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Pucker,
The day I graduated HS I bought a Mach 1 Mustang. I sent many checks to Mr. Mallory (and a couple others) back in the early 1970s. None ever made it to appeals court, I was lucky.
I've not tried to appeal one since all the local burgs became courts of record. I'm not sure how that changed things, except I was told appealing takes real money and a real lawyer. Fortunately, Deferred adjudication became cheap and easy in recent years.
I'm getting a lot slower and more careful now, with the occasional exception viewtopic.php?f=15&t=30095" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PUCKER wrote:In my younger years I had *many* tickets, and they were all justified (meaning I was speeding, etc.), with the exception of ONE. For this one I went to court, had a witness, etc. The cop lied on the stand, the prosecutor was extremely manipulative (and made my witness look like a bumbling idiot, she was really good, but not for me, oh well), it was a jury trial, I even had video evidence, the judge said she believed my side but the jury had spoken and I could appeal by paying a $200 fee, etc. if I wanted to. I learned to *never* go in a courtroom as your own lawyer. Either hire a lawyer or do deferred adjudication.

My experience was a bit different. I was well prepared, and the cop had no idea I suspected him of rigging his radar display after the fact. The officer was stammering under cross-examination, and the city attorney was asking me if I was an attorney and who my friend next to me was. It was fun.
For $200 you get an attorney who will file for deferred adjudication for you. You can do that yourself. If you want to beat a bad rap (however minor, it's the principle) and get a lawyer who will actually research the case and defend you, you will pay a lot more. So, if you are right, and have the evidence/witnesses, do your homework, sit in on a court session prior to your day to see how it works (and what the court is like). Then do your best Perry Mason routine, always respectful of the court and the rules of play. Make your case. Expect a guilty verdict, then appeal if you wish. THEN you need a lawyer. I've never gotten that far.

I'd take a day off and take it to court.
Sounds like an easy win, and you don't need to let guys like that get away with it. Even if you were guilty, the officer was unprofessional. He needs to be reminded of the rules.

I had something similar happen to me decades ago. Had a good time in court, I did.
Yeah, I was found guilty, fined $5.00. I appealed. Later got a dismissal letter.