Ticket in MI ???

[TWISTER]

Long story short I got a ticket in the work truck for disregard of a red light. I told the officer it was yellow when I entered it and he said yellow is red and didnt I learn that in driving school? So there was no arguing with this guy. My co worker assured me it was yellow also. The officer was behind a brick wall and trees and the angle he was is there was no way he could tell. There were 4 other police cars further down the road given tickets for eveything. Im plsnning on going to fight this one cause there is no way Im admitting guilt to this. Do I have a chance? This was in Jackson MI. I will get paid to go to court so money is not the issue. Thanks for any help.

 

[HUMBLE-U2]

ticket

sure you do. hire a lawyer in all states they have ticket defence lawyers. check youre local yellow pages.you dont have to go to court. they handle everthing.

 

[TWISTER]

Honestly, a lawyer seems a little over the top for such a petty infraction. I dont want to go that far but thank you for you opinion. I figured I would just get an affidavit from my passender and see what happens. Money is not an issue but Id have to take the Co. lawyer 2 hours from home so that may be an issue.

 

[whtT]

Welcome to Jackson! This town in a notorious speed trap. I think we hand out more tickets than any other county in Michigan. You have a chance fighting it in court. They'll probably reduce the fine and still give out any points would be my guess. I've had tickets reduced that way before. They run those "wolf pack" operations quite a bit around here. Where in Jackson were you?

 

[BLACK6PACK]

You can fight it yourself and if it is like most states you'll go to a pre-trial where they usually cut you a brake. I suggest what others have said and hire a lawyer. Down here they have "the ticket clinic" which is a group of a few lawyers that do nothing but fight tickets. I paid $69 total last time and never even met with them. When I'd fight the ticket myself, I'd usually pay $45-60 for court costs and have to waste 2-3 hours of my time, the ticket would not be "guilty" or "innocent" they would "withhold adjudication". With the lawyer, they'd get the ticket dismissed. They walk into court and have 50-100 tickets and the judge doesn't have time to mess with that many tickets, so they just pull out the major infractions and throw out all the minor ones.

 

[darkred87T]

Yellow means red? Then why have yellow at all? What an ignorant statement. I would definitely tell the judge what he said.

BTW, good luck.

 

[excobraguy]

Long story short I got a ticket in the work truck for disregard of a red light. I told the officer it was yellow when I entered it and he said yellow is red and didnt I learn that in driving school? So there was no arguing with this guy. My co worker assured me it was yellow also. The officer was behind a brick wall and trees and the angle he was is there was no way he could tell. There were 4 other police cars further down the road given tickets for eveything. Im plsnning on going to fight this one cause there is no way Im admitting guilt to this. Do I have a chance? This was in Jackson MI. I will get paid to go to court so money is not the issue. Thanks for any help.

I have gone to court for several traffic tickets, mainly speeding. You can win easily. Some times the policeman doesn't even show up, case dismissed. Sometimes you have to plead your case to the judge and let him make the decision. Just because this guy is a cop doesn't always mean the judge will take his side over yours. I have won 3 cases where my side of the story made more sense than the ticket happy policeman and I won. You can also ask for a meeting with the prosecutor, before the court date, to meet with him and ask him to amend it. I have done this as well. You still have to pay a fine but it is changed to a non-moving violation.

 

[whtT]

What an ignorant statement.

Well, my last run in with a cop in Jackson included him telling me that I spun the rear tires of my T at 70 mph. Oh yeah, and my T had the 307 V8 with 2.73 gears at the time.

 

[GNBRETT]

Just to clarify, failing to stop for a YELLOW light is the same for failure to stop for a RED light in most every state. YELLOW means STOP simply because the light will be red very soon. A YELLOW light simply gives one a brief second to react and stop prior to the light turning RED. If the light went from GREEN to RED instantly there would not be ample time to react and stop. The police officer was correct in telling you that YELLOW means stop just like RED. A YELLOW light that is not flashing does not indicate caution as it would with a flashing YELLOW light.

Basically, a YELLOW lights means slow down and stop because it will be red soon and oncomming traffic will now be flowing into the intersection from the opposite direction. NOT, speed up and get thru the YELLOW light cause it's going to turn RED....lol.

My advice to you is to not tell the prosecutor that the light was yellow when you passed thru it. Cause if u do you will be beat. Most likely the police officer wrote down your comments on the back of the ticket so ur best chance is to plead ignorance and be very respectful. Im not sure getting an attorney is the way to go. See what happens in court first. You can always request a hearing with a judge if you do not agree with the prosecutor's findings.

