Hillbilly Cops

[Thourun]

I posted this in the 3000GT forum but then thought it should be posted here.

Originally Posted by Thourun

I went home from college for the weekend and my family went to New Hampshire for the fall colors and the local hick fair. The fair was ok, lots of animals and cheep knives and crafty stuff but while I was wandering through the choped tracotrs/hot rods I looked down and noticed the guy in front of me had the but of a small revolver sticknig out of the back pocket in his tatterd jeans with part of the muzle poking out of a small hole, I laughed because I hadn't realized how rural an area we had a summer home. I was driving my 3000GT SL for probably the last time before it's sold (don't worry, I'm getting a VR4 before next summer) and the backwoods roads are soooo much fun around there, ups downs and all types of curves all in a senic setting by a river, and no one around! So needless to say I had a lot of fun driving around but I had a little run in with the police (he was probably the only one in 40 miles), I was at the only intersection for miles and decided to test my shifting skill with a bit of aceleration down the straight away ahed, so I flored it and got a good launch withought any weel spin and wound it up to 60 and thats where I started to slow down when I see that theres a cop behind me who just caught up and turned on his flashers. I pull over of course and he gets out and makes his way to my car stopping to check out the rear end and run his finger from the spoiler to the window. Apparently the 50' wide street with 40' of grass on each side with no houses or any buildings for that matter was a 35 mph zone...... I swear I've never seen a road like that that was under 55.. of course he gave me a ticket seeing as though I was technically going allmost double the speed limit (which should have been at least a 45 zone). I don't know about other states but in new hampshire going twice the speed limit only gets you a $115 ticket lol. So should I plead guilty, no contest, or innocent lol? Obviously not innocent because I can't get back to NH to go to court! Does anyone know the difference between guilty and no contest?

Any insight into my situation (mostly just wondering the difference between guilty and no contest) would be great, also how am I suposed to show up in court (if I were in fact innocent) if I don't live anywhere near there and have since stoped using my car (so theres no insurance now)? Ohh and is there any hope of not getting points for any reason (like since it was out of state or something).

[clawhammer]

The only way from keeping it from getting on your record is by fighting it. I live in Michigan, and here we have guilty, guilty with an explanation (same thing as guilty, at best they'll knock $20 off the fine), or not guilty (going to an informal hearing with just a magistrate and the cop). If at all possible, fight it till the end. Since he didn't cut you a break or anything, you don't have much to loose (unless you have to drive a lot to the court), at most they'll add like $20 court costs, but your chances are better if you fight it. Plus, you're insurance will surely be a lot cheaper for a car like that.

[Thourun]

Yea I would fight it, trouble is it happned 350 miles away from where I go to school and also I no longer drive my car (since its for sale back home). What happens if I plead innocent yet have no means to appear in court?

[clawhammer]

They will automatically find you guilty if you plead not guilty and not show up in court.

[Thourun]

So what should I plead? Guilty or no contest?

[clawhammer]

Here is a definition of "no contest" that I found online:

Same as pleading guilty, except that your plea cannot be used against you in civil court. You can only use this in traffic or criminal court. Also called nolo, which in Latin means I do not wish to contend.

I'm trying to help you out here, but if you still have the car, I'm sure you can afford to put another 700 miles on it. One other thing, did the officer ask you how fast you were going? If you did, and you told him 60, then just plead no contest. If you admitted to the officer already, then you have a 0 chance of winning, well next to 0, I guess he could just not show up. Hope this helps

[Thourun]

Yea I guess I'll plead that, sounds good lol but it dosnt realy help me. And no the car is 6 hours away so I have no way of showing up in court. Funny thing is he didn't put check any of the boxes for how he knew how fast I was going like "radar", "aircraft", or "clocked".... I was allready slowing as he came up behind me so I dunno how he had any idea how fast I was going. Thanks for the help Claw, I appriciate it.

[lwpat]

Since you have no way of returning to court your only courses of action are to just go ahead and pay the ticket or hire an attorney.

This is strictly an economic decision and depends on your previous record. Probably just go ahead and pay since it is a minor speeding violation. There is no difference between no contest and guilty. Send the money by money order since they will not accept a check and be sure it gets there by your court date. I recommend CRRR so you have proof.

Some states will not enter this on your record. If you live in NY or PA it will not show up.