Step1
Go over the notes and diagram you made (hopefully) shortly after the incident. Analyze the facts and how they relate to the law.
Step2
Make a large, formal drawing of the scene and have photos blown up to 8 by 10 inches if they will help explain the situation.
Step3
Prepare your testimony and place the key points on 3 by 5-inch cards. Practice reciting your testimony until you can go through it smoothly.
Step4
Ask a friend who is willing to critique you to listen to your testimony. Have him interrupt you to ask you questions (as judges often do). Keep practicing with him and others until you feel comfortable and are able to convince them that you are innocent.
Step5
Meet with your witnesses (it's perfectly legal!). Discuss and write down what they will say.
Step6
Have witnesses practice giving a narrative, and write questions to ask if a narrative isn't allowed. Urge them to tell the truth, to refrain from embellishing facts, and to admit they don't know when that is the case.
Step7
Subpoena your witnesses who are unreliable or who need the document to be absent from school or work.
Step8
Write down questions a prosecutor might ask you in cross-examination. Practice answering these and other questions posed by a friend who's able to be objective and penetrating.
Step9
Carefully write cross-examination questions for the ticketing officer. Start with general questions and work up to very specific questions dealing with your ticket. Ask questions that demand a "yes" or "no" answer or a brief, factual response rather than questions that give the officer room to state an opinion or bring up irrelevant information.
Step10
Keep in mind that your purpose in cross-examining the officer is to demonstrate that there is a reasonable doubt that you are guilty or to have him admit that you did not violate every element of the law; that he was not in a position to see your vehicle clearly; or that he misinterpreted the situation.
Step11
Write your questions on 3 by 5 cards, leaving space for notes during the trial. Ask a friend your cross-examination questions, practicing in particular becoming flexible enough to change the order of questions or omit questions in response to the officer's testimony and answers and working on dealing with evasiveness.
Step12
Prepare, memorize and practice brief opening and closing statements, and write the key points on 3 by 5 cards. You may not get to use them, but they will help you focus on the essentials of your case.
Step13
Take your suit to the cleaners and take a deep breath. You're ready for trial.