Traffic Tickets, how long to issue/write them?

[carguy3j 0]

Well, this just got "weirder".....

I spent all day today writing a detailed written account, researching applicable traffic statutes, and seeing what fit each of his actions. I came up with a list of 36 separate traffic violations. I made a nice neat collated list, and drove an hour to the PD of the town it occurred in, tonight.

 

I spoke to a Sgt, thinking I was going to be signing complaints against "one of their own" and therefor not wanting to speak with anyone other then a supervisor. The guy was very nice, and tried to help as much as he could. Unfortunately:

 

A.) Nobody even knows who the guy that sent these too me even is! The Sgt. was absolutely sure it wasn't one of the local cops. He even made phone calls to several other Sgt's who might have been on duty when the incident occurred, or when the tickets were signed. Nothing. Nobody knows. In a way, I'm glad it wasn't one of them. At least I don't have to worry about being at war with the locals.

 

B.) Even if we did know who he was, I'm screwed, as far as signing any "counter" complaints. Today was 30 days. The Sgt. said that they (the PD) can't take traffic complaints from private citizens; that I have to go to the municipal court, which obviously is closed on Sunday night. Even if I go tomorrow morning, it will be past 30 days. The Sgt. even acknowledge that the "mystery" cop most likely did in fact choose his timing intentionally, so as to prevent me from responding. This whole thing just reeks of impropriety! A "mystery" unknown cop comes into a PD, uses one of their "ticket books", and issues tickets, and no one even knows who he is? How can that be allowed to happened? Where is the accountability? On top of that, the suspicious timing and "bad faith" of doing so just isn't right. He obviously could have easily issued these tickets the same day the incident occurred. There is no reasonable excuse for his timing.

 

C.) As per the Sgt, no there are no traffic cams anywhere in town. So, no help there.

 

D.) I MAY have a case for a criminal charge, but he said it was kind of weak. I have a year to file that.

 

If he isn't a "local", maybe he won't even bother showing up?

 

I wonder what evidence they would be able to produce via discovery?

[bry@n 195]

Well it's obvious he knew the law. He is winning because he is mind screwing you.

 

Think about it:

He planned this the entire time.

He is laughing now, knowing this will cost you time, money and aggravation.

 

Lawyer up and ask for a trial. It's the only way.

[Jon 264]

It costs you nothing to show up in court to see where you stand, you can always get a lawyer on a second appearance.

[Johnny 0]

When you get your court date write a letter to the judge right away. Inform them that you are reluctant to show up for your court date because you feel you are being lured there by a violent person. Someone was attempting to get you to stop your car so they could assault you during a road rage incident but you would not stop. They then took your plate number and filed complaints against you. You are unable to file counter complaints because you have no idea who this person is and neither do the police in the town it happened. Tell the judge you feel this was done by a very unstable individual who you believe is trying to do you physical harm. A lawyer will most likely be a waste of money and public defenders usually finished at the bottom of their class at some crummy law school and will be of no help.

[StephanieSeven 70]

Call the court. Plea not guilty. Talk to the prosecutor.  Don't be baited next time. Wtf do you care if some asshole wants to pass on the shoulder anyway?  Look how well proving a point worked out this time.  A month later and you're still dealing with it.

[Respect2A 0]

You should apply for a ccw. You have been physically threatened by a gun toting vigilante cop. Sounds reasonable to me.

[Pythagoras 2]

You should apply for a ccw. You have been physically threatened by a gun toting vigilante cop. Sounds reasonable to me.

Lol, I was thinking the same thing

[Hooligan 0]

 Look how well proving a point worked out this time.  A month later and you're still dealing with it.

 

^  This is an important lesson that may be overlooked.  If you decide to stick it to a stranger, make sure you can deal with the possible consequences.

[carguy3j 0]

You should apply for a ccw. You have been physically threatened by a gun toting vigilante cop. Sounds reasonable to me.

 

Lol, I was thinking the same thing

 Umm, remember, we are in the PRNJ, not America. If we were, the above probably would be an acceptable reason.  

 

 

^  This is an important lesson that may be overlooked.  If you decide to stick it to a stranger, make sure you can deal with the possible consequences.

Well, that's the lesson HE should be learning.  One day, just one day earlier, and he would have learned that lesson MIGHTILY! Unfortunately, his legal trickery and abuse of power will insulate him from that.

[carguy3j 0]

Well it's obvious he knew the law. He is winning because he is mind screwing you.

 

Think about it:

He planned this the entire time.

He is laughing now, knowing this will cost you time, money and aggravation.

 

Lawyer up and ask for a trial. It's the only way.

 

It costs you nothing to show up in court to see where you stand, you can always get a lawyer on a second appearance.

