[Benz]

Hi guys!

I was wondering if any of you have disputed a traffic ticket from Bellingham before?? And what are the chances of winning? How are the court process like?

Basically I was driving on I-5 with my friend's stock ek sedan. I was cruising not too fast, maybe a bit over speed limit. A bunch of cars were ahead of me and were speeding away. I saw a police car so I tapped on the brakes. The police let that bunch of cars go, and pulled me over instead. He said I was going 23mph over the speed limit and I slowed down to 80km/hr, which was dangerous on the highway. 83mph is around 135km/hr. I don't think I slowed down 50km/h by simply tapping the brakes and letting the car cruise to slow down. That was probably all in a 2 second time frame. He also asked if I had Marijuana on me, assuming that he know I am from BC. What can I do in this situation??

Thanks guys!

 

[tsxpert]

Well in Washington the chances of you winning is possible. But, you either gonna need a private attorney which would almost garuntee it or if you decide to contest it and the officer doesn't show up they would probably drop it because then it's only your word and what's on paper. So he wouldn't be able to defend. All in all. I say talk to a attorney. Hope that helps.

 

[07CoupeBlue]

Was it State Patrol or Bellingham Police? It's pretty easy to fight it or at least mitigate it. I don't know what the repercussions are for Canadians who receive traffic tickets in the U.S. though. Not sure if it goes on your driving record or not. But I would get a lawyer who has a high percentage of traffic cases won or dropped because that will almost guarantee you not having to pay the ticket. The ticket could also get dropped in court if the officer fails to show up, if the officer fails to produce a copy of the ticket, or any other clerical errors. This is all assuming that you opt for a contested hearing but I'm not sure if it's worth it or not since I don't exactly know if it would go on your driving record.

 

[Benz]

Well in Washington the chances of you winning is possible. But, you either gonna need a private attorney which would almost garuntee it or if you decide to contest it and the officer doesn't show up they would probably drop it because then it's only your word and what's on paper. So he wouldn't be able to defend. All in all. I say talk to a attorney. Hope that helps.

How much would it be to hire an attorney in Washington? Because the ticket is around $205, but I just feel that it was unfair that he told me I was speeding at a higher speed than I was going and he let the other cars go and pulled me over instead.

Was it State Patrol or Bellingham Police? It's pretty easy to fight it or at least mitigate it. I don't know what the repercussions are for Canadians who receive traffic tickets in the U.S. though. Not sure if it goes on your driving record or not. But I would get a lawyer who has a high percentage of traffic cases won or dropped because that will almost guarantee you not having to pay the ticket. The ticket could also get dropped in court if the officer fails to show up, if the officer fails to produce a copy of the ticket, or any other clerical errors. This is all assuming that you opt for a contested hearing but I'm not sure if it's worth it or not since I don't exactly know if it would go on your driving record.

It doesn't go on my driving record. I wasn't sure which police it was. So basically if I don't hire a lawyer, by disputing the ticket, I am just taking a chance to see whether the officer will show up in court. Will they increase my fines or anything if I lose the case? And do I need a lawyer to win if the officer has any clerical errors, or will the judge point those out? I haven't send in the dispute for my ticket yet.

 

[tsxpert]

How much would it be to hire an attorney in Washington? Because the ticket is around $205, but I just feel that it was unfair that he told me I was speeding at a higher speed than I was going and he let the other cars go and pulled me over instead.



It doesn't go on my driving record. I wasn't sure which police it was. So basically if I don't hire a lawyer, by disputing the ticket, I am just taking a chance to see whether the officer will show up in court. Will they increase my fines or anything if I lose the case? And do I need a lawyer to win if the officer has any clerical errors, or will the judge point those out? I haven't send in the dispute for my ticket yet.

It shouldn't run you anything more then $250us for a attorney. Prolly worth it if you don't want it on your record.

 

[07CoupeBlue]

If it doesn't go on your driving record, then it's probably not worth it to hire a lawyer. The judge will point out clerical errors such as missing information or not having a copy of the ticket. They can't do anything to charge you if there's no ticket produced. You could possibly ask when the radar gun was last calibrated or you could go for a mitigation hearing which states that you were speeding but you get to explain the circumstances. The judge will automatically lower the fine just for showing up for a mitigation.