Stopped in Katy

[McKnife]

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.

[SlickTX]

Its worth a try. You may catch the judge on a good day and get a reduction in the fine. But he/she could also be of the opinion that you failed in your responsibilities to properly maintain your vehicle in a safe manner and add to your fine.

I would try for deferred adjudication on the offense and pay the "court costs" that will probably be equal to the ticket. You will be out the money but your record will be clear if you maintain a clean record during the deferal period. You may need a traffic court lawyer to achieve this result.

[Rex B]

Good advice about deferred adjudication. I don't think you'll get a dismissal from what you've said.
Call and ask about DA. costs the same, but no ding or points on your record if you can behave for 90 days (usually).
Some cities have a fastrack DA process just for asking. Irving used to have a separate window just for that.

[Charles L. Cotton]

This guy is amazing in Houston Municipal Courts.

Chas.

http://www.davidsprecher.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[elwood blooz]

Mr. Sprecher took care of a case for me in regards to my daughter getting a large speeding ticket. As Chas said, he is amazing. He also will go in to Montgomery County, well at least back then he did.

[3dfxMM]

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?

It is also possible that he might stick it to you for operating an unsafe vehicle on a public thoroughfare. :)

[snorri]

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?

It is also possible that he might stick it to you for operating an unsafe vehicle on a public thoroughfare. :)

If the issue is points (and insurance penalties) rather than fines, having it reduced to an equipment violation does that.

Hiring a lawyer is an option. A friend used David Sprecher to get a ticket dismissed. I think he charged as much as the fine, so again the issue was a clean driving record rather than cost.

If you have a clean driving record, defensive driving may be an option. This may cost more than the base ticket, but it's usually easy to do yourself, although probably more time consuming than hiring Mr. Sprecher.

[austin-tatious]

With a perfect record like yours (up to now) I vote for the defensive driving...and you can get a small discount on car insurance (with most companies AFAIK).

[fecnik]

Its worth a try. You may catch the judge on a good day and get a reduction in the fine. But he/she could also be of the opinion that you failed in your responsibilities to properly maintain your vehicle in a safe manner and add to your fine.

+1. I dont think it works like a non working head/tail light. Id just take DD, get the insurance discount and be done with it.

[The Annoyed Man]

What's with this trend in asking for your work information and phone number? Why on earth would a LEO writing you up for a common traffic citation need that particular piece of information?

[lonewolf]

Bad guys are just going to give them bogus information anyway, thereby corrupting the validity of such a database. Unless they call every employer for verification, there is no purpose behind it that I can see. The less personal information, the better. Name, rank, and serial number. They have records for me under all of them, I'm sure.

A BG isn't going to give them an accurate home address, phone number, or anything anyway.

I am not LEO bashing here, please understand that. I just don't much care for the way some things are handled these days. Next they'll be asking how much money you make, what size your hat is, and all kinds of other ridiculous questions. Proabably get it linked into the upcoming universal healthcare computer and see what prescription medications you may be taking as well. Ridiculous.

Name, rank, and serial number. Oh, yeah, and my lawyer's name...........

[philip964]

Two words David Sprecher.

You pay him rather than the ticket. It also costs you also some time at the courthouse. But generally (especially in your case) the ticket is dismissed. That way it stays off your record. In addition when you get called for jury duty and it is a traffic offense, and David or one of his attorneys is the lawyer, you get automatically excused, cause obviously you would be partial to your own attorney.

I had an attorney client who drove a Ferrari (he had four) and he was always getting tickets. This is who he used to defend him. I figured if a rich attorney uses this attorney to defend him for tickets, its got to be the way to go. I have never been disappointed. One time the police officer decided to pile on and I got four tickets for one stop (and my car isn't even red) David made them all go away, all dismissed.

[srothstein]

What's with this trend in asking for your work information and phone number? Why on earth would a LEO writing you up for a common traffic citation need that particular piece of information?

In addition to what TXLobo said, the employment information serves another purpose. It allows the cops to know where to find you when you don't pay the ticket. A little known fact is that you cannot go into a person's house to arrest them on class C misdemeanors (I would need to check but I think this applies to all misdemeanor warrants). You can go into their work place to arrest them though, so which set of contact info is better for the collection agency? And the threat of being embarrassed at work by being arrested is a great enhancement when the city does their "courtesy" calls before the ticket roundups.

As for the bad guys lying, it is amazing how often they tell the truth on tickets and things like that. One of the advantages of the computer cross referencing that TxLobo mentioned is that bad guys are also victims of crimes at times. They almost always tell the truth when they are the victim or have no fear of being arrested at that time. Get the info when you can, it can serve as a lead later on when you need it.

[McKnife]

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.