Beat Your Ticket: Go to Court & Win (5th edition) - Softcover

Brown, David Wayne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1413306985 ISBN 13: 9781413306989

Publisher: Nolo, 2007

Synopsis

Everything you need to fight an unfair ticket! We've all received one: a traffic ticket that seems completely unfair, the result of an officer's evening quota rather than a serious moving violation. But do you have to pay the penalty and watch your driving record crash and burn? Not if you choose to fight back with Beat Your Ticket. Beat Your Ticket simply and clearly lays out the best strategies for beating tickets in court. The book explains in plain English how to use the law to fight an unwarranted ticket, find out what the police officer plans to say at your trial, attack radar and other detection methods, pick a jury, present your case and cross-examine the ticketing officer. The 5th edition is extensively updated to reflect your state's current traffic laws and court procedures.

About this title

About the Author

David Brown practices law in the Monterey, California area, where he has represented both landlords and tenants in hundreds of court cases -- most of which he felt could have been avoided if both sides were more fully informed about landlord/tenant law. Brown, a graduate of Stanford University (chemistry) and the University of Santa Clara Law School, also teaches law at the Monterey College of Law and is the author of Fight Your Ticket (CA version), Beat Your Ticket (the national version), The Landlord's Law Book, Vol. 1: Rights and Responsibilities; The Landlord's Law Book, Vol. 2: Evictions and co-author of How to Change Your Name in California and The Guardianship Book for California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What Does the Law Say?

The first thing you need to do is find out what you are charged with -- not just what your ticket says, but the exact words of the law you are charged with breaking. In some states, traffic laws are set out in a "Vehicle Code," while in others they are gathered as part of a "Transportation Code," "Motor Vehicle Laws," or under some similar name. No two states have exactly the same traffic laws, but most are very similar.

Look for a number on your ticket that corresponds to the law (often called a "statute" or "vehicle code section") you are charged with violating. Sometimes it will be hand-printed by the officer in a box or blank; other times it's preprinted on the ticket, with the officer simply checking the appropriate box. In either case, near the statute number you will often find a very short description of the law (for example, "VC [Vehicle Code Section] 22350 -- exceeding posted speed"). For speeding violations, in most states you'll also find the speed the officer claims you were going, as well as the posted speed limit on the road where you were stopped.

Now you must look up and read the law the officer claims you violated.

1. Try the Internet
The fastest way to find your state's traffic laws is on the Internet. In addition to finding the law on the Internet, you can also find state and local court websites there. To help you get started, the Appendix lists the websites for each state's vehicle laws as well as court information for each state. You can usually search your state website using words or terms -- for example, "Vehicle Code 15647," or you can scroll through the index of laws usually high-lighted on the state's home page.

We also recommend that you consider using Google.com, the popular Internet search engine. If you are searching for a state vehicle law, try using any combination of the following elements:

Type your state's name.

If you know it, provide the literal name or number of the law, in quotation marks.

If you can think of key words that identify the law, provide those as well. For instance, if the law is about speed limits in California school zones, you could probably find it by typing in the terms: "speed limit school zone California.

There are several other websites where groups and individuals provide traffic-fighting strategies and information.

About this edition

• Publisher: Nolo
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1413306985
• ISBN 13: 9781413306989
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 253