Wrong Color and Owner on California Ticket

I was pulled over today by a CHP for doing 80mph. I know for a fact I was not going that fast because I had the car on cruise control at 70. The speed limit was 65 and other cars around me were passing me. On the ticket, the CHP put the color down as silver, but the actual color of the car is Urban Brown. Another mistake was the owner of the car is my mother, but he checked the box as "same as driver." I'm fighting the ticket and I'm just wondering if these mistakes are going to increase the odds of winning?

Another question I have is, there's a box on the ticket that says "Radar Unit/Patrol Vehicle Number" The box is unchecked with no vehicle number, is this worth stating in court? I mean how could he clock me if he does not have a radar. I was too angry and forgot to ask for his radar gun because I know for a fact I was not doing 80.

Mistakes on tickets are commonplace and I wouldn't mention the others but the color, in this instance, is worth considering. Oftentimes, blue will be called green, red will be called orange or some other similar mistake which is totally understandable. (I see colors fairly poorly as do many men).

I think you should contest it in court and, when cross examining the cop, ask him what color your car was. (He'll look at his copy of the ticket.) Get a few paint sample cards from Home Depot and ask him to show the court one or two samples that are similar to the color of your car. Hopefully, he will not be close to the true color.

After that, tell the judge you're prepared to state your case. Start by testifying to your speed, the fact that cars were passing you and that you were using your cruise control. Close by showing the judge the cop's interpretation of the color of your car compared to an 8X10 picture of your car (about 60 cents at Wal-mart) and I think you'll stand a very, very good chance of prevailing. Please let us know and good luck!;)

P.S. Make damn sure he doesn't see you driving up to the courthouse! :D

What's the year, make and model of the car?

Paint sample cards? Try a photograph of the car. But I doubt that will be of any help given how cars (particularly those with metallic finishes) can appear to be different colors in different lighting, and the color of the car has no relevance to the speed of the car or the fact that it was you the officer pulled over.

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What's the year, make and model of the car?

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1991 Acura Integra

Yes, for sure I am taking a photograph of the car to bring into court. I am going to need all the evidence and help I can get. It just ticks me off that I was driving 70 and he claims I was driving 80. There were other cars tailgating me and I moved out of their way. Traffic was a little heavy, so I really do feel victimized out of the croud.

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Quoting aaron

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What's the year, make and model of the car?

Paint sample cards? Try a photograph of the car. But I doubt that will be of any help given how cars (particularly those with metallic finishes) can appear to be different colors in different lighting, and the color of the car has no relevance to the speed of the car or the fact that it was you the officer pulled over.

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What an odd response! Haven't you ever been to a Home Depot and seen the sample paint cards that are available? (I'm guessing not.)

I mentioned taking an 8X10 photo of the car along with samples....I can't help but think you didn't read my response and give it much thought. At times, I'm not at all sure of my advice, but this time, it's pretty solid.;)

As I pointed out, the difference between green and blue might be subjective. The difference between silver and brown is less so. I'd go with what I've got going for me....and I think my reasoning is about as good as anyone could hope for. 'Hook' the cop on the fact that it was brown and you should have a pretty good case.

This is a little bit of a stretch but what if the cop said the car was white and it turned out to be black (regardless of the alleged speed). Don't you think that would create a window for a decent defense??? The difference isn't as clear cut, perhaps, but is certainly worth exploring.

Here's a picture of a 'brown' car.

I'm simply observing that a court is not likely to have much patience for such a stunt, or to deem paint cards particularly relevant to car color (let alone to whether or not the person was speeding). As there is no question but that the person was pulled over while driving a car, and the person is not disputing that fact, I doubt that the court will deem the description of the car's color to be of any relevance to the charge.

And I would not be surprised if "silver" turns out to be a reasonable description under the circumstances of the traffic stop.

Well, you certainly may be right! I just thought his only chance for vindication would be to raise doubt as to whether the cop picked out the right car.

If the color doesn't it, you must acquit!!!

Correction:

"If the color doesn't fit, you must acquit!!"

(I botched my own joke....)

Here's a question I have in mind during cross examination.

"Isnt it a fact that the year, model, make, and color of a vehicle needs to be correct in order for a ticket to be valid?"

If he answers yes, which is most likely to happen. Then thats my chance to bring up the point of brown vs silver because he admitted that those specific descriptions need to be correct. My father in law owns a body shop. I can have a sample of the paint on a piece of paper with his signature and a photo of the vehicle as evidence. Or maybe even have different shades of silver and compare colors.

Does anyone happen to know distance those radars can record accurate speeds? I know they cannot record speeds around corners. And the area where I happened to have been pulled over is quite curvy. I'm going to return to the scene and try to find other things to argue about such as interference from electric/telephone poles, etc.

Also should I just request for information as in the "discovery" process. Or should I just ask the officer for calibration records and amount and type of training he had when i'm in court? Some say its better to ask in court because the more he says he has no proof, the better.

If you ask the cop that question, he's going to say that it's up to the court to decide. If you ask the judge that question, he's going to say "no".

If you go in there trying to act like a lawyer with the hope of teaching them the law, you are bound to lose. As the old saying goes, "You can't beat a man at his own game".