Here’s What You Should Do To Effortlessly Fight a Wrongful Traffic Ticket

Are you someone who has been wrongfully handed a traffic ticket for no fault of yours? Being upset or having your blood boil over it would obviously do you no good. And if you think arguing with the officer who handed you the ticket would be of any use, then, leave alone someone else telling you that it wouldn’t, your own conscience would tell you that. Rather, it could additionally make the officer lose his cool and put further charges on you towards creating a hindrance in letting him perform his duty.

Being wrongfully convicted of an offense that you have not committed is surely upsetting, but there are proper legal ways you can fight them. So, dealing with them immaturely could make your case weak. Here are some ways you can effortlessly fight a wrongful traffic ticket:

First of all, you should make a note of these things:

• The type of the officer’s vehicle, the license plate and the unit number of the officer’s vehicle, the location where you were stopped, the traffic conditions of that place and time, the weather conditions, the clothes you were wearing, and all other possible details which the officer would not have paid attention to. 
• Be aware of your right to a speedy trial and make sure you exercise it. Do not waive your right to a speedy trial on being asked the same by the court. The court might convince you that waiving it off might give the court more time to understand and settle the case properly, but only consider waiving off this right if you or your attorney needs more time to prepare for the case or else, giving up on this right could hurt your case in many ways.
• Hire an experienced traffic ticket attorney to understand all possible options that you have to fight your wrongful conviction. You can at least consult an attorney for the same. Most of the defense attorneys offer a free consultation session when you hire them. Since he is a professional, he understands the legal system in much more depth than you could ever. He can present compelling reasons to get your ticket reduced or entirely dropped. Further, he can save a lot of your valuable time by handling the complex and lengthy procedures that would be a part of your case. Most importantly, he will make you aware of your rights and also ensure help you exercise them.
• Do not think of giving up and paying the fine just to get done with it and escape the long procedures. If you decide to do so, remember that you are unknowingly accepting being guilty of the offense that you have not even committed. Further, there would be points added to your driving license (that would stay there forever) which could make a lot of things difficult for you.

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Do Not Give Up Your Right To a Speedy Trial While Pleading “Not Guilty” On Your Traffic Ticket

“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does- that makes you a winner right there.” -Venus Williams

When you’re handed a traffic ticket for absolutely no fault of yours, feeling helpless and frustrated would be common. And with that frustrated mind, you might just want to pay the fine and get done with it. However, you must remember that the moment you decide to pay the fine, you automatically plead guilty to your charge (meaning that you have accepted your charge). You surely don’t want that, do you?

When you haven’t committed an offense, then you wouldn’t want to accept having committed it, would you? Giving up is easier than fighting back. But having a little courage to fight back your false charges won’t go in vain. Be very assured of that.

What I am going to say next would be right what might be there on your mind for a long time.

If you plead “not guilty” on your traffic ticket, you must have had thoughts like “what if your defense suffers due to any kind of procedural delay?”. Well, why should your defense have to suffer due to any procedural or government delay? Right?

This is why the right to a speedy trial exists. To prevent defendants who plead “not guilty” from delayed justice. It provides them the right to a court trial within a specific time period. In Colorado, the time limit for the court trial is within 6 months of entering the “not guilty” plea. Had this right not existed, the trial could go on for years before getting justice to the defendant.

However, in many cases, it is seen that the courts try tricking the defendants to give up or “waive” this right since it gives them flexibility in setting the trial dates according to their convenience.

Here’s how you can save yourself from giving up this right:

Generally, the court asks this question in a leading and indirect manner, which often cannot be understood by a layman and thus, defendants, in their nervousness, end up responding to the question with a “yes” (meaning that they give up their right to a speedy trial).Only an expert traffic ticket attorney can understand it and respond to it in the right manner.

