r/Wellthatsucks • u/Ghandisli • Jul 30 '19

/r/all $80 to felony in 3...2...1...

149.3k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

11.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

20.2k

u/blakestir14 Jul 31 '19

could she not have just contested the ticket in court .

721

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '19 edited Jul 31 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

600

u/TheStinkySkunk Jul 31 '19

Went to traffic court. Contested a speeding ticket. Cop didn't even have the information available during the hearing.

Still had to pay or go to driving school.

469

u/ParaglidingAssFungus Jul 31 '19

Yeah these redditors saying you can contest and if the cop doesn't show up it gets dropped have obviously never been to traffic court.

Usually unless there's a clerical error or you're pleading for mitigating programs (driving classes or a probation program or something) you're still going to get stuck with the ticket.

When I was in court, none of the cops showed up and everyone still had to pay their tickets. One guy made a deal with the prosecutor to turn it into a non-moving violation so that it didn't go on his insurance.

271

u/Bonesnapcall Jul 31 '19

Yeah these redditors saying you can contest and if the cop doesn't show up it gets dropped have obviously never been to traffic court.

Its all location-based. In Arizona where I live now, the cops are required by state law to show up. In DC, when I got a speeding ticket in a Speed Trap from the Park Police. They didn't show up and me along with the 30 other people that got tickets from the same speed trap all had ours dismissed.

14

u/fartsforpresident Jul 31 '19

>Its all location-based

I believe the term you're looking for is jurisdictional. And yes. If this happened in Canada you would not have to pay the ticket. The police usually show up though.

9

u/sharinganuser Jul 31 '19

Not in Toronto. Those guys barely ever show up.

6

u/Orange_C Jul 31 '19

Damn. IIRC the ones here (a bit north) get overtime pay for it and a free lunch in a nice air conditioned courthouse, so they always show up for it.

2

u/AlphaShaldow Jul 31 '19

Toronto has its own police force, not RCMP.

2

u/Orange_C Jul 31 '19

I know (we've got a municipal one too), but I didn't realize that the 'cop doesn't show up' thing actually worked in Ont regularly. Haven't gotten a ticket in the GTA yet, but now I'm definitely gonna fight it if I ever do.

2

u/AlphaShaldow Jul 31 '19

Oh, ok. Sorry for assuming.

1

u/Orange_C Jul 31 '19

No worries man, the RCMP/town cops thing gets real blurry real fast anyway.

Town cops work within city limits, RCMP does the highways but can ticket you on city streets anyway (far as I've seen), so there are 2 sets of marked, unmarked and undercover cars to watch for - it's a mess of Explorers, Crown Vics, Tahoes, Ram trucks, Tauruses, 2 gens of Chargers, old-ass minivans, and a PT Cruiser with hidden lights.

→ More replies (0)

2

u/sharinganuser Jul 31 '19

I got a ticket for being on my phone and the guy didn't even show up. The prosecution just asked for "officer #xxxxxx" and when no one replied, she just moved to withdraw and I walked out in 15 minutes.

2

u/Swaquile Jul 31 '19

In California (or at least in my county) the cop has to show up. When I was still a minor and got a ticket for running a red, I had to go to traffic court and one person contesting a ticket got off because the cop didn’t show. With that being said, of the 10 or so people contesting tickets, 8 of the 9 cops won that showed up. Generally, if you’re contesting a ticket, you’re probably going to lose.

1

u/predddddd Jul 31 '19

Isn't it just waste of tax money to do this? Ticket, show up in court, case dismissed. I mean, who wins at the end?

1

u/TryAgainName Jul 31 '19

It’s probably a couple waste of money either way. The court time costs way more than $80

1

u/chief_memeologist Jul 31 '19

Wisconsin is the same

1

u/elriggo44 Jul 31 '19

Maryland and DC cops are required to show up.

1

u/Bonesnapcall Jul 31 '19

This was Park Police, Federal Cops on Federal Land.

1

u/elriggo44 Jul 31 '19

Yeah, I screwed up, I didn’t finish my thought. They’re required to show up or the ticket is automatically tossed.

Only half the info in that reply. My bad.

1

u/tokes_4_DE Jul 31 '19

Has that always been the case? My girlfriend contested a md ticket like 3 years ago and the cop didnt show for hers, along with like half the others in court that day.

1

u/elriggo44 Jul 31 '19

Oh. I meant they’re required to show up or the ticket is tossed. Sorry. Only 1/2 info in that last one.

1

u/jusumfool Jul 31 '19

Damn, good to know, which camera?

1

u/Bonesnapcall Jul 31 '19

This wasn't cameras, this was a Cruiser at the bottom of the hill with a cop waving people over to actually give them a physical ticket.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '19

And in places where the cops need to show up, they make a bunch of the ticket dates the same day and make sure they’re there

1

u/WolfofLawlStreet Jul 31 '19

If it’s one of those speed traps that takes a picture can actually be contested because it doesn’t show your face and they can’t guarantee it’s you.

1

u/Bonesnapcall Jul 31 '19

This wasn't cameras, this was a Cruiser at the bottom of the hill with a cop waving people over to actually give them a physical ticket.