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Haha... forgot about this thread. No trial. Dismissed. Waited in line forever before entering the courtroom... it was awful. Pure madness. No organization. The bailiff was threatening to kick folks out because it was so crowded. He even threatened some guy with arrest because he was hard of hearing and kept asking him questions. Just going to the courthouse is enough to deter me from any traffic ticket.

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably do defensve driving and avoid the courtroom. The time taken off of work isn't worth the hassle.

The store owner did not commit "murder", but he did commit "homicide".

Agreed. Thanks for pointing that out.

There's one big hole in the defense of this as justifiable - you kept driving. If your brakes were in such a bad state that you could not stop from 1 mph, it was not safe to continue driving.

I did not say my brakes could not stop at 1mph... only that it was the first time they shook violently and I was proceeding with caution. I stopped when the cop pulled me over and could have made it to my house in 20 seconds going 5mph. Any reasonable person would have done the same as I did.

Mechanic: It was likely that normal wear-and-tear and extreme temperature changes by lots of puddle-driving caused rotors to warp. The pads were still okay, but I replaced them anyway. Truck brakes fine now.

That's something that will be decided by a jury, if the case isn't tossed before it goes that far, knowing what I know about that attorney's practice.

Precisely. My reasons are justified in my eyes. The jury may or may not agree. However, I am confident that my lawyer has a much better defense than what I have been talking about here on this forum.

Mind updating us on the outcome of your court case when it's over?

One thing I'm not understanding is how an attorney can get you out of a ticket that you are guilty of. What "tricks" do they have up their sleeves? Just seems odd to me.

I'm not guilty. My actions are justifiable. Just like the South East Houston jewelry store owner who committed Homicide by shooting 3 robbers; his actions are justified in self defense.

As far as attorneys go... some are better than others when it comes to showing doubt. I will share the details once my case is closed in mid-January.

Sorry about the ticket but I don't get why some here don't want to provide info to LEO's? I understand it's not necessarily important to the ticket but it's not like you committed a felony and need an attorney. It could only serve to make the officer mad when you might otherwise get a warning. Yes, you are getting a ticket if he asks your employer etc. but what if he asks something before he decides to ticket you and you don't answer on the grounds it's not relevant? It might just make him decide to give you a ticket you weren't going to get.

Just a thought.

If I truly feel that providing voluntary information might help my situation, I'll share it carefully.

However, in this incident, I saw the citation almost filled by the time the officer returned with my DL and CHL. So, there were no advantages in providing anything further than what is legally required. We were both professional and firm, but I felt it was a bit of a personal vengeance when he set the court date on my birthday. Oh well... I'm okay with everything because my court date was postponed,I wasn't disarmed during the stop and I have hired a confident attorney.


This will be my first time ever in a courtroom and I am actually excited.

I took the advice to hire Mr. Sprecher. My court date has been reset for next year, so I won't have waste my birthday in court.

Left the house for some Chik-Fil-A around noon on my first day off in 2 weeks. I haven't been driving much because I work less than a mile from my residence. After leaving the drive-thru, I decided to take the freeway home. While exiting the freeway into my neighborhood (45+mph), I noticed my steering wheel shake very violently... something is obviously wrong with my brakes. I'm 200 yards away from turning into my home and I slow down to about 1 mph at the stop sign. Yes, I rolled it... and got lit up by a Harris County Pct 5 deputy sheriff sitting half-way down the block.

I pulled over and had my DL, CHL and Insurance sitting in my lap when he arrived. I lowered my window and said Howdy. He asked if I knew why I was pulled over, and I told him yes. I proceeded to explain the situation, but he interrupted saying he just needs the paperwork. He noticed my CHL and asked "do you have the gun with you?" I replied, "Yes, it's safe in it's holster in my pocket." He says "sit tight."

The stop took approx. 10 mins. He came back and "awarded" me a citation for running a stop sign, a $160 fine. He lectured me about my safety, childrens safety and whatnot for about 2 minutes. He got flustered when I refused to answer questions about my employer contact info. That information is not relevant, so I refused. He simply wrote down "refused."

When I signed the citation, he smiled and hinted at my birthday. I thought this was weird -- My birthday is in a few weeks... can you guess when my court date is? *sigh* Why do I always get the nice cops?


Anyways... the stop went okay to me, because it was quick and the gun was a non-issue. However, I am interested in contesting the ticket based on mechanical issues with my brakes. They are being replaced this week. The rotors were badly warped and the pads were half-worn. Do you think the Judge will dismiss the ticket if I show him my receipts for replacing the brakes? This is a first dent in my perfect driving record. I could use some advice.