Applying for Jobs with a Criminal Record: Know Your Rights

4 Ways to Challenge a Traffic Violation

10 April 2020

Michelle Garrett

Receiving a citation for a traffic violation can be irritating regardless of how many points you have on your license. In particular, there's a good chance your insurance rates will go up if the charge is upheld. Also, some professions require clean driving records. If you're trying to figure out how to fight a ticket, here are four things a traffic violation attorney might consider.

Question the Charging Officer's Judgment

Very few situations while driving are completely black and white. For example, there are circumstances where it may be necessary to exceed the speed limit to complete a pass safely. Similar issues can occur if a vehicle is bearing down on your car. If you feel you had a good reason to fudge the law a little bit, that's an argument worth making in court.

Also Question the Officers Observations

A somewhat more simple argument to make is that the officer just didn't see what they claim to have seen. You might not have been the only person in the area at the time driving a car that looks like yours, for example. If you believe the officer is mistaken, you'll definitely want to bring that the court's attention. Remember, a traffic court session is technically a criminal proceeding, and that means the state must prove its case beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Raise Questions About the Location

Suppose you were accused of blowing through a stop sign. If you can get contemporaneous photos of the scene that show the stop sign was occluded by something like a bush or a parked vehicle, this can be shown as evidence that you didn't intend to break the law. Similar issues can arise because storms damage signs, as do accidents. Likewise, lines and markers can become faded if they're not regularly replaced. The same logic applies to failed stoplights.

Point Out Potential Justifications

There is also an argument in U.S. law that anything that's expedient under the circumstances is legal. If you've ever watched a sitcom do a plot about a driver who was trying to get their pregnant spouse to the hospital and was stopped by the cops, you already have an idea of what this means. Another example would be a seemingly aggressive lane shift that was necessary to avoid an accident. Similar arguments are sometimes made when drivers had to swerve to avoid hitting pedestrians, animals, or other vehicles.

Contact a traffic violation attorney like Kevin T Conway Esq Pc for more help dealing with a traffic citation.

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