Hey all,

I thought I'd share this story with everyone as I just returned from my court hearing over a speeding ticket I received back in August.....

In a nutshell, I was clocked for speeding by a rookie cop (5 months on the job, I checked into it), he marked down on my ticket that I was driving a Ford Mustang when in reality I was driving the farthest thing from it, my Ferrari 308. Anyways, after speaking with a few police officer friends of mine, the concensus was that I had a damn good chance of getting this one thrown out of court on a technicality. So today rolls around, I head to Montgomery Mayor's Court (BTW, Montgomery is a wealthy suburb of Cincinnati), and on advice from an attorney friend of mine who is well recognized back home in Cleveland, asked to meeti with the prosecutor to see if we could work out a deal on the basis that I would pay them their money but escape the two points since the cop was in error on the ticket. The prosecutor (Terry Butler) said he'd speak with the cop before the trial and he'd see if we could work something out. Well, Mr. Butler did in fact meet with the cop before the trial but only to inform him that he made a mistake on my ticket and that I was driving a Ferrari instead of a Ford. The worst part of it all was that I overheard the prosecutor and the cop talking before court and the prosecutor asked the officer if he remembered anything particular about my ticket, to which he replied "no". At that point I heard the prosecutor remind the cop that I was in a Ferrari. So they had their case no problem. So I guess had I not decided to try to be fair about the whole thing, and meet with the prosecutor before hand,I might have won since I could have sprung the question to the cop during my cross-examination about what make and model of vehicle I was driving when he observed me "speeding". Anyways, that goes to show, you gotta watch those fascists (oops, did I say that?). They'll turn right around and ask you to bend over.

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Regards,
Aaron

*plays NWA's "Straight outta Compton" CD and fast forwards to track #2*

hey aaron, even had you sprung the "wrong car" card during cross, judges and juries overwhelmingly side with the uniform when you say ferrari and he says ford. the mistaken auto id does not necessarily go directly to the cause, speed. how fast were you cookin, BTW??

Not tryin to say it all goes the way it should, just my two cents based upon 17yrs as a lawyer...

Some states won't toss a ticket for something like the cop having 90% of the information incorrect....becasue after all if he or she is careless enough to get that wrong they can't possible be wrong about how fast you were traveling , right....


Been there done that ....PA is simmular....Brother got a ticket once for smoking the rear tires pulling out of a gas station at a very high rate of speed.....

Cop had the correct tag # , vin number and vehicle description for a car that was setting broken down for the previous 2 weeks at my parrents house..my old 1973 Olds Cutlass S with a 350 V-8 Blue in color.

and may I elaborate on exactly what car my brother was smoking the rear tires and accelerating at a high rate of speed in.............drum roll please

A 1980 Olds Omega front wheel drive X-body with a 4 cylinder and automatic transmission........( a gutless wonder for those who remember them)........white in color....

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

That prosecutor is probably on some LE website right now saying how he "OWN3D" some dude trying to skate on a ticket he received in his Ferrari!

Reminds me of a civil case where the bad guys justification for being bad was because the good guy bounced a check (it was a big one). During the trial the check was presented as evidence and it was (drum roll please...) a cashers check

Wrong car probably won't get you to reasonable doubt, but it's good cross stuff. Trick is trying to work a deal without showing your cards.

The prosecuter probably would've worked with you until he learned you were driving a Ferrari. He got jealous and screwed you.

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Current:
2014 VW Tiguan SEL 4Motion 43,000 miles.

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (wife's).

Past:
2006 Jetta TDI 135,970 miles. Sold Nov. '13.
1995 E-320 Special Edition. 220,200 miles. Sold Sept. '07.
1987 190-E 16 valve. 153,000 miles. Sold Feb. '06.
1980 300-D 225,000 miles. Donated to the National Kidney Foundation.
1980 240-D manual, 297,500 miles. Totaled by inattentive driver.

I was going to say the same thing, he was thinking "rich prick, I'll show him."

I would imagin you would have been better off driving a Ford.

btw how fast were you going?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Yes, how fast were you going?

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

In Ohio it really doesn't matter how fast...they pinch you for just going over by a little bit. I tend to have a heavy foot and with everything I've heard about how stringent they are in Ohio I purposely plan any drives to avoid any part of that state unless it is specifically someplace in Ohio I have to go. I have heard of folks getting pinched for 66 in a 65, because...well, it is in excess of the limit.

Speaking of defense tactics, how about this one for our lawyer friends: Gang banger we hooked up a couple weeks ago for smuggling (i won't say what) is claiming for his defense that he isn't guilty of smuggling what we charged him with because he wasn't there to smuggle that, but rather was there to smuggle marijuana! Now doing battle with an Assistant US Attorney because this AUSA is apparently buying that defense , and is contemplating dismissing charges without prejudice .

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Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

BTW guys, I was going 36 in a 25.

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Regards,
Aaron

here in fl if your 11 mph over the speed limit it is 1 point on your license and 12 mph over is 2 points...what a state i tells ya.. and if anyone knows I-4 or US-27 you know you cant do speed limit on it.. you have to do at least 70 to stay alive.. and its fun doing it in a diesel benz

Hey I got a question for the Lawyers familiar with CA law... I got a ticket and Im contesting it, so i need to know what I can use. They didnt give me a copy of the ticket, they're CHP but I got the basic speed law code-pacing or whatever instead of the maximum speed law which is what I thought is normal for highways, even the lawyer I called said he made a mistake, I pulled over on a non highway street before they even showed up and then they come afterwards, stop, then turn on the lights and junk. What do I put on the written declaration statement to get this thrown out?

Don't feel bad about getting zapped for 11-over. In Missouri, there are traffic law centers all over the place that will fix tickets. Now you don't even have to go to the att'ys office, you can do it online...the offense turns into some sort of non-moving violation, the fine gets doubled, the atty gets a piece of the action and the insurance company is never the wiser. These guys are brazen about it. "call t-i-c-k-e-t-1" is the jingle that sticks in my mind. It sort of offsets the little municipalities that act as speed traps, although by increasing the fines paid, actually feeds the monster and lets the municipalities rip off motorists. Ahhhh, the justice system is amazing.

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2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics