If you've received a citation for poor driving, you may want to think about the problem as if you were a traffic ticket lawyer. In every such case, there are three common questions a traffic lawyer will want to address.
How Was Proof of Your Allegedly Poor Driving Ascertained?
Traditionally, we think of a traffic ticket as being filled out by a police officer while standing alongside a car that has been pulled over. With the rise of automation and video cameras, there has also been a big uptick in cases where tickets have been issued by computerized systems.
Methodology means a lot. Both dash and traffic cam footage is usable, and you do have the right to seek its disclosure if you're sure you didn't commit a violation.
Other questions about equipment should also be raised. If you were accused of speeding based on a radar gun reading, for example, you do have the right to seek records of maintenance and any recalls for the system. The same right applies to maintenance records for the involved cruiser if the police officer claimed that your speed was obtained by matching speed while they were driving behind you.
Did You Say Anything That Helped the Cop?
A simple technique that police officers use to bolster weak cases is to just ask, "Do you know how fast you were going?" Blurted answers can be taken as admissions of guilt. The best response, when a cop asks you this, is to say, "I couldn't have been going that fast." If you did mess up and provide a specific statement about your speed or while you were going fast, then a traffic
Are the Police Using a Quota System?
Depending on the state you live in, it may be illegal for the cops to employ a quota where officers have to make X number of stops each week. If you've heard through the grapevine that there seem to be a lot of stops in the area where you were pulled over, that's worth mentioning to a traffic violation lawyer.
Accumulating proof may be simpler than you think since cops are just as prone to blabbing to others about how many stops are happening. Attorneys often have relationships with the cops in their areas, and they can put their ears to the ground to find out what's up.
