3 Ways You Might Fight A Speeding Ticket

26 November 2019
 Categories: Law, Blog

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If you've been hit with a speeding ticket, you might wonder how you can contest. There aren't any magic tricks a speeding ticket law firm uses to win cases, but there is a process that can be used to break one down, understand it and argue against it. Let's take a look at how a speeding ticket attorney might dissect the case you're facing.

Respond to All Court Inquiries

The first order of business is to make sure you are regularly checking your mail or have a lawyer available to receive court correspondence. If you receive something from the court, open it, read it, and make sure to reply to everything. Be careful about signing off on papers because you might be admitting guilt. One of the main reasons to hire a speeding ticket attorney is that it can be hard to understand court requests and protect your rights in the process. Regardless, failing to reply to court inquiries will result in a default judgment, meaning you lose your case automatically.

Start with the Ticket and the Affidavit

Initial charges are almost always backed by one of two things, either a traffic camera or a police officer's affidavit. A ticket will be given to the accused motorist, and this will outline why they were charged with an offense. You can learn whether you were supposedly recorded, spotted by a police officer, followed by a police cruiser or clocked on a radar gun.

Common Defenses

The simplest defense is that you weren't the offending driver. You might use traffic cam, dash cam, cellphone, or surveillance video to demonstrate that a similar car drove through the area at the same time.

Another common approach is to question the equipment used to support the ticket or the affidavit. A speeding ticket law firm can make discovery requests to obtain information about the radar gun used, for example. This includes data about the model of the system used and maintenance logs for the specific gun. You can then look for data on the radar gun, such as whether it is used in an unusual number of flawed cases or if the model has been recalled.

Expediency is also an argument. This indicates that you were speeding, but you had a good reason, like trying to get to a hospital. You'll have to prove that's where you went. Also, you may have to settle for a reduced charge like reckless driving or failure to observe a traffic control device.