 

[turbofish38]

I have gone to court for several traffic tickets, You can win easily. Some times the policeman doesn't even show up, case dismissed.

That wont fly down here in FL. If the cop cant make the date the court reschedules it to where they can. And I hear thats everywhere now.

Fighting a ticket is such a waste of time. If it was me I'd hire somebody to plead it down if it's the points you are worried about. No points, than pay the ticket and move on.

The cops and the DA are pros as far as traffic tickets go.It's their job afterall. They dont like losing. You better be sharper than they are if you want to win. I've seen grown men reduced to tears in the few times I've gone to court.

 

[ChavoLC2]

Stop light

They have a scam here . On some of the busier intersections they have cameras/radar. They catch red lighters all the time a kodak moment . If you see a yellow light and you speed up so you don't get caught running a red light the camera /radar system takes your pic.:

Yeah you didn't get a red light violation but they send you a speeding ticket with a photo of your car. So they get you coming and going. So if it turns yellow and I'm at one of those camera/radar intersections I stop even if it's in the intersection I actually try an avoid these intersections The scam is you send the money off to Ohio non of the cash goes to the city of Albuquerque. The good thing is it doesnt go on your record and the stupid thing has no points no passing go ,no notha. :biggrin: Rather then to hassle with it we've just PAID em their Money since we both have been caught. It's cheaper to run the redlight then to speed thru when it's yellow about to turn red. Had a detailed pic with Speedy Gonzales(left rear trunk) speeding thru the intersection.

So after gettin popped twice I thought we'd beat the system bought those covers for our plates the camera can't get a full picture . Put one on my wifes car and my sons truck, never got around to putting one on the GN. Come to find out it's a felony to hinder cover your plates. My son got a warning cop pulled up next to him and said those are illegal take that cover off immediately when you get home boy, which I did.

My wife on the other hand pulls in front of a cop he pulls her over, treats her like crap like a felon, scarred my daughter , don't you know I can take your a** to jail, took her keys, takes off the plate cover, writes her out a ticket/and court date. I was yankin her chain about doing time and all.:biggrin: We did call my father inlaw the lawyer once we found out howserious an offense it was, he knows some people who knows some people and it got dropped. He had a friend/ fellow lawyer represent my wife.. As she was leaving court she's shaking and some one in judge's chamber sticks their head out and says we're having a blowout sale this Saturday on license plate covers. Guess they have been taking these things away from people left and right, fining some as it is a felony and most because of ignorance have gotten off or lighter spankings. She thought she was goin to do some time!:biggrin: Told her glad he didn't search your vehicle since he had probable cause. You would have had to explain why you have a 10mm Glock in your vehicle. She carries a big gun. Thank God our vehicle is an extension of our home/property and we have the right to protect ourselves here.

If it doesn't go on your record, points taken away, insurance doesn't know about it. Just pay it it's not worth the hassle sometimes even if it's just the principle and you believe your/are innocent...

 

[TWISTER]

WhtT I was passing over 127 on Mcdevitt or M50 as the cop said. I built the Family Dollar in town there and just finished it today. I took a pic of where the officer was sittin and from that angle there is no way he could tell when I entered the intersection. Im not going to disrespect the law at all but the officer treated me unproffesional in my opinion. I dont think he ran my liscense either as I asked him if my restriction for tinted windows showed up still on record and he said dispatch never got back to him they were busy. Also my drivers liscense number isnt on my citation. Im denying responsability and sending a brief statement and statement from my passenger along with a pic of the signal location with the ticket to see what will happen. Thanks for all the advice. Ill let you know how it comes out. The Nascar race was letting out so they have been nailing people all day. I hope they dismiss it by mail as busy as they are. The clerk at the courthouse told me to fight it also.. Go figure.

 

[TWISTER]

This is where the officer was sitting.

 

[TWISTER]

The truck in the pic is long past the light. As you can see the angle is hard to see from there. The light on the left is the traffic light. I could not safely stop for the yellow as I was already breaking for a turn that I couldnt find to the left there ,as two roads were at one exit and I was turning around to go back when I was pulled over.

 

[BLACK6PACK]

That wont fly down here in FL. If the cop cant make the date the court reschedules it to where they can. And I hear thats everywhere now.

Fighting a ticket is such a waste of time. If it was me I'd hire somebody to plead it down if it's the points you are worried about. No points, than pay the ticket and move on.

