Speeding

Having defended 1,000s of motorists through the years from all types of traffic tickets, I have heard all kinds of defenses. This article will examine the five most common “defenses” which do not work.

“I was going with traffic”: This is not a defense. The speed limit is the speed limit. If everyone is looting, it doesn’t make it okay to loot.

“My speedometer was broken”: Again, not a valid defense. You are responsible for your car’s proper functioning and for knowing how fast you are going. If it was broken, then you shouldn’t be driving the car or, at the very least, you should be driving extra slow. By the way, I cannot tell you how many broken speedometers I have heard about even though in these things rarely brake.

“Everyone was speeding but I was the only one pulled over”: No good. For his safety, the officer is allowed to pull only one motorist at a time. The failure to pull over a second car is of no consequence.

“The officer was rude”: My particular favorite. While officers should not be discourteous, this is irrelevant to whether you were speeding, or not.

“The officer told me that this was no points”: It is not uncommon for an officer to dispense wrong legal advice. This does not change the allegation in the ticket or help you avoid its consequences.

Your are probably wondering what defenses work. While this is a loaded question but the overall answer is that you need to focus on the sufficiency of the officer’s presentation. Was it complete? Was it inconsistent with the information in his ticket or notes? Did the officer clearly explain what, where and how? By focusing on the officer’s testimony you are often able to come up with arguments which undermine his recollection of the event. Once undermined, your contradictory testimony carries more weight.

The author, Matthew J. Weiss, Esq. graduated Hofstra Law School in 1984. He was Law Review and won the law school’s prestigious Procedure Award. Upon graduation, he became one of the first Hofstra Law School graduates to work at the New York State Court of Appeals (New York State’s highest court) working on various appellate matters.

Mr. Weiss then worked for two years at Rivkin, Radler, Bayh, Hart & Kremer, a 200-plus attorney law firm, representing various clients, such as municipalities, insurance companies and large corporations, in various litigation matters. He also continued to do substantial appellate work.

In 1991, Mr. Weiss co-founded his private law practice eventually buying out his former partner in 2000. Through the years, 888 Red Light has successfully resolved 1,000s of traffic tickets and trucking tickets for its clients by way of dismissal or plea bargain. For more information about the author visit http://www.nytrafficticket.com