Originally posted by: bunker
An FYI to all you "I'll get it dropped if the cop doesn't show up" people.
A radio personality here in Georgia recently went to fight a traffic ticket. The cop didn't show up and he thought it would be dropped. The magistrate/judge didn't drop it, they rescheduled it.
This depends on the laws of the state that you live in. In WA state, for example, the officer doesn't have to show up at all. He can just prepare a signed affidavit for the court. In Oregon, the officer MUST show up or the case is dropped, no exceptions. California, IIRC, is the same as Oregon -- but then again, I've never gotten a ticket in CA.
And who the hell gives a rat's ass whether he was speeding or not? That wasn't his question. The reality is that it is highly likely that the officer will show up and that he will lose. If this is just a simple speeding ticket, and if he's smart, he'll fire his worthless lawyer. Having a lawyer in traffic court will actually reduce your chances of winning (this is because, IMO, the judge does not get to see the defendant's MVR prior to making his judgement... bringing a lawyer will make him think that you are a repeat offender beforehand). The smartest move, IMO, is to defend yourself and make an intelligent argument based on picking holes in the officer's testimony (prosecution always testifies first).
And I wish the self-righteous hyprocrite crowd here would disappear. You know that you all do 60 in a 55 or 40 in a 35 (because doing less would back up traffic even here in Oregon, which has the world's slowest drivers), so kindly STFU.