Contesting cell phone ticket today... any suggestions?

Hey everyone,

Today I'm contesting a cell phone ticket for calling while driving.
Does anyone have any tips how to contest it?

Oh and for the law-abiding superstars, let me get a few posts out of the way beforehand:

- "Yeah, I know how to contest it, it's called: dont call and drive"
- "You broke the law, now pay for it."
- "Why would I help you, you broke the law."
- Etc.

So thank you for the obvious, but looking for some real help here.

Thanks

Now we are blackhatcar.

AquaticGamer said:

Now we are blackhatcar.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's really helpful.
It's posted in The Lounge.
You know.... as in... hanging out and talking about stuff

This guy in the UK got away with it by saying he was using the dictation part of the phone, so wasn't making a call at all, hence the law didn't apply:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-Mr-Loophole-tells-court-He-telling-joke.html

In Court ?

If you are contesting this in a courtroom heres my advise. Plead guilty and accept the punishment. Judges need to crank through a session of lower level driving offenses and some guy taking up his time will get double the penalty.

You got a solicitor to speak on your behalf ? Bad idea Judges think solicitors are low level time wasters and wont afford them the time of day in a straightforward traffic sitting.

The exception: If you have somehow got the budget together to appoint a Barrister that will most probably get you off. Barristers will drag up traffic/weather reports/extenuating circumstance......anything that they can used in your defence. The judge will have time and respect for a barrister as a barrister has been called to the bar. All judges were barristers once before progressing to junior/senior council etc.

tl/dr unless you have 2k a day to put on a barrister say sorry and pay your fine.

accept it and pay it. because yes it is the law and it is your fault

or

play stupid

Duffers5000 said:

In Court ?

If you are contesting this in a courtroom heres my advise. Plead guilty and accept the punishment. Judges need to crank through a session of lower level driving offenses and some guy taking up his time will get double the penalty.

You got a solicitor to speak on your behalf ? Bad idea Judges think solicitors are low level time wasters and wont afford them the time of day in a straightforward traffic sitting.

The exception: If you have somehow got the budget together to appoint a Barrister that will most probably get you off. Barristers will drag up traffic/weather reports/extenuating circumstance......anything that they can used in your defence. The judge will have time and respect for a barrister as a barrister has been called to the bar. All judges were barristers once before progressing to junior/senior council etc.

tl/dr unless you have 2k a day to put on a barrister say sorry and pay your fine.

Click to expand...

Normally I would try to fight any and all court cases but in this instance I agree with Duffers.

In the UK this would probably fall under Strict Liability and unless you have deep pockets and an expensive brief then it won't be worth it and as Duffers suggested they may well end up giving you the maximum penalty.

Strict Liability basically means that you have no defence and if they feel you are trying it on and wasting their time then they could give you the maximum punishment.


EDIT: Also if you are in the UK then this will be heard in a Magistrates Court as it is a Summary Offence.
Magistrates tend to be upper middle class with no knowledge of the real world and even less about the law.
They are lay people who are advised on legal matters by Justices' Clerks, who won't care about any extenuating circumstances.
Look up the Sentencing guidelines for the offence and decide if you want to risk it but as I stated earlier with a Strict Liability Offence the chances will be slim and zero without a decent Solicitor.

I got out of a cell phone ticket, but it was while the cop had pulled me over. I wasn't trying to get out of it. I actually told the cop to be quiet for a minute while I was throwing a fit on the phone. The cop sympathized with me, probably because he, along with everyone in the US, knows what it's like to go through outsourcing hell whenever we are trying to resolve a problem through a company's customer service. But if the ticket was already written, I'd just pay it. If I didn't pull over to talk, then it's my fault.