Not many people plan on fighting their traffic tickets in court. Most people complain about the ticket, then go pay it so they don’t have to worry about it. However, once you do decide that you’ve got to fight it – whether its for the principle of the matter or because you can’t afford the points on your record – you should be sure to prepare accordingly. As a misdemeanor prosecutor for a number of years, I’ve seen way too many examples of people who haven’t prepared at all for their trial, then wonder what went wrong when they lost. Here are a few tips to do better in court.
1. Wear Appropriate Attire
This means you should wear the right kind of clothes. We live in a very casual and laid back society. It seems that places where dress up attire was required, like church or the opera, no longer require formal clothing. That isn’t necessarily bad, but there are some places that you really need to dress better than others. Court is one of these places. Court is a place that requires lawyers to wear suits – or at least jackets and ties for men and dress suits for women. Court has been called “the Temple of Justice” by one possibly pompus former Supreme Court Justice. Many judges feel that way about their own courts, and they require a showing of respect by having a dress code. I’ve seen more than once people being asked/forced to leave court because they were in shorts, tank tops, short skirts, or wore flip flops or sandals.
More than how the judge feels about how you dress, subconsciously what you wear can give you credibility. Who would you give more credibility to – someone wearing nice khakis and a golf shirt, or grungy jeans and a def leopard t-shirt? Judges in traffic court have to weigh the credibility of the testimony between a police officer and a citizen. If that citizen comes in looking like they were dragged in off the street, less credibility will be given to their testimony. You don’t need to wear a tux, or even a suit and tie like the attorneys – you just need to go to court looking clean and presentable, and you will be given more credibility than the next guy.
2. Have Something to Say in Your Defense
Just the other day at a reckless driving trial I had a defendant who had nothing to say. I went through the whole case with my police officer – proving the case against this motorcycle driver unless there was a defense. The defendant got up on the stand and said, “well, its not like I’m trying to get out of this ticket – I just had a problem with the way the officer got my speed.” Not only was he essentially admitting to the traffic violation, his concern was with something he wasn’t charged with. If you have no defense, it does no good to waste your time to get up on the stand to complain about the officer. In most cases, the judge won’t let you simply get up to complain about the officer without stating a defense. If you can’t defend yourself, plead out and get the best deal you can. If you want to complain, go to the officer’s supervisors. Don’t waste your time by going to court.
3. Have a Plausible Defense
While you need to have something to say in your own defense, make sure it is reasonable rather than outlandish. Don’t tell the judge you are a professional driver then excuse yourself by saying you couldn’t see a clearly visible no u-turn sign. In law, there are two main types of defenses for traffic offenses. First is the defense that you didn’t commit the offense. This will require you to explain how the officer’s version of the event was wrong, what you really did, etc. Second is the defense that you have an excuse for what you did. This is trickier, but works if you can convince the judge that there was no other way to drive and comply with the law (for example, you had to swerve out of your lane in order to avoid a box falling off of a truck). In that case, while you committed a violation of swerving, you are likely to be excused or justified by the judge. Be careful, though, because many excuses do not work (i.e. I didn’t know the car could go that fast; I’m not used to driving that car; I didn’t know my friend’s car didn’t have insurance, etc.).
While these may seem like very basic things, they matter a lot when you get to court. Unfortunately, too many people wanting to fight their tickets don’t think enough about these basic types of things. Make sure you think through your defense when it is your turn to fight your ticket. Good luck!
