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I got a traffic infringement for doing 86 in a 65 zone. Will this hurt a lot during C&F if I just plead guilty? Rising 2L here.

disclose it, brah

memo2partner wrote:disclose it, brah

I definitely will, but is it something I should be worried about? If it matters, it's my first speeding ticket.

Anonymous User wrote:

memo2partner wrote:disclose it, brah

I definitely will, but is it something I should be worried about? If it matters, it's my first speeding ticket.

Why would you be worried about a speeding ticket???????

Also, if it's your first ticket you probably can convince the judge to give you PBJ.

Then again, I'll give you my plan that has gotten me out of 2 speeding tickets: They set up all of an officer's tickets on one day so that cop can just go to court all at one time. Call and reschedule your hearing date because of a doctor's appointment or something. You'll go on your rescheduled date and there is a good chance the cop won't be there. You then plead not guilty, there isn't a witness to contest, and you walk away.

abc12345675 wrote:Then again, I'll give you my plan that has gotten me out of 2 speeding tickets: They set up all of an officer's tickets on one day so that cop can just go to court all at one time. Call and reschedule your hearing date because of a doctor's appointment or something. You'll go on your rescheduled date and there is a good chance the cop won't be there. You then plead not guilty, there isn't a witness to contest, and you walk away.

For your first time in court for a ticket, you probably don't even really need an excuse for a continuance. I've had them reset my date just because "I would like more time to prepare." That being said, for a lot of municipalities, the first appearance in court is for arraignment, not a bench trial. You can move the date all you like, the next time you show up, it's still an arraignment hearing. This saves the officer from having to show up at all, and if you plead not guilty, the prosecutor can then subpoena the officer to court just for the small number of cases that actually go to trial.

Your best bet is to have a pre-trial conference with the prosecutor or judge (depending on how they have it set up). They will review your record and essentially make you an offer in exchange for a guilty plea. Trials are costly; they don't make money even if they convict you for a speeding violation. It's in their best interests to "bribe" you to plead guilty. For example, in the state of Georgia, if the charge is for speeding less than 15 mph over the limit, it is not reported to the state (and does not go on your driving record). When I've sat down for a pre-trial conference, they usually immediately offer to reduce the charge to 14 over the limit (after all, they care about collecting their own revenue, not giving the insurance companies more revenue). I've also offered to do community service instead of paying the fine, which they accepted (I was doing community service anyways because it was for a cause I believed in, the only difference was I got them to write a letter stating how many hours I did, so essentially it was a no-fine ticket). You can always ask, at worst they'll say no and give you a counteroffer. I've had failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign reduced to a non-moving equipment violation.

You can attempt to get out of it completely by resetting the date and pleading not guilty, but I prefer to negotiate a sure thing. Either way, the worst thing you can do is plead guilty. I don't understand the people who took a day off of work in order to show up in court and plead guilty. I can understand someone mailing in a ticket because they're lazy and don't care if their insurance goes up, or the 3 hours of their time is more valuable elsewhere. I don't understand showing up and paying full price when you can negotiate for 2 minutes and get a deal.

This ticket was issued to me around 4~ hours from where I live. I don't really want to spend ~10+ hours fighting the ticket if it isn't necessary.

So will it not affect C&F?

Anonymous User wrote:This ticket was issued to me around 4~ hours from where I live. I don't really want to spend ~10+ hours fighting the ticket if it isn't necessary.

So will it not affect C&F?

Are you serious about one speeding ticket being a huge obstacle to your admission to the Bar?

Prepare an addendum to submit to your law school immediately.

I disclosed roughly 14 speeding tickets, which was only a fraction of all the ones I have actually received. I think you'll be fine.

You seriously don't believe that atleast 75% of the bar have had multiple speeding tickets? Who cares. Relax, OP.

Oh, what a cycle!