Can You Fight a Traffic Ticket Without an Attorney?
The short answer is of course you can. The long answer is of course you can, but you are putting yourself at a distinct disadvantage. But it is possible. Here are some things you need to consider, and trust me on this, because, guess what, I am a traffic attorney!
First things first, if you are going to do this on your own you have to have some idea about what you are doing. The first thing to understand is that there are no secrets. Traffic lawyers just work these tickets like other lawyers work other cases. We utilize the rules of procedure, the rules of evidence, and the rules of common sense to fight these things. And there are three places you want to do this.
Procedural problems are the easiest place to beat your ticket, so you want to look there first. To know all of the procedural rules, you need to go and read them. Whatever state you are in, just Google the traffic rules. They’ll pop up, you can read them, and then check your ticket to make sure everything was followed correctly. If there are problems that are bigger than a misspelled name or something like that, then you might be able to get your traffic ticket dismissed.
Next up is scientific reliability and the radar gun. If you got buzzed with a radar or laser, to find you committed the infraction, the court has to find that the radar gun was scientifically reliable on that day. In Seattle, this information is in the rules of procedure. But it is also important to understand the rules of evidence and how they apply to scientific information.
Finally, you look to the officer’s report itself (we almost never call the officer in to testify – it just doesn’t make sense). The officer’s statement has to have enough information to allow the judge to find that you were speeding. Try to find weaknesses in the story and show them to the judge, arguing lack of proof.
There you go. How to fight a traffic ticket without a traffic lawyer. Not as easy as it might seem. But possible. If you really want your best shot, though, you should get some help.