Sebring7

A month ago I was unfuckingjustly cited for Exhibition of Speed while attaining a MERE speed of only 30 MPH within a distance of about 200ft! The officer who cited me asked "why did you take off like that?", and I responded "because I wanted to pass the person next to me in order to make a right hand turn at the follwing street (this street), so I accelerated a little faster than the other person did." He responded "And that's a reason to screech your tires?". I asked, "I screeched my tires?" and he answered "Well either you screeched your tires, or there's something wrong with the car, and if there's something wrong with the car then we can go ahead and impound it and see if there's anything wrong with the car. So is there anything wrong with the car?" My response was "There's nothing wrong with the car officer...". What was I to do??? Say yes?! I'm not going to get my car impounded over someone's power trip/abuse of power. I totally have nothing against the officer, but I believe that his actions were totally unjust.

So this morning I went to court and appeared in the Traffic Division. When it was my turn to testify and plead either guilty or not guilty - I asked what the fine was. The judge looked over her papers, and an advisor looked at the papers. They then asked me to wait in the Jury Box. At this point I was wondering "wtf?". Then someone came into the court room and called out my name, and so I followed her. She told me that the citation was a criminal citation, and then lead me to the criminal division. I was told that the offense was a misdermeanor from what they had read in their violations book.

If you'd like to help or state your opinions please do, but is this violation really a misdermeanor???

How sad is this... *sigh*

Sebring7

Oh and I forgot to add. The person who assisted me at the criminal division window told me that the South Pasadena PD would be sending me a letter of claim to see me in court for this, and that it should arrive in 1-2 months. He said it can actually be anywhere within a year, and if it goes over a year, then i'm off the hook. What can I do? Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated. What evidence can I use in court. What words would be most wise to use?

David88vert

The only thing anyone should suggest to you is to get a lawyer. If it is being charged as a criminal charge, do not talk to anyone about it except a lawyer. Find one immediately and he will probably be able to get it dropped.

BlackR1

That's bullshit...

Im sorry to hear about that Sebring

I would fight that all the way, 2 points on your record as well as a misdemeanor is way too much. That cop is a dick. All he has on you is that you chirped your tires. Plead not guilty, or at least leniency. Your defense could be that you accidentally popped the clutch and did not smoothly let off of it as you normally would. Everyone knows that if you pop the clutch the tire will chirp. Since you did not go over the speed limit, you were not going fast at all and simply made a driver error when moving to pass a driver who was slowing the flow of traffic and moving well below the speed limit. Be blunt with your explanation, but remain calm, cool, and polite. Hopefully the judge will be sympathetic and drop the charge.

Good luck

93FD

GET A LAWYER! Similar thing happened to me and I decided to not get a lawyer.....i ended up losing my license for 6 months as well as having a speed contest on my record. Worst part about the speed contest is the SR-22 and insurance rates. To drive my FD, I have to pay around $450 a month.

live4boost

iTrader: (2)

I got one also and tried to fight it. I didn't get an lawyer so they screwed me. My insurance went sky high. I didn't HAVE to go to court though. In my state it is a small fine, but equal to reckless driving on your record. Get an lawyer