HappySquirrel

Hey y'all, I need some advice:

I got a speeding ticket from the Memorial City (Houston) Police last Friday night. I was doing 16 over the limit and he also got me for not having a front license plate and for having an "obstructed rear license plate" (total B.S., I had a license plate frame that covered the top of the word Texas just a little bit).

I've read that if you haven't had a ticket in over a year in Texas you can plead guilty and agree to take one of the online driving school programs and the ticket won't show up on your record and your insurance agent won't see it. Does anyone know if this is true? Does anyone know if I can plead guilty to the speeding violation and take the school but still contest the license plate infractions? (All three violations were on the same ticket).

Also, does anyone know how much these types of infractions typically run? I'm infuriated that there is no fine schedule on the back of the ticket, so I have no way to tell how much I'm going to owe (a lot, I'm sure). There's a website where you can supposedly pay your ticket, but the ticket's not in the system there so I couldn't tell how much it is. Any help would be appreciated.

Racer_X

u can contest the front license plate by takin a pic wit it on or mounting it for the day u show up. maybe put it in the front windshield an take a pic. maybe even pleade no contest an pay the court fee's an take deffensive drivin again..... i have a citation for no front license but im just goin to take a pic wit it on the front an put it in the windshield when i go to court.

HappySquirrel

OK, but do you know if that really works? I mean, it seems to me that a judge would realize you could just put your plate on after the ticket's been written so you could get off. Then it's just your word against the cop's and I don't see a judge siding against a cop in that case. I don't mean to rip on your advice, I appreciate it. It just seems like a long shot. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

nethawk

u can plead guilty and take defensive driving if u havnt done so in the past 12 months or so, and it wont show on record,

the obstructed license plate thing youll have to find out by calling the court or waiting till ure court date, the tickets dont show up on the site until the cop files it with the court so check back often, if u wana pay the ticket online expect to pay all of it since it was all on the same ticket

the front license plate now has to be on the bumper it cant be on the windshield anymore my brother got a ticket in his truck for having it on the windshield, its a new law i think and some cops enforce it

dont forget COPS are real A$$ Holes at the begining and at the end of the month, all theryre doing is trying to fill their quota so drive the limit or 5 over and try not to look suspicious

UV7

There is also Deferred Adjudication. Basically, Deferred Adjudication is a sort of driving "probation" that can be used over and over. You would have to pay the cost of the speeding portion of the ticket, but if you do not get another ticket within 90 days, the first one does not show on your record and is dismissed. If you do get a ticket within those 90 days, you will have to pay for BOTH tickets and BOTH will post to your driving record.
As for the plates, the best excuse is ignorance. Tell the court clerk that you did not have a front plate because you did not have a bracket to hold it on. Go out and buy a cheap license plate frame. Be sure to get a receipt. You could even make a bogus receipt for 2 brackets, stating they were bought off eBay or something. Take this to the court, tell the clerk that the license plate frames or brackets are for the front AND back, so that your rear license plate frame will no longer be blocked and that you were not aware that the frame was a problem at the time. They will not know the difference and really don't care anyway. They will dismiss these two parts of this ticket and will allow you to do whatever you choose to dismiss the speeding portion of the ticket.
I have done this more than once with my Camaro, which still to this day, does not have a front license plate on it. I have never paid for that violation and have been written a ticket for it several times. I just use the "my bracket broke" excuse, bought a cheap plate frame that I never used, took the receipt to the clerk, and got the ticket dismissed.

HappySquirrel

Thank you all for the advice.

I haven't contested a ticket before, so I'm a little confused: when you go in for your first appearance, do you just speak with the clerk and not a judge? Can you get a ticket dismissed without talking to a judge?

UV7

In traffic court, if you are issued a ticket, you must show up at the courthouse and issue a plea to a court clerk if you wish to contest a ticket. In this case, you will not necessarily have to contest the ticket, just show proof that the issue has been corrected.
Yes, the clerk can dismiss a ticket without the judge's verbal consent on the exact matter. They are given certain criteria that can be met to get that particular ticket dismissed. In the case of the license plates, all you can do is try. It is similar to being charged with not having proof of insurance. If you can present the court clerk with proof that you did in fact have liability insurance at the time the ticket was written, they will dismiss the ticket.
If they require you to present your evidence to the judge in order to get the ticket dismissed, they will issue you a court date for you to appear before the judge. You may have to take the time to go before the judge and get the ticket dismissed. Either way, the judge is not going to be concerned with the fine for the ticket, especially if you have shown that you were unfamiliar with the issue and your willingness to correct the issue on your own.
Just out of curiosity, what courthouse are you going to? Who issued the ticket? ...state trooper or local constable?

HappySquirrel

Thanks for the advice, UV7. The ticket was issued by an officer who identified himself as "Memorial City Police". The ticket says memorial villages and the courthouse is the Hunter's Creek Village courthouse.

Romanova

Yeah, you really gotta watch all these small towns located near/in the Houston area. They will ding you for everything and since they are such a small agency, you can count on them showing up for the court date. Try and deal with the prosecutor. Admit guilt to speeding and try and get deferred and take defensive driving. You might be able to get him to drop the other two infractions... thats how it usually goes with HPD tickets.

LIKE_OR_AS_GOD

I live just on the edge of Jersy Village, anouther small town like that one. When I got my ticket a few months ago the Sherief was wondering why I dropped right to the speed limit when I went under 290 under pass....I told him cause I won't take a ticket froma JV cop, but I"ll take one from him. He dropped my 67 in a 40 down to 60. I'm takeing defensive driveing and done every thing online, pay and all, but have to go get papper noterized. My last ticket a few years back was an 82 in a 45. That one was Defered and it saved me about 100 bucks on total court fee and ticket cost doing that and isn't on my record. It's easy to get out of them if you haven't gotten in ages. Remember when you take defensive driveing you can allso some times get a credit/discount on your issurance.


Oh and I don't have a front plate, I keep mine in my glove box and every time I ben pulled over never had it brought up about it. Than again most cops don't walk to the front of your char.