The issuance of traffic tickets in the state of Florida, and other states, is a very common occurrence that results in the addition of points against the driver license of the affected parties. In most cases, the traffic tickets are justified since the individual may have clearly violated Florida traffic laws. The other percentage may have cause to believe that the ticket is either unjustified in its entirety, or grossly exaggerated, leading to the application of higher points against the alleged offender’s driver’s license.
You have two options if you are stopped, detained, and ticketed by Florida law enforcement for allegedly violating Florida traffic law. You can either decide to accept the ticket, pay any attached fines, and put the incident behind you, or you can choose to fight what you consider an unfair or unjustified ticket in court.
Where you choose to contest the ticket in court, you may either choose to retain the services of a traffic lawyer to increase your odds of winning the case, or you may choose to handle the case yourself. Either way, it pays to prepare carefully before your hearing in court to avoid making some avoidable mistakes that will cause you to lose the case.
When you are considering how to beat a traffic ticket in Florida in court, bear in mind that the police officer who issued your ticket is usually a seasoned professional who has been in traffic court numerous times on related cases. The same applies to the hearing officer who will preside over your case. He or she would be skilled in the rules of evidence, in addition to having familiarity with the statutes and case law governing your violation. Knowing some of the likely questions you will be asked will help you prepare yourself to present your case in a convincing manner.
When the Law Enforcement Officer Fails to Show up at Court
In some cases, the traffic officer who issued the ticket against you may not show up for the scheduled hearing. When this happens, all you have to do is to move the court to dismiss the case. The issuing officer is the person bringing the action against you, and if he or she fails to show up, the hearing officer will simply dismiss the case. The reasoning here is that if the issuing officer did not deem it important to show up to the hearing, then the hearing officer has no need to waste time on the case.
In some case, the issuing officer may inform the court ahead of time if there is a justifiable cause for the absence. When this happens, the judge will likely grant a continuance of behalf of the issuing officer.
Ask the Officer if He or She Will Dismiss the Case Where you Feel You Have Just Reason
Since the issuing officer is actually the equivalent of a prosecutor in your case, you can ask him or her to dismiss the case when you feel you have just cause. Sometimes, this will work, especially if you have a legitimate reason.
In some cases, you can ask the officer to consider a withhold of adjudication. This will help keep unwanted traffic points from your record, especially if the hearing officer accepts this position.
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!
Since you are defending the traffic ticket in court by yourself, this means that you are your own attorney. Consequently, you must prepare yourself to competently represent yourself in court. You can do this by studying the provisions of the law related to the ticket you have been issued. It helps to know that each ticket a traffic officer issues is based on a law in the statutes. As such, study how the law interprets the statute, including the decisions of the courts on similar cases in your jurisdiction in the past.
References:
http://www.dmvflorida.org/fighting-a-ticket.shtml