 Yeah, I guess that's the plan. He marked all (6) tickets as "Court Appearance Required", so I have to go. Seems kinda stupid to have to drive an hour just to stand there for 20 seconds and say "not guilty", but whatever. One of the charges is "Reckless Driving"  39:4-96, and I BELIEVE that qualifies for a public defender (I know I will qualify financially, at least I should in anything remotely resembling a "fair" system.......) Does anybody know if that belief is correct? There is just no way I can afford a lawyer, so a public defender is the only chance I've got.

 

Once we get that part out of the way, I'll request discovery, and at least get to see what kind of "evidence" they have. As I said, I don't think I would be too worried about him having any kind of video recording, as it would not look good for him. At the very least, it would severely hurt his credibility as a witness.

 

Also, given that he is, apparently, unknown within that town, maybe I will get somewhat more of a fair hearing from the judge? Maybe?

[vladtepes 1,060]

 Yeah, I guess that's the plan. He marked all (6) tickets as "Court Appearance Required", so I have to go. Seems kinda stupid to have to drive an hour just to stand there for 20 seconds and say "not guilty", but whatever. One of the charges is "Reckless Driving"  39:4-96, and I BELIEVE that qualifies for a public defender (I know I will qualify financially, at least I should in anything remotely resembling a "fair" system.......) Does anybody know if that belief is correct? There is just no way I can afford a lawyer, so a public defender is the only chance I've got.

 

Once we get that part out of the way, I'll request discovery, and at least get to see what kind of "evidence" they have. As I said, I don't think I would be too worried about him having any kind of video recording, as it would not look good for him. At the very least, it would severely hurt his credibility as a witness.

 

Also, given that he is, apparently, unknown within that town, maybe I will get somewhat more of a fair hearing from the judge? Maybe?

 

 

for the most part... what you are looking for we can not give you... 

you want reassurance... you want some magic answer... some glimmer of hope... 

 

you will only know know is going on one of two ways...

 

* you get a lawyer and he gets on it.. and tries to figure things out...

OR

* you show up for court...

[Holeshot 3]

[greatgunstatenj 32]

I would write to the judge as suggested earlier. Tell him you fear for your safety. Ask them to verify who this cop is so you can file charges against him. Someone who behaves like this over something trivial probably has a history of such behavior. If he is a cop that history may be documented by complaints that have been lodged against him in the past. You need to find out who he is and do a thorough background search.

[vladtepes 1,060]

just throwing this out there... have you googled the individual yet?

[greatgunstatenj 32]

just throwing this out there... have you googled the individual yet?

I don't think he has his name, only his badge number and his local PO Sgt. denied knowing the guy.

[carguy3j 0]

I don't think he has his name, only his badge number and his local PO Sgt. denied knowing the guy.

Correct. I have a bagde# that the the Sgt. says is definitely not one of theirs. As is usual on a summons, the "signature" is completely unreadable, and isn't even entirely consistent from one ticket to the other. Of course, there is no indication of the "signer"'s dept. of employment. The Sgt I spoke with, in the town where it occurred, and who's ticket book was used to write them, was unable to locate any further information, as of Sunday night. He claims to have even called the other Sgt's who were on duty the day of the incident, as well as the day the tickets were "issued". Neither had any recollection of the identity of the "signer", nor is there any incident report. 

 

Either way, its past 30 days, and from what I'm told, there is no exceptions to that limit. Supposedly, not even a judge would have discretion to allow me to file charges now, after the 30 days. I was told it was unlikely the municipal court would even let me file them, let alone get it in front of judge.

I'm kinda hoping maybe this guy is just trying to cost me time and money, simply by dealing with the tickets, and maybe doesn't even intend to show up? Wishful thinking?

[pjd832 146]

So it seems as though anyone could walk into a pd... Pick up a ticket book write out a handful and have them sent out.... But no one involved knows anything about it?.... Something seems odd... Either they are fos and just being neutral and staying out of it "let the judge deal with it" ......or the Leo that wrote the tickets is a true ninja....got it and out unseen and wiped the memory of those he interacted with....lol

[carguy3j 0]

So it seems as though anyone could walk into a pd... Pick up a ticket book write out a handful and have them sent out.... But no one involved knows anything about it?.... Something seems odd... Either they are fos and just being neutral and staying out of it "let the judge deal with it" ......or the Leo that wrote the tickets is a true ninja....got it and out unseen and wiped their memory ....lol

Well, I have never had any problem with a court/PD verifying who actually wrote me a ticket, before. Further, I'm thinking it would be unlawful for them to refuse, or pretend to not know the identity of the issuer, when I specifically request that information;  particularly since in this case, knowingly "hiding" the other guys identity is obstructing justice, since not knowing who he is prevents me from filing charges.