• If you are pleading “not guilty” and are without an attorney representing you, then on being asked any question related to the waiving time for the trial, you should clearly answer that you plead not guilty to all allegations and do not waive your right to a speedy trial.
• Don’t let the judge convince you to give up this right by making you understand how it will allow the court to work properly around their schedule and this could be beneficial to you.
• Do not be afraid or nervous to ask any kind of questions if you feel uncertain or doubtful about anything.
• Hire a professional attorney who can protect this right, along with many others (which you might not even be aware of) and help you exercise them at appropriate times.
• Only if the defendant wants more time to prepare his defense should he give up this right. Or if the evidence collected isn’t good enough. Otherwise, giving up this right could hurt the defendants in ways more than one.

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How to Fight a Traffic Ticket without a Lawyer?

Getting a traffic ticket doesn’t always mean that you have to lose your money for either paying off the fine or hiring a lawyer to fight it. If you think that you weren’t at fault and are stuck in a tricky situation or you simply don’t want to add points to your license, you can defend yourself even without a lawyer. It may sound a little tedious if you aren’t well versed with the laws and appeals, but, sometimes, putting some effort can pay off really well. All you have to do is some research, gather information and follow certain systematic steps as per the law of your state to get your traffic ticket dismissed. However, although it is possible to get your ticket dismissed, going to court and dealing with the legal procedures might be quite stressful. If you are wondering how to fight a traffic ticket without a lawyer, here are some tips that could help you:

Remain Composed
Always stay calm and composed during a traffic stop as well court hearing. Maintain a respectful attitude towards the prosecutor. Its important to be positive and have a professional attitude in the court during hearing. Attorneys always try to trick you to get a desirable statement from you. Thus, showing hostility towards any question may bring you unfavourable outcomes.

Gather Information
Mostly, the state law gives you some time to prepare for the court hearing. Utilise the time to prepare yourself. Research about the laws and legal procedures so that you can point out if there was any misconduct on the part of law enforcement officials. Find out laws that might work in you favour and know how to use them.

Prepare Yourself
While representing yourself in the court you must remember that you are facing an expert. Thus, prepare yourself accordingly and never appear in the court without devising your exact line of defence. A pro defendant is usually allowed to testify in a slightly different manner which includes a direct speech to the judge. Thus make sure you prepare your speech well and do not fumble in the court while speaking. Keep your speech devoid of emotions and practice it well.

Answer Wisely
Frame your answers wisely before saying. Avoid answering the questions that haven’t been asked and don’t give unnecessary inputs. Saying too much could land you in trouble as professional lawyers know very well how to turn your words against you.

Dress Appropriately
Always remember first impressions last long. A number of people ignore this fact and arrive at the court dressed like they are going to a beach. At least you must wear business casual for a court appearance. People who appear professional and behave like they are in the court to conduct business usually impress not only the judge but the prosecutor as well. And, a prosecutor decides whether he wants to offer you a ‘deal’ or not.

Present Your Conduct as a ‘Mistake of Fact’
The judge might consider that the circumstances were beyond your control, if you can prove it well. If you prove that the error was an honest and reasonable one, the judge might conclude that you made a “mistake of fact” and dismiss your ticket. For instance, you can say that you failed to stop before the pedestrian crosswalk markers as they were faded and not clearly visible. You may also claim that you didn’t get a fair notice about the conduct that was expected of you. For instance, the judge might dismiss your ticket for running a brand new stop sign.

Show that Your Conduct was Intended to Avoid Harm
You can also get your traffic ticket dismissed if you can prove that you were forced to violate the traffic law to avoid an immediate and serious danger for yourself or others. For instance, you can say that you were speeding to escape an out-of-control truck heading your way.

Getting a traffic ticket dismissed in Colorado isn’t always that easy, as the state is quite strict in enforcing traffic laws. But if you know a few facts you can fight a traffic ticket even without a lawyer. You can also get a free consultation from the best traffic ticket lawyer in Colorado, who can guide you well in your venture.