The cops and the DA are pros as far as traffic tickets go.It's their job afterall. They dont like losing. You better be sharper than they are if you want to win. I've seen grown men reduced to tears in the few times I've gone to court.

Its funny you say that, It's a total joke down here. Last time I fought a ticket myself, I showed up at 4:30 court started at 5pm, there's about 30 people fighting tickets (this is in front of a magistrait (sp?)) and the guy was pretty cool about it. He said I'll have all of you out of here in 20 minutes. This is after a lawyer walked up to the judge and handed him about 50 tickets which they processed in about 5 minutes, hence my suggestion for hiring a lawyer. I was one of the last people to go up, he asked if I wanted to plead "no contest" or go to court. I told him I wanted to know what I'd get as a penalty before I plead no contest. He says "who do you think I am, Monte Hall", he smiled, I smiled and said, "no, I just think I have a ligitimate argument." He says "$45 and no points" I said "no contest".

They published how many tickets were handed out in Broward County one year, and if I remember right it was almost 900,000 tickets. The article talked about how they clogged up the system and that more than 50% of the people were fighting the tickets and that 97% of those that fought the tickets got off.

 

[whtT]

Twister - I wish you luck fighting the ticket. You definately have a good argument. There's no way you could see accuratly from that point as you're coming down a hill there too. That section of McDivitt from the Highway all the way into Vandercook Lake is a known to have heavy police patrols - and if they caught on the day of the day of the NASCAR they were probably just churning and burning through tickets that day (hence why he probably never ran your license - didn't want to sit there for too long). The state police at the Jackson post have come pretty close to flat out admitting that traps like that are nothing but revenue generating actions in the local paper. I respect patrols for public safety, but when you're just trying to build up your fund accounts on the backs of your citizens.....

And while yellow lights should mean stop - around here you better pay close attention to your rear view mirror if you choose to stop. Most people don't stop for red lights, much less yellows, in Jackson. Sometimes going through is safer for your back bumper! Maybe it's a Michigan thing in general....

 

[gnxtc2]

Just to clarify, failing to stop for a YELLOW light is the same for failure to stop for a RED light in most every state. YELLOW means STOP simply because the light will be red very soon. A YELLOW light simply gives one a brief second to react and stop prior to the light turning RED. If the light went from GREEN to RED instantly there would not be ample time to react and stop. The police officer was correct in telling you that YELLOW means stop just like RED. A YELLOW light that is not flashing does not indicate caution as it would with a flashing YELLOW light.

Basically, a YELLOW lights means slow down and stop because it will be red soon and oncomming traffic will now be flowing into the intersection from the opposite direction. NOT, speed up and get thru the YELLOW light cause it's going to turn RED....lol.

This true in most states.

You admitted to the officer that you passed the yellow light. He probably gave a summons for something like "color requirements." To beat a yellow light summons is pretty hard. The prosectur will ask how fast you where going, what distance from the interesction you where at, was there any vehicles behind you, etc, etc,etc. By answering these questions you will be incriminating yourself again.

By the pic you posted, the only defense you have is by having a trial. The officer that wrote you a summons has to view the light the direction you traveling at. You could try and convince the judge that the light wasn't operating correctly, but you'll have to prove that.

Nowadays, the with the towns in such debt, the prosecutor handles all the pleas himself and don't want to pay the officer overtime to come to court. The officer doesn't have to go to court unless there is a trial but then again the prosecutor could handle that himself. Remeber you have to prove all your points.

My advice to you is try and down grade the summons to no points and pay the fine. Hiring a lawyer for a traffic violation is a waste of money, he will do the same as you would to down grade it. If he goes to trial, then you are paying much more.

Here is excerpt from MI law: Look a section 612.1(b)
Michigan Legislature

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[TWISTER]

Thanks for all the help. I sent in the ticket and I will let you know what happens. If I have to go to court Ill take more pics and look into the law a little more. Im just not going to plead guilty for something I didnt do. Does it matter if my liscense wasnt ran and my Drivers liscense # isnt on t he ticket. Im sure it wont matter. Thanks. Marty

 

[BLACK6PACK]

Fight Michigan Traffic Tickets with TixNix. Get Free Advice!

Have you looked for traffic ticket lawyers in your area? I'm telling you, every time I've got a ticket, I paid "the ticket clinic" $69 and would recieve a letter from the lawyer about a month later saying the ticket was dismissed. That's it, nothing else, $69 and no more ticket.

 

[TWISTER]

I havnt found a traffic lawyer yet. I think its more popular in Florida than MI. Ill keep looking.