If a police officer marks my speeding ticket as "estimated", is this grounds for dismissal?
Question Details:
The officer marked "estimated" 40 mph in a 30 zone. I plead not guilty on the summons for an upcoming court date. What are my chances?
First it is not responsible.
Second, based on what you provided, your chances are 0.
Third, you could have other defenses, or hope that the officer does not show, and the case will be dismissed at the court hearing, not the clerk's hearing.
I am going to combine the two answers above. Since this is a speeding ticket and not a Drunk driving charge (DUI/OUI) there will be less you can do to fight it. You can go to court question the officer and try to convince a judge to see it your way - very unlikely is my guess. The court most likely will side with the Officer. As for working out some sort of deal I won't say it is impossible but a speeding ticket is not a real crime it is more of a rule society must live by, so deals may be less likely since there is little threat of real penalty. Some final thoughts, 1) if there was more information given someone might be able to tell if you have any valid defenses, 2) as stated above you can proceed to trial and hope the Officer does not show up, and 3) last but not least if you decide to fight this, get the further advice of a lawyer.
Police officers are permitted to testify to the fact that you were speeding based on their observation. The court will lend whatever weight to their testimony as it deems appropriate. The court will consider the fact that the officer failed to get you on radar, which is usually how police officers get people to speeding and make the charges stick. I suggest that you plead not guilty and go to court and tell the state that you do not believe that the officer was correct, but you do not want to argue with the officer as you respect him. Therefore, you would like to make some kind of charitable contribution in the amount of the ticket and want the state to drop the charge (this way the DMV should not be notified and your insurance carrier should not be notified). Worst case, you can ask that the ticket be reduced to the lowest possible speeding charge. If you go to trial, the judge will likely side with the police officer. I estimate your chances of winning to be 65% - if you have a clean driving record- you have a 70% chance at best. negotiating a deal is the best way to go in my experience.