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Colorado Speeding Laws & Need of Traffic Ticket Attorney

Like any other state in USA, Colorado has its own set of rules when it comes to vehicle speeding. A car that crosses the prescribed speed limits is not only prone to cause major damage to property and life but also carries the chance to cause damage to the self. It is important to know about the possible legal consequences of exceeding such speed limits or reckless driving, so that a person is aware of what penalties he or she might expect for breaking such laws.

Crossing speed limits by drivers in Colorado is not uncommon. Many people exceed the speed limits because of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There are still others who might have a habit of speed driving. A person might also receive a speeding ticket in case he or she had been driving too slowly. In case a person has received a speeding ticket from a Colorado traffic police, then he or she should contact a Colorado speeding ticket attorney to receive the best legal support. Colorado speeding laws are unique and different from other states, and it is not always possible for a layman to be aware of all of them. So let’s take a brief look at the different speeding laws that are in practice in Colorado.

The Basic Speed Rule

According to COLO Sec. 42-4-1101(1), No person should drive a vehicle or a car at a speed that is greater than what is prudent and reasonable under the conditions existing at that given time.
Basic Speed Limits

These are the basic vehicle speeding limitations as set by the law of Colorado

•    65 MPH on interstate system
•    30 MPH for a residence district
•    25 MPH within a business district 
•    40 MPH on all open mountain highways•    55 MPH on any open highway that is not on interstate system
•    20 MPH on a narrow, winding mountain highway or a blind curve

DUI/DWAI cases

If a person had been driving a vehicle under the influence (DUI) or driving while ability impaired (DWAI), then he or she needs to get in touch with a lawyer that can assist with such cases. A DUI or DWAI related speeding case will involve additional legal penalties and trials than what is the norm for standard reckless driving or speed limit exceeding cases. The penalties and jail times needed to be served for such cases will differ based on whether a person is committing the offence for the first time or any additional number of times.

Possible defenses for speeding vehicles in Colorado

According to the laws of Colorado, a person might be able to receive any of the three possible defenses when it comes to speeding.

•    Attacking an officer’s way of determining your vehicle speed is a good way to defend oneself against an allegation of speeding. In order to do this, a person must first discover the method that an officer uses to cite the speeding case and then find out about the various ways in which he or she can attack that particular way.

•    Another way to achieve the same end is by stating that an emergency propelled the person in control of the wheels to exceed speed limits for avoiding serious injuries or damages to others and the self.

•    The other way that a person can present a defense against speeding allegation is by stating that the officer wrongly mistook the car for some other vehicle. As there are so many vehicles on the street that look quite similar, it is quite possible for a cop to see a particular speeding car but then lose the sight of it and wrongly pick up another car that was present a bit farther down that road.

Colorado Pointing System

The driving license of a person can be subjected to suspension in case he or she accumulated 18 points in 24 consecutive months or 12 points in 12 consecutive months. Provisional drivers would get their licenses suspended if they gather 12 points in any 24 consecutive months, 9 points in 12 consecutive months or 14 points starting from the time this provisional license was actually issued. For all minor drivers, there would be a suspension of license in case they accumulate 5 points in 12 consecutive months or a total of 6 points starting from the time their license was issued. Suspension of license would occur for chauffeurs in case they accumulate (during the course of their employment) 16 points in a single year, 24 points within 2 years or a total of 28 points within 4 years.
 



These are the points that are attributed to different types of speeding violations: 

•    Three points for driving at a speed of 5 - 9 MPH over the prudent and reasonable speed or 5 - 9 MPH over maximum lawful speeding limit of 75 MPH.

•    Four points for driving at a speed of 10 - 19 MPH over the prudent and reasonable speed or 10 - 19 MPH over maximum lawful speeding limit of 75 MPH.

•    Six points for driving at a speed of 20 - 39 MPH over the prudent and reasonable speed or 20 - 39 MPH over maximum legal speed limitation of 75 MPH.

•    Twelve points for driving at 40 MPH or more speed over prudent and reasonable speed or 40 MPH or more speed over maximum legal speeding limit of 75 MPH. 

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