Probably not an option in your case, but having a "local" lawyer (aka one who has been in that court before and knows the judge) helps immensely. Costs a ton o $$$. I dont know what happend in my case (its a long story and not for the list) but badda bing - case dismissed. Again - it was not cheap.
Some "free" hints if yer low on $$$ Wear a suit. A NICE one. The closer to Brooks Brothers "boring" the better. Find out who the judge is. Go to as many sessions that he is holding as possible. Find out what kinds of thinks he likes and what (aka other idiots) pisses him off. See what kind of excuses he buys and what he rejects. Wear the suit to each session. Sit quietly. Take notes, but DONT read magazines etc. Make sure yer not in the front row, but also not hidden in the back. You want them to know that yer there watching everything thats going on. This by the way is educational as hell. I learned more civics in three night sessions doing this than I did in all the hours of civics classes in school. Go to court early. Somtimes you can catch the judge as he walks in (if its a small town court). Be CONTRITE and see what you can get. Do not get anyone else to "ask" for you (parents etc) unless they are your lawyer - it seems to piss off the judge. Do NOT bring a posse of friends for moral support. You'll sorely tempted to talk to them. DONT. I know this pisses off judges more than anything. Even when I had my lawyer there, we waited for the break between cases and then went OUTSIDE to talk. Generally - the court is the Judge's kingdom and his word is LAW in there. Show respect. Do NOT pander or use sarcasim. That stuff shown on TV wont fly. In some courts they will offer plea bargains right in the lobby. Take em. I know they can be more than the ticket - take em. Esp if yer young and male. In general - I have found that plea baragins will NEVER reduce the fine. In my experience they have doubled or tripeled the overall fine. What I have gotten is "non moving violations". Be aware that in my case, the insurance surcharges were even higer than the "tripeled" fine (like $300 per year for at least three years in addition to raised rates). They know this and thus their willingness to get some of that $$$ for themselves. The following was told to me by a friend who claims it happend to him - I dunno if the stroy is true) Also - write down NOW the description of the officer that gave you the ticket. Take notes of *all* the officer that testify in those other sessions. Ive heard of cases where the "same" officer testifies as "others". DO NOT PUBLICALY REVEAL THEM ON THIS FRAUD! The idea is to let them know that you know the ruse. They'll dismiss your case on some technicality. If you call them on the ruse - you will NEVER be able to set foot in that town again. (the above story was told to me - I have no idea if it was true). __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ _____________ List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with 'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org
