Photo Enforcement P8: DENIED!

When I saw on the Case Lookup site that my court date was still set after the judge had received and ruled on my motion, I knew that it had been denied.  I got the letter out of the mailbox this morning and this is what it says.

“COMES NOW, Defendant has filed a Motion to Dismiss which is in addition to the Defendant’s original Motion to Dismiss in which the Court set a hearing for the Defendant.  The Court is responding and ruling on Defendants motions to clarify Civil Traffic procedures for the Defendant.  Defendant is required to respond to a civil traffic violation in writing or in person.  Upon notice of a complaint a defendant is notified in writing as to their options and is instructed to either appear on appearance date or respond by mail.  The Plaintiff or the State is not required to appear at the Defendants appearance date the appearance date is for the Defendant to enter a plea of responsible or not responsible.  A plea of Responsible the fine is imposed or the defendant may attend a traffic school.  A plea of Not Responsible the Court would then set the matter for hearing at a later date and notify the State Court date also.  The Court truly apologizes that the Court offices were ordered closed by the County due to the snow emergency and you were not able to make your appearance.
IT IS HERBY ORDERED Denying defendant’s motion to dismiss because the State failed to appear.  It is further ordered denying defendant’s motion to dismiss due to clerical error; clerical error is not a legal basis for dismissal.
Currently this matter is set for hearing on 2-25-11 @ 09:00 a.m.”

So the motion was denied.  It’s time to bring together all my research and prepare to appear in court.  I’ve never fought a ticket before, but this feels more like I’ve been ensnared in a taxation scam! I’ll be posting some of my ideas for approaching this complaint, but I’m totally open to suggestions.

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4 Responses

  1. Andrew says:

    Sorry to say, but your likely screwed. As my brother will tell you (Jan S.), getting a ticket overturned is almost impossible. I once went to traffic court on a speeding ticket and had the officer admit he might have made a mistake (he somehow clocked me going 0-50mph in the span of about 20ft in a Ford Escort). The judge still ruled against me. Good luck though!

  2. Spencer says:

    well, I don’t normally do this kind of thing, but I had some time on my hands and felt justified in fighting back a bit. 😀

  3. Andrew says:

    Its good to fight back once in a while, and I agree with the principal behind your choice. Wish you the best of luck! It would be nice to hear just once that the little guy won!

  4. Spencer says:

    I need to update this blog with some new information. In the end the complainant didn’t show up and the judge said that she thought that I probably was speeding, but “in the interest of Justice, I find you not responsible.”

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