Not that that doesn't 100% mean its not whats happening, but I didn't get the feeling that the Sgt. I spoke with had any issue with me or was hiding anything. I can "smell" a "holier-then-thou", "why is a mere civilian peon wasting my time" attitude a mile away, and this guy didn't give me that at all. I have nothing bad at all to say about him. If he says he doesn't know, I believed him. I absolutely felt like he really was trying to help.

 

He did say that somebody, in the dept. had to have seen some id or something from the "issuer", to give him the ticket book. The Sgt. just didn't know who at the time. I'm sure if I went back during the day, and followed up, I probably could figure it out; but it doesn't really matter now. Too late to file the charges against him, and knowing who he is doesn't really do me any good for right now.

 

Of course, it's possible that he used a fake badge????? Its not entirely unheard of to impersonate LE. Granted, it takes some serious balls to walk in to a PD, claiming to be some out-of-town cop, in order to write summonses. But, perhaps he just "flashed" a badge, sounded like he "belonged", and they didn't dig any deeper???? Who knows.

 

As I said, there doesn't appear to be anything else I can do until I go to court, so I'm trying not to get too worked up about in the meantime. I guess, worst case scenario, I do end having to "disappear" and never set foot in NJ again. I can't imagine they'll look too hard, for unpaid traffic fines???

[pjd832 146]

Well, I have never had any problem with a court/PD verifying who actually wrote me a ticket, before. Further, I'm thinking it would be unlawful for them to refuse, or pretend to not know the identity of the issuer, when I specifically request that information; particularly since in this case, knowingly "hiding" the other guys identity is obstructing justice, since not knowing who he is prevents me from filing charges.

Not that that doesn't 100% mean its not whats happening, but I didn't get the feeling that the Sgt. I spoke with had any issue with me or was hiding anything. I can "smell" a "holier-then-thou", "why is a mere civilian peon wasting my time" attitude a mile away, and this guy didn't give me that at all. I have nothing bad at all to say about him. If he says he doesn't know, I believed him. I absolutely felt like he really was trying to help.

 

He did say that somebody, in the dept. had to have seen some id or something from the "issuer", to give him the ticket book. The Sgt. just didn't know who at the time. I'm sure if I went back during the day, and followed up, I probably could figure it out; but it doesn't really matter now. Too late to file the charges against him, and knowing who he is doesn't really do me any good for right now.

 

Of course, it's possible that he used a fake badge????? Its not entirely unheard of to impersonate LE. Granted, it takes some serious balls to walk in to a PD, claiming to be some out-of-town cop, in order to write summonses. But, perhaps he just "flashed" a badge, sounded like he "belonged", and they didn't dig any deeper???? Who knows.

 

As I said, there doesn't appear to be anything else I can do until I go to court, so I'm trying not to get too worked up about in the meantime. I guess, worst case scenario, I do end having to "disappear" and never set foot in NJ again. I can't imagine they'll look too hard, for unpaid traffic fines???

Well I'm basing this only on prior situations of friends....but unpaid moving violations/fines have resulted in dl/veh reg suspension/additional charges and a bench warrant.....maybe an order of extradition ?...if you're going to run you'll need to time it right to get to destination get a dl and reg all set up prior....I wonder though if it will not follow you and drag you back to nj in a lot deeper hole....in all reality...if I were in the position you say financially I'd seek a lawyer with the "free initial consultation" and see where you stand...perhaps his fees would be reasonable and be able to help....and I'm sure it would be cheaper than "going on the lamb" and buying a new identity...lol

[bry@n 195]

 I guess, worst case scenario, I do end having to "disappear" and never set foot in NJ again. I can't imagine they'll look too hard, for unpaid traffic fines???

 

I question if you should even be allowed to have a firearm based on your thought of running. You don't seem very intelligent and after reading some of the things you've written, I wouldn't want to be around you with a firearm.

[RecessedFilter 222]

After taking 10mins to read everything in this thread, I enjoyed Holeshot's picture, Bry@ns opinions, and VladT's bluntness.

 

Whoever said that motorcycles tend to ride or stop in one side of the lane or the other is right. We do that not only to avoid oil/liquid coming out of cars, but also to have more room to escape in case any trouble is behind you. If you are stopped 3 feet behind the middle of someones car, trying to get out of the way is nearly impossible. If you're stopped 5-10ft behind someone tail light, you can quickly release the clutch and turn out of the lane.

 

With that said, Vlad is right. We can't offer you anything. You either get a lawyer or pay the tickets, you choose. 

 

Hopefully this is a lesson learned. I know sometimes we all get involved in a little road rage but I'm pretty sure you backing off and not giving the finger, not exchanging words, and not blocking him out of passing you, would have ended the situation rapidly and he would have passed you and went on his merry way.