Got pulled over for speeding. Was going 81 in a 55. Officer also wrote a ticket because of a rim around my license plate that was slightly obstructing it s view.
Also, my friend who was a passenger in the car had an open container. I wasn t drink or anything of the sort.
The cop was nice enough to not write me up for the open container, and bumped the speed on my ticket down from a 81 to 71.
So to clarify, I got 1 ticket for speeding (71 in a 55) and 1 ticket for license plate obstruction.
The cop was really pushing for me to not show up to court and just mail the ticket in and plea guilty.
If I plead not guilty in court, is it possible that if the cop is there, he can try to charge me again for the open container, and also bump up my speeding ticket?
Answers & Comments
There is no legal requirement to issue a ticket at the time of the offense. However, it is highly unlikely he would issue it under those circumstances.
Also keep in mind tickets are not etched in stone. The information can be amended (changed) at any time. In my area, when someone requests a trial on a reduced ticket, the court amends the ticket to the original speed. That way the officer's testimony matches the charge. You could wind up with a higher fine and/or more points.
He will not charge you with anything more than what you were given the tickets for
And you can ask for a jury trial but you will lose and then have to pay more for court costs and waste a day setting in court.
Pay the tickets and be done with it
Hiring a lawyer and plead not guilty
Source(s):
....I am a retired police officer. I retired as a sergeant, after 29 years, from a very large department, about 12,000 officers. I was a patrol officer for 4 years in a very diverse area. I was a tactical officer in the high rise project areas of my city. We called it vertical patrol in that we walked the the stairways of the high rises most of the time. I did that for 5 years and was promoted by test to detective. I worked violent crime (homicide, sex, officer involved shootings, robbery, kidnapping, serious non property incidents) for 11 years until I was promoted to sergeant. I worked as a street supervisor, a bicycle patrol supervisor and a desk sergeant/watch commander.
During my time as a tactical officer and a detective I was a unit representative for the police union.
I have a B.A in English and an M.S. in Law Enforcement Administration....
If you still show up to court to fight it even AFTER getting a break, they absolutely can add on more charges/fines. I've seen it happen multiple times and would not recommend fighting it unless you have a real solid defense.
The officer won't be there when you enter a plea. If you plea not guilty a trial will be scheduled, the officer WILL appear, and he WILL testify that you were actually going 81 with an open container, but he tried to give you a break.
Saying it is possible suggests it may not happen. It WILL happen.