Traffic violation procedures

copperangler15 said:Look, I get that the lights are synchronized. But is a judge really going to waste time and money on expert testimony for this? And once they bring in some incompetent witness to testify, the court is just going to believe them. From what I've seen, the police act like they're above the law anyway. Third point: does it actually matter if they botched the location or messed up the street name on the ticket? Do I even have a fighting chance at getting this charge dropped?

Look, baby... it really depends on the judge and which city you're dealing with.
The reality is, everything in Chicago is backed up.

Maybe you'll get lucky. But even if they convict you, try to argue the statute of limitations in municipal court.

James Cox6 said:Look, baby... it really depends on the judge and which city you're dealing with.
The reality is, everything in Chicago is backed up.

Maybe you'll get lucky. But even if they convict you, try to argue the statute of limitations in municipal court.

I might have more luck than brains, but in this instance, I’m a skeptic.👎
Regarding the statute of limitations, I've heard it's actually smarter to just ignore the court summons. Given how slow the American judicial system moves, wouldn't ignoring those notices eventually lead to the case expiring? Am I right?

How many days passed before you got hit with the fine?

copperangler15 said:I might have more luck than brains, but in this instance, I’m a skeptic.👎
Regarding the statute of limitations, I've heard it's actually smarter to just ignore the court summons. Given how slow the American judicial system moves, wouldn't ignoring those notices eventually lead to the case expiring? Am I right?

The truth is, you can try to dodge the process servers—maybe you'll get lucky with a lazy clerk. But if you run into a real stickler, they might just arrange for a bench warrant... and then you'll have two deputies pulling up in a squad car to haul you straight to court.

It all depends on which judge you end up with. And honestly, I'm just repeating what everyone else is saying here.

It’s not a given 🥳
The misdemeanor court is still just a trial court—it won't act as an appellate court until after the reforms go through 😬

Melissa Phillips4 said:How many days passed before you got hit with the fine?

I was cited on the spot. The officer was incredibly rude about the whole thing, and of course, he denies everything. Why would he admit to being out of line?

James Cox6 said:The truth is, you can try to dodge the process servers—maybe you'll get lucky with a lazy clerk. But if you run into a real stickler, they might just arrange for a bench warrant... and then you'll have two deputies pulling up in a squad car to haul you straight to court.

It all depends on which judge you end up with. And honestly, I'm just repeating what everyone else is saying here.

I don't care which judge I get. They're all cut from the same cloth. Getting brought in is easy enough. If they ask why I wasn't answering my phone like an idiot, I'll just tell them I wasn't home. It's common knowledge that you aren't supposed to leave important legal documents or messages with anyone else—not even your parents.

At the end of the day, I am constantly pointing out exactly what needs to be done—specifically, how to word things properly to avoid those penalties in the first place.

Not sure if the cops even had a radar gun out

How many days does it usually take for the ticket to hit the mail?

I need to know if I actually broke the law or not.

I saw you stirring up a massive panic over on the other thread too 😁

Thomas Miller80 said:I saw you stirring up a massive panic over on the other thread too 😁

Yeah, I completely lost it... I was racing to the CVS to grab some medicine because my throat is killing me, and my graduation ceremony is in two days. One pharmacy was already closed, and the next one was shutting down in ten minutes, so I stepped on it. I went full throttle, and well, here we are. All I can do now is pray there wasn't a speed trap nearby.

Thomas Miller80 said:I saw you stirring up a massive panic over on the other thread too 😁

and now a third one... 😕
you're really working yourself into a frenzy here.
did you even bother subscribing to the threads to actually read all the replies?
if you weren't driving like a maniac, you might have actually caught the updates, though maybe nobody finds your questions that interesting anyway.
as for what you're asking on those other posts—once they announce where the speed traps will be, the cops usually aren't sitting right there at that exact moment; they’re typically there a little before or after, which I've figured out plenty of times by testing them myself. there's this one perfect spot near my house they absolutely love, so just slow down a bit when you're unsure and you'll be fine.
besides, if traffic is heavy, the highway patrol will just snap a photo or pull over anyone who's being reckless.

I tried contesting a parking ticket too, since some guy had his personal car hogging a loading zone. While I was busy losing my mind over it, a cop pulled up and slapped a $133 right on my work van, and just vanished. Tried to track the officer down to give him a piece of my mind, but he cleared out before I could catch him. Filed an appeal, but the city inspectors looked at the claims and basically told me to get lost, saying they were baseless. Long story short, I ended up just eating the $133...

Alexander Allen11 said:I tried contesting a parking ticket too, since some guy had his personal car hogging a loading zone. While I was busy losing my mind over it, a cop pulled up and slapped a $133 right on my work van, and just vanished. Tried to track the officer down to give him a piece of my mind, but he cleared out before I could catch him. Filed an appeal, but the city inspectors looked at the claims and basically told me to get lost, saying they were baseless. Long story short, I ended up just eating the $133...

As far as I can tell, that guy probably needed photographic proof showing you had parked your van illegally at that exact moment. Back when I worked for my old firm, we dealt with similar situations all the time. If we had a photo confirming an infraction, we’d own up to it, but the disciplinary action fell squarely on the driver who actually committed the violation. It was their responsibility. Now, I have to ask: who is actually in charge of illegal parking anyway? One group claims it’s strictly a matter for city code enforcement, yet then you see the police stepping in out of nowhere. It’s inconsistent. I almost got slapped with a massive fine myself after pulling onto a bike lane for a split second—just using my turn signal to indicate the move. Luckily, an officer I know recognized my car. He didn't ticket me, but he made sure to lecture me on how it was technically a violation. He wasn't kidding about the legalities.
I honestly cannot wrap my head around this country and its legal system. How does anyone make sense of it?

