Legal Regulations for Fighting Speeding Tickets
An officer must have had reasonable suspicion to pull a car over for speeding. In court, the officer must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver broke the speed limit. The driver can represent himself or hire an attorney to help him fight the speeding ticket. Either way, several laws may help get the ticket thrown out.
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Legality of Stop
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The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects against illegal searches and seizures. A police officer who pulls over a vehicle has seized that vehicle, if only temporarily. The courts, in interpreting the Constitution, have developed rules that say the officer must have had "reasonable suspicion" that a crime was being committed. According to Black's Law Dictionary, reasonable suspicion is articulable facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime is being committed and that the person stopped is the person committing the crime. This means that the officer needs to be able to specify not only why he thought the vehicle was speeding, but also has to assure the court that the vehicle he stopped was the same vehicle he observed. In other words, if the officer sees a car speeding but loses sight of the car before she pulls it over, she'll have to convince the court that the car stopped is not another car that resembles the car observed. In court, the officer must also prove that the person charged was the person driving the car at the time of the speeding. If she can't establish who was driving, there can be no conviction.
Proper Calibration
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Some jurisdictions have regulations that set forth how often radar detectors and laser guns must be calibrated. If the officer can't show that he has followed those regulations, the laser or radar evidence may get thrown out of court. If so, the officer's reasonable suspicion for the stop may also get thrown out, in which case the ticket must be dismissed.
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Necessity
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Some jurisdictions don't allow the defense of necessity in traffic cases, but in those that do, it can provide a defense. If speeding was necessary because a person in the car was in a life-and-death emergency situation, and if the speeding car didn't have a reasonable opportunity to stop and get help, a necessity may have existed that would cause the ticket to be dismissed.
Continuances
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Most jurisdictions have court rules that set forth the conditions under which a judge will grant a continuance (postponement) of the case. If there is some circumstance that entitles a person facing a speeding ticket to a continuance, he should request one. According to Melvin D. Leiding, a defense attorney in California, every continuance increases the chances the ticket will be dismissed by 30 percent to 50 percent, depending on which court the ticket is heard in.
Deferred Prosecution
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Allowing deferred prosecution of speeding tickets has become more common in jurisdictions around the United States. Deferral means the ticket is put on hold until the person charged completes some set of conditions, which usually involves attending a traffic safety class and paying a small fine. If the person successfully completes these conditions, his ticket is dismissed and neither the Department of Motor Vehicles nor his insurance company will find out about it. Normally to get a deferred prosecution, the person charged has to waive his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial during the time he's trying to get the ticket dismissed. If he's unsuccessful and the case goes back to court, the speedy-trial rule restarts.
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