The first thing to do when you get a speeding ticket is to decide how to handle the ticket. First of all, do not pay the ticket; if that is done, it is automatically considered a guilty verdict in the court system. Think about how this will all affect the person with the ticket. If there is a guilty charge, then your insurance rate goes up which could be hundreds if not thousands of dollars and points are put against your driver’s license. This could eventually cost you your driver’s license. What is normally suggested is to plead not guilty.
The next step would then be to find out if there is traffic school that could be attended in exchange for the speeding ticket. Also there is always checking all the information on the ticket to see if it is correct. In a court system, if the information is not correct, the speeding ticket court system will throw the ticket out. It is also legal in the court system to ask to see your file to see the officer’s notes and if the speed gun was properly calibrated and documented. The radar guns need to be recalibrated every 30-60 days depending on the city or county it could be a little different. If your goal is to try to beat the ticket, the best thing would be to postpone or ask for an extension for your court date. Do not accept the date on the ticket. Pick a court date as far away as possible. That way there is a good chance the officer won’t remember that day, and hopefully they won’t show up. If that happens, the ticket is automatically dropped in the speeding ticket court system. Also if another officer show’s up, you can say you “object” because that person was not the one that gave the ticket, so it is like “heresay.”
The judge usually will ask you to tell your side of the story and explain what happened. Then if the officer is there, they will go to the stand next to the judge and tell his side of the story and explain what happened. In some courts, the judge may have the court clerk read the file as to what information was entered in the file. There is also the option to have the case dismissed if too long of time was taken for a court date to happen. Most cities or counties consider 30-45 days a decent amount of time for a court date. Anything else would probably be considered “excessive” and could probably get the case dismissed. Anything along these lines would be a “motion,” so as soon as the judge stops talking, would then be the time to stand up and say that they want to make a “motion,” then explain why legally they feel it should be dropped. There is also an option to “cross examine” or question the police officer if need be in the speeding ticket court system.
In some cities and counties, it is also an option to go to the District Attorney and see if a plea bargain can be reached. Some will agree to that instead of going to trial. Also check to see if it is possible to fight the ticket by mail. If there is a reasonable and strong argument, it might get kicked out. That is how the legal system works and how one can try and get out of a speeding ticket.