Melissa Phillips4 said:If you blew past the speed limit, you’re looking at a fine. Period. You can try to fight it, sure, but don't expect miracles. Unless you have some rock-solid evidence that the officer was hallucinating or the radar was malfunctioning, an appeal is usually just a waste of your time and money. Expect to pay up.

I think I just pulled a fast one on myself. Not sure if there was a speed trap active, but a cruiser was definitely idling right outside a Starbucks.
Since I didn't spot the radar, is it actually possible they were just sitting there in the beer garden instead of running the speed trap?

This happened in some small town. If they actually had radar on site, would it even show up on the AAA website? It’s in the Chicago area, after all.

And if they had actually seen me? Would they have come charging after me right then and there to shut me down? Or would they have just noted my license plate and moved on?

Please help. I’m losing my mind here. If I get hit with a fine, I'm done.

If a radar unit had been deployed, you would have seen the flash. If they actually spotted you, they would have pursued you. Just jotting down a license plate isn't real evidence in my book; they'd rather just flex their authority over people. Since nothing happened in the moment, you likely won't get a ticket. However, if you *did* get flashed and they don't send a photo, but instead send some notice asking you to identify the driver, just list everyone in your household who drives. They tend to send those notices so late that you won't even remember what happened. This happened to my boyfriend. He got a notice eight months later, and we were staring at each other trying to figure out who was even driving the car that day. We just listed every driver in the house. He ended up being called to court because it was his car, but when they showed him the photo, you couldn't see a single thing besides the license plate. He stated he didn't recognize anyone, and they dropped the whole mess. 😁

James Cox6 said:It all comes down to the judge!!!

A judge is basically just a chef in their own kitchen.

Will they drop the charges, nix the misdemeanor proceedings, or is this just going to drag on forever?

Clerks have their own stats too—tracked by the chief judge—and those backlog numbers hit their performance reviews just as hard as anyone else's.

So, it all comes down to the judge.

But what exactly is "unresolved" here?

The case didn't expire due to a statute of limitations; the proceedings were stayed because there simply wasn't enough evidence.

If there’s zero evidence, you can't pin that on the judge—that's on the prosecutor. They need to actually do their homework and build a real case before they ever step foot in a courtroom to file charges.

I honestly don't see how this reflects poorly on the judge at all.

Mark Sullivan62 said:But what exactly is "unresolved" here?

The case didn't expire due to a statute of limitations; the proceedings were stayed because there simply wasn't enough evidence.

If there’s zero evidence, you can't pin that on the judge—that's on the prosecutor. They need to actually do their homework and build a real case before they ever step foot in a courtroom to file charges.

I honestly don't see how this reflects poorly on the judge at all.

What are you even talking about? The case has already been sent over to the municipal court. The FBI doesn't just shut down a proceeding—only the court can do that once it’s actually been kicked off.

Don't forget—you get all kinds of judges. You’ve got the ones who just love to pass judgment, then you have the realistic types who actually follow *in dubio pro reo* if there’s only circumstantial evidence rather than hard proof. And then? Then you have the ones who somehow view that very principle as some kind of evidence itself. Ridiculous.

What kind of person would I even be if I told this girl, "Oh, don't worry about it," only for her to take my word for it and end up getting hauled off by the FBI? Like, imagine she listens to me and then ends up facing some massive legal fallout because she was dealing with an absolute stickler for the rules—some total hall monitor type at the courthouse.

I was just giving a neutral response.

copperangler15 said:If a radar unit had been deployed, you would have seen the flash. If they actually spotted you, they would have pursued you. Just jotting down a license plate isn't real evidence in my book; they'd rather just flex their authority over people. Since nothing happened in the moment, you likely won't get a ticket. However, if you *did* get flashed and they don't send a photo, but instead send some notice asking you to identify the driver, just list everyone in your household who drives. They tend to send those notices so late that you won't even remember what happened. This happened to my boyfriend. He got a notice eight months later, and we were staring at each other trying to figure out who was even driving the car that day. We just listed every driver in the house. He ended up being called to court because it was his car, but when they showed him the photo, you couldn't see a single thing besides the license plate. He stated he didn't recognize anyone, and they dropped the whole mess. 😁

I don't know, I didn't see anything. I couldn't see a thing. If a ticket comes, I'm appealing it. There's no way I'm paying...
For example, that stretch could basically be considered a rural highway. The limit is 55, and I definitely wasn't going over 50. I don't know how they interpret things. If they think the limit is 40 and allow a buffer up to 50, and I was doing 50, then even if I subtract 10, let's say I was doing 40, I shouldn't be getting a ticket, right?

I'll bet they just botched the license plate registration. I once got a parking ticket downtown when I don't even drive into the city center... we went to contest it and it turned out they had simply swapped two digits on the plate.

Melissa Phillips4 said:I don't know, I didn't see anything. I couldn't see a thing. If a ticket comes, I'm appealing it. There's no way I'm paying...
For example, that stretch could basically be considered a rural highway. The limit is 55, and I definitely wasn't going over 50. I don't know how they interpret things. If they think the limit is 40 and allow a buffer up to 50, and I was doing 50, then even if I subtract 10, let's say I was doing 40, I shouldn't be getting a ticket, right?

Then you have nothing to worry about. Sometimes even I drive 6.2 miles faster, obviously on the open highway. In residential areas, you never know who might suddenly dart out in front of your car.