Went to court today, the officer showed up...

[SCBQQSTN]

and the ticket was STILL DISMISSED.

Remember this thread?

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...leos-only-please-single-vehicle-accident.html

Here is how it went today.

The judge gave the officer a strange look before the hearing even started.

Judge: Do you plea guilty, or do you request a hearing?

Me: Request a hearing please.

Judge: Officer did you cite a "Careless driving" citation to this young man for his accident?

Officer: Yes.

Judge: Did you witness the accident?

Officer: No.

Judge: Were there any other vehicles involved?

Officer: No.

Judge: Were there any other witnesses who viewed this accident?

Officer: No.

Judge: So the only information you have on this accident is based on what the defendant told you?

Officer: Yes

Judge: ........*Dirty look to officer* Due to the lack of evidence under florida statute #XXXXXX, you're charge is dismissed.

The officer walked away very pissed off....

In my previous thread a few of you LEO's backed me up, however the majority of you LEO's seemed very quick to shut me down. Well I'm just letting you all know how it went. Please do not unnecessarily cite tickets to people who did nothing wrong.

 

[01cobravortech]

Pop out the bubbly. Any time you walk out of court with a win, its definitely grounds for celebration.

 

[SCBQQSTN]

Pop out the bubbly. Any time you walk out of court with a win, its definitely grounds for celebration.

Amen brother :beer:

 

[ShortThrow50]

lmao. awesome

 

[Iceman II]

Well good for you. It seems to me the Judge had a beef with the officer and he/she doesn't know what he/she is doing.
I will say that wouldn't fly here in Texas and I beg to differ from your last sentence comment. That is and was the proper charge and don't fault the officer for doing his job.

 

[RCMPSVT]

Without witness's its hard for us to win. Its innocent unitl proven guilty so the onus is on us to prove your guilt.

With that being said many judges do have beef with some officers, I know for a fact that one guy I work with loses alot cause the judge thinks he is heavy handed.

 

[SCBQQSTN]

Without witness's its hard for us to win.

That's exactly what I thought, so why would he issue the ticket anyways?? To give himself a pat on the back? I know I'm not the only one this happens to... it's really not right to issue tickets to people when there is no place to do so. I guess he was hoping I would not have balls and pay for the ticket and go to traffic school... wrong.

That is and was the proper charge and don't fault the officer for doing his job.

I'm sorry, but you can't just robotically write a "careless driving" ticket when an accident happens. I completely fault the officer, because there were absolutely no witnesses to what happened. So he had no right to issue a citation, and the judge agreed with me. So the officer was not doing his job correctly. The only information he received is from I told him....and he had the audacity to issue a citation for that?!? Well by that logic I could say I killed JonBenet, or took part in the 9/11 attack, or secretly helped out Timothy Mcveigh in the Oklahoma City bombing.... and purely by my hearsay, and by no other hard evidence I could be charged anyways. Is that what you're telling me?

Well thankfully the judicial system is not completely corrupted, and the judge defended the civilian, NOT the officer. Because from last I remember when it comes to "my word vs officers word" the judge will always favor the officers word. Fortunately I was proven wrong.

FYI the judge knew exactly what he was doing, he was one of the most fair ones that I ever encountered. There were four hearings before mine and the judge gave full punishment to those who did not show up, and gave proper leeway to those who did. So no, he was not a bad judge.

 

[COBRA_ESQ]

A lot depends on the language of the statute you violated. Circumstantial evidence often leads to a conviction.

Not knowing the language of the statute I would guess the odds were probably in your favor but it could have ended up going the other way had it been another judge.

But any win is a good win :beer:

 

[FordSVTFan]

Well good for you. It seems to me the Judge had a beef with the officer and he/she doesn't know what he/she is doing.
I will say that wouldn't fly here in Texas and I beg to differ from your last sentence comment. That is and was the proper charge and don't fault the officer for doing his job.

I agree with this assessment, especially in Orange County. The police and the judiciary don't get along so well.

The thing is this was before a magistrate and not a judge. The magistrate alone conducts the direct and cross and decides the outcome. If there were a prosecutor there to argue the "law" it likely would have had a different outcome.

That being said, the magistrate has the last and final say.

 

[03cobrah]

i love these kind of threads. gj op

 

[cornholio]

Without quoting any of the previous posts, I laughed out loud at some of them. A good education to the court system, both criminal and civil, is to make a habit to just go and sit in the court room for a few hours (5 times or more) and listen. Go watch a trial or two. Then you will begin to have a slight idea on how the system works (or doesn't work). Fortunately or unfortunately most of us don't have the time or obligation to do this, so the majority of us base our opinion on our own experiences. But some still seem to know it all.
Most tickets are civil infractions, not criminal, thus they can be overseen by a majistrate not a judge. Because of this the rulings can lack consistency. This same ticket could be heard by a diferent majistrate or judge and have a much different result.
You had an accident, there is a reason why they are called that. Read the careless driving statute and see if it applies to your situation..... whether you had to pay the fine not does not mean the Officer did wrong be issuing you the ticket.
This is in no way an attempt to stand up for the Officer. They can make poor decisions like anybody else.

