Mistakes on a Speeding Ticket by Officer, Do I Have a Chance in Court
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: New Jersey
I received a ticket for speeding in a 65mph zone and was "clocked" at 90mph. I was honestly traveling at 75mph in a 65mph zone. i was pulled over along with another car. We both received tickets for speeding. The officer approached my window, and I rolled down my windows and put both hands on the steering wheel as I waited for the officer. The officer asked "Do you know why i am pulling you over?" i responded "NO". He told me "i am pulling you over because i clocked you doing 80mph in a 65mph zone". He then asked right after that can i have your license and registration please? I said sure, but can i also get a print out or proof that you clocked me doing 80mph in a 65mph zone? he responded and said no you can not because i can not retrieve that information and give it to you, and he then walked away not even allowing me to ask for the serial number. He then came back and said have a nice day and don't let me catch you speeding again and he handed me a summons. And yet again he walked away and didn't even let me ask any further questions. I didn't thoroughly check the summons on the spot but when i got home i realized that there were several errors on the summons. First, the diver license state is AB (I have no idea where or what that means. google did not help me), my license is from New York. Second, the officer put a middle name on the summons when on my license it does not state a middle name because i do not have one. Third, the summons said i was caught doing 90mph in a 65mph zone. And lastly, the license plate is completely wrong except for the first letter. For example, my license plate number is xxx-xxxx, the officer put x12-3456.
I believe he confused me for another car. Do I have any chance to fight this case or have it dismissed? And also what made me really confused was, the officer told me i was doing 80mph in a 65mph zone, why did he come back with the summons stating 90mph in a 65mph zone? I accept i am wrong for doing 75mph but I was no where close to 90mph
Edit: Also, the summons does not say how my speed was determined. But the officer said he "clocked" me doing 80 not 90.
Re: Mistakes on a Speeding Ticket by Officer, Do I Have a Chance in Court
OK, so 75mph (your version), 80mph (what you claim he told you) or 90mph (what he cited you for)... Are all in excess of what I assume to be the maximum speed limit for NJ. So the question is not whether you were speeding or not, it simply boils down to which speed! Meaning the chances for going to court and presenting arguments that will merit a dismissal, I'm not seeing anything you posted that will help with that!
I cannot answer the question about where he got that info from, but you should get the opportunity to do so if you plead not guilty and ask for a trial. You can also ask him about the method he used to measure your speed, and the discrepancy between what he told you and what he cited you for!
One thing to keep in mind is that the errors you mentioned, although they seem to be more than your average typo have no effect whatsoever on whether you were speeding or not; for one, they occurred AFTER you were speeding, and two they have little to do with the elements of the offense, that being -speed in excess of the posted limit-, and instead are mainly related to your identification. You can certainly attempt to use them to suggest that the officer was less than attentive I'm still unclear on how or why you "believe he mistook you for another car"??? I mean, if he did mistake you for another car, how would that result in errors with your middle name or the state that issued your license???
The other thing is, there is not a single state that requires the officer to show you the speed measurement, and I am not aware of any speed measuring device that has a print function showing what speed reading it shows!
Good luck!
Re: Mistakes on a Speeding Ticket by Officer, Do I Have a Chance in Court
The reason i believed he had mistaken for another vehicle is because there were many other vehicles who were going 75mph. But there was a car in the right lane that look exactly like my car that was speeding. i assume he was doing at least 90mph because he didn't just pass by my car or the other cars. He jetted passed everyone. only difference was the car had NJ plates and not NY plates like mines. I mean its a common mistake to misspell someones name, thats a regular typo. But, i don't believe an entire license plate wrong is an error or the driver license state. my driver license says big on it new york at the top and also on the registration it says new york somewhere on it. And i'm directly in front of the officer and he has my registration which also has my plate number right under my name. And i guess i won't hold up in court. And i was indeed speeding. i was moving with the traffic. the drivers were all doing 70mph - 75mph. so yes i was speeding and i am guilty for that. but i do not have any evidence that i was not speeding. but i know for sure he did not clock me speeding. i believe he estimated my speed. i have a passport 9500ix and it detected the officer but at the same time i was moving with the traffic so i didnt believe he would pull me over.
