target military, **** we are dying everyday in war,I have been to Iraq myself, and I am targeted, well they can go to hell, I dont need to risk my life in Iraq just to come home and be harrased by ******* cops.

hiker16 · 09-19-2009, 04:46 AM

Huh. Weird. I've had the exact opposite response. Been pulled over, cop saw the DoD decal on the windshield, and reduced the (would be speeding ticket) to a verbal warning, without me saying anything. Nver had a problem with cops....

tgbwc · 09-19-2009, 06:15 AM

I just went to FFX County court on Tuesday. I received a "Failure to obey a Do Not Pass sign" on Fullerton Rd. They were set up flagging down drivers. I felt it was a bogus ticket since the road is inadequately marked or signed. The principle of the situation bugged me to no end, so I took pictures and told my story. It was dismissed.

What is your driving record? When I was there, it seemed that the judge was dismissing (or reducing if it was more serious) anything for anyone with a good driving record. I had a "+5" (which seemed pretty good compared to others- no traffic violations in 22 years). Both the FFX officer and VA State officers who were there mentioned if people were cooperative and their driving point totals. That brings up another point. I think there were two officers who weren't even there. Anyone who bothered to show up (not too many did) to defend themselves against those officers were dismissed automatically. Mine was there so I had to defend and still got it dismissed. I plead innocent due to the circumstances. If they had really good records some plead guilty, because they knew they couldn't disprove it, and the judge would say "What do you want to tell me?". They would say something like, "I am usually very careful. I simply missed the sign. I was thinking I had to get over...yadda yadda" and he would usually take off at least the court fees because they bothered showing up.

car54 · 09-19-2009, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiker16

Huh. Weird. I've had the exact opposite response. Been pulled over, cop saw the DoD decal on the windshield, and reduced the (would be speeding ticket) to a verbal warning, without me saying anything. Nver had a problem with cops....

Yeah, but Gary "can't stand cops" and I imagine he makes that clear everytime he is stopped. His 'tude virtually GUARANTEES that he gets a ticket....everytime.

bangorme · 09-19-2009, 01:50 PM

I respect cops (was in law enforcement for 28 years), but I don't respect the systems that turns them into "meter-maids" with the sole function to raise tax money. I suspect that all but the most inept would rather be doing something significant, and I consider sitting in a parking lot more significant than most traffic enforcement. Sitting in the parking lot they MIGHT see something that could actually help someone.

Bigfoot424 · 09-19-2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Reed 1974

I dont have respect for Police, I am in the Military have been for 14 years and in every state im stationed in they always wait right outside the gate waiting for the military to get out of work so they can pull over the ones in a hurry to get home. I Cant stand cops, I was traveling down 64 had a mini van in front of me (civilian clothes) and a Jeep behind me, he was also wearing civilian clothes, we were all traveling with no one in our vehicles and we drove in the HOV lane, the cop pulled behind the last vehicle in our group , turned on his lights went around the Jeep and pulled over the only one in uniform, so no, I dont have respect for pigs in cruizers, I dont understand why they target military, **** we are dying everyday in war,I have been to Iraq myself, and I am targeted, well they can go to hell, I dont need to risk my life in Iraq just to come home and be harrased by ******* cops.

Wow. Quite a first post. Let me guess. You probably had a problem with law enforcement well before going into the military. First off--thanks for serving. Secondly--quit whining like a little kid. I retired 30 years from LE and the vast majority of officers I know went out of their way to give military breaks. My guess is that you are one to ask for a ticket as soon as the officer walks up to you. I also question the incident you describe above as truthful.

bangorme · 09-19-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Wow. Quite a first post. Let me guess. You probably had a problem with law enforcement well before going into the military. First off--thanks for serving. Secondly--quit whining like a little kid. I retired 30 years from LE and the vast majority of officers I know went out of their way to give military breaks. My guess is that you are one to ask for a ticket as soon as the officer walks up to you. I also question the incident you describe above as truthful.

You probably have this guy nailed. Like the guy that comes into an office saying " I know you are just another worthless government employee, but I need your help you stupid bloodsucker." Then wonders why every encounter turns to crap.

If your interactions with many other people are not pleasant, take a look in the mirror for the reason.

jaywallace · 09-20-2009, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Reed 1974

I dont have respect for Police, I am in the Military have been for 14 years and in every state im stationed in they always wait right outside the gate waiting for the military to get out of work so they can pull over the ones in a hurry to get home. I Cant stand cops, I was traveling down 64 had a mini van in front of me (civilian clothes) and a Jeep behind me, he was also wearing civilian clothes, we were all traveling with no one in our vehicles and we drove in the HOV lane, the cop pulled behind the last vehicle in our group , turned on his lights went around the Jeep and pulled over the only one in uniform, so no, I dont have respect for pigs in cruizers, I dont understand why they target military, **** we are dying everyday in war,I have been to Iraq myself, and I am targeted, well they can go to hell, I dont need to risk my life in Iraq just to come home and be harrased by ******* cops.

I couldn't disagree more. Most officers where I work are prior military (myself included). We go out of our way to cut military and Fire personnel breaks. I've NEVER heard of officers "waiting outside of military gates" to catch speeders, give me a break.

Maybe your little attitude has something to do with it...

jaywallace · 09-20-2009, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangorme

I respect cops (was in law enforcement for 28 years), but I don't respect the systems that turns them into "meter-maids" with the sole function to raise tax money. I suspect that all but the most inept would rather be doing something significant, and I consider sitting in a parking lot more significant than most traffic enforcement. Sitting in the parking lot they MIGHT see something that could actually help someone.

Agreed.