 

[SCBQQSTN]

The magistrate alone conducts the direct and cross and decides the outcome. If there were a prosecutor there to argue the "law" it likely would have had a different outcome.

This same ticket could be heard by a different magistrate or judge and have a much different result.

So what you two are saying is that the law and statutes don't even really matter, and that the only thing that matters is the judge? Is this correct? Sounds like a dictatorship.

 

[FordSVTFan]

So what you two are saying is that the law and statutes don't even really matter, and that the only thing that matters is the judge? Is this correct? Sounds like a dictatorship.

As I prosecutor I have had a Florida Judge tell me "I know what the law is and I am ruling this way anyway." This was after I presented the judge with case law from the same circuit telling him what the law is in the case.

A judge's ruling can almost always be appealed.

 

[stangposse]

OP....congrats on getting off. However, next time say something like "some crazy kids jumped in front of my car" or "an oncoming car crossed the line". If you tell the officer you're trying to avoid a fatal accident he might not feel he has to write you up. If you're just driving down the road and you suddenly have a crash, and you tell the officer you lost control of your car because of the rain, you leave him no choice other than to ticket you. It's your responsibility to keep your car on the road in any weather....if its that bad you pull over. If I was the cop, my guess is that you fell asleep at the wheel or you were speeding in the rain.

 

[oldmodman]

I have always liked the "damn deer ran right in front of me" excuse. I even see that damn things by the side of the road in Los Angeles. There must be millions of them in states with a little greenery.

 

[Iceman II]

SCBQQSTN, I will say go ahead and give yourself a big pat on the back and try to not let your head get too big to fit threw the doorway. Your comments are very humorous and despite what you say all you now is you won a case. Now move on.

 

[SCBQQSTN]

SCBQQSTN, I will say go ahead and give yourself a big pat on the back and try to not let your head get too big to fit threw the doorway. Your comments are very humorous and despite what you say all you now is you won a case. Now move on.

Your comment from the previous thread "Actually "Careless Driving" or "Unsafe Speed" is one of the easiest charges to prove, if not the easiest."

I did not even have to say one word to defend myself during the hearing. According to the judge/magistrate, the officer had no evidence to prove my "guilt".

You said you have worked several thousand crashes in your career, and I believe you. However every single accident is completely different and unique. No two accidents are the exact same. My situation was also unique, and the officer had no right to issue me a "careless driving" ticket from the circumstances of the accident. And the judge proved my situation right. I will give myself a pat on the back, because it was a victory, a victory against officers who want nothing to do but add salt to our wounds when something bad happens to us.

 

[E. Green Cobra]

LMAO. The judge favored your word? Did the Officer lie about anything? Did your testimony contradict anything the Officer said? It doesn't sound like a he said she said situation.

:lol: You're a baaaad man OP, hope I don't run into you in a dark alley.:rollseyes

Well thankfully the judicial system is not completely corrupted, and the judge defended the civilian, NOT the officer. Because from last I remember when it comes to "my word vs officers word" the judge will always favor the officers word. Fortunately I was proven wrong.

 

[FordSVTFan]

I did not even have to say one word to defend myself during the hearing. According to the judge/magistrate, the officer had no evidence to prove my "guilt".

Take it from someone who is in court every day, the magistrate had it in for the cop. A good magistrate who believes that you were correct and the officer was wrong would still create a record to back it up. The way a record is created is by hearing both sides. The magistrate did not do this. So for you to chastise the officer and warn others is disingenuous. From what you described you were not in control of your vehicle and that was careless driving in the State of Florida.

Consider yourself lucky.

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

Quick "food for thought" scenario for you guys. Not directly the same circumstances as the OP, but similar outcome.
430am on a Wednesday, no cars on dual 3 lane road separated by grass median and I come across what appears to be a disabled car. I pull up, activate my lights[safety IF cars came up] Get out and see a guy hunched down at the far opening[next to front left quarter panel but inside the open drivers door] He is trying to pry his wheel out from the undercarriage. I look back and see he went off of the road,down into a drain,airborne across a driveway and ended up breaking the axle and front suspension on his landing. He is obviously toasted. Says he was the only car involved, he was driving and no passengers. I charged him with DWI. He blew double+ the legal limit in NC[.08] Court date comes and he is found not guilty. I was asked if I saw him driving at any point. Never did so he was found not guilty.
Point is, I charged/arrested him and did a full investigation of the wreck. I did my job regardless of what the courts did about it. Which is the case most of the time in this field.
OP, you followed through with your side and felt you did no wrong. You were respectful and disagreed with the charge. Hats off to you for that!