Re: Mistakes on a Speeding Ticket by Officer, Do I Have a Chance in Court
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Kevin125
The reason i believed he had mistaken for another vehicle is because there were many other vehicles who were going 75mph. But there was a car in the right lane that look exactly like my car that was speeding. i assume he was doing at least 90mph because he didn't just pass by my car or the other cars. He jetted passed everyone. only difference was the car had NJ plates and not NY plates like mines.
That story would get you nothing in court. Chances are, the judge hears that a few times each week, along with a description that it was "EXACTLY the same EXCEPT..." or words to that effect. You're free to try it if you wish!
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Kevin125
I mean its a common mistake to misspell someones name, thats a regular typo.
True!
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Kevin125
But, i don't believe an entire license plate wrong is an error or the driver license state. my driver license says big on it new york at the top and also on the registration it says new york somewhere on it. And i'm directly in front of the officer and he has my registration which also has my plate number right under my name.
OK, so how does he get from two identical cars passing him, one speeding the other going the flow of traffic... All the way to him pulling over the wrong car -YOU- but issuing the citation and writing the other car's license plate number???
The likelihood that he was able to read the speeding vehicle's license plate number while it is moving at 90 mph is zero (unless he was moving alongside traffic)...
There is little chance he took a picture but again, at 90mph, and unless he's got a decent camera, that has an instantaneous focus capability and a high powered zoom lens, and assuming he timed it correctly, there is a chance he might get a peak at the other vehicles plate in between other cars... Still, I don't think he reviewed pictures...
So he still does NOT have an alternate license plate number to on your citation. And yet, you still would have us believe that he would stand there next to or slightly behind your vehicle, a few feet away from your actual license plate, with your vehicle registration card in hand, only several inches from his eyes, and rather than copying the plate number from either of those places, he opted to commit to a plate number that he had a minuscule chance to glance at but even if he did, he could not have been able to read all seven digits and memorize them!
Am I missing something?
Let me assume that he was driving along with traffic... And that he was able to read the other cars plate number. do you think that in the process of pulling you over, he would have noticed the your plate is different than what he remembers? And yet he still realized that AND still wrote a different plate number on your citation?
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Kevin125
And i guess i won't hold up in court.
Not only would it not hold up in court... You couldn't sell that story to a 4 year old child without having him/her go "HUH??? Whatchootalkingaboutwillis???"
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Kevin125
And i was indeed speeding. i was moving with the traffic. the drivers were all doing 70mph - 75mph. so yes i was speeding and i am guilty for that. but i do not have any evidence that i was not speeding. but i know for sure he did not clock me speeding. i believe he estimated my speed. i have a passport 9500ix and it detected the officer but at the same time i was moving with the traffic so i didnt believe he would pull me over.
First you say you were speeding....
Then you add that you have no evidence that you weren't speeding (and you don't need to have evidence that you were not speeding, they have to have evidence that you were (which, by the officer's testimony, they do have evidence of that ))...
Then you say he didn't clock you speeding (even though you just admitted you were speeding)...
Then you add that he estimated your speed. Well, if you were in traffic and ghe decided to "estimate" your speed, it was likely that you were going the fastEST... But even if you weren't the fastest, merely exceeding the 65mph limit means you are speeding, and you have to understand that the officer isn't going to pull everybody over. You had to have done something to attract his attention.
It is possible that when your Escort alerted you (and the only time it will alert you) is when it receives a radar signal from the officer. That may have been the time he clocked you at 90 before you slowed down!
I am still not feeling your explanation as to why you suspect he clocked another vehicle but pulled you over. You should keep in mind that you need not explain anything - UNLESS- you have a really solid defense; the burden to prove the case lies upon the prosecution. And in my opinion, in this case, it is in your best interest to either remain silent, or to think up of another story to use... This one isn't going to fly!
Good luck!