Many of us know that being cited for a speeding ticket or other type of traffic violation can be a frustrating experience. If convicted, points will be assessed on your driver’s license, fines and court costs must be paid, your insurance premiums may increase and your license could be suspended depending on your driving history. I am frequently asked the question “should I hire a lawyer for my speeding ticket/traffic offense or should I represent myself?” Many lawyers will advocate hiring them in every case. However, if this is your first offense speeding ticket or traffic offense and you will not be assessed more than 2-3 points for the violation, I believe you may be able to represent yourself with some of the helpful hints that I provide below. However, in the following situations I highly recommend that you retain counsel:

1. this is your second citation within 3 years
2. you have points that have not been removed from your driving record
3. you receive a speeding ticket in excess of 31 miles per hour
4. you are a minor
5. you possess a commercial driver’s license
6. you insure many vehicles on your policy or have high liability limits

If any of the above applies to you, please contact Jason R. Antoine, Traffic Violation Defense Attorney and former Assistant District Attorney at (610) 299-0295 to schedule a free consultation.

Representing Yourself in Pennsylvania Traffic Court

If you decide to contest your speeding ticket or other traffic citation, you must follow the instructions on your citation, plead not guilty, mail the citation and post the appropriate collateral to the district court listed on your ticket. The court requires that you to post collateral and pay the citation and court costs up front. If you win the citation or have the charge reduced, the appropriate amount will be refunded to you. Next, you will receive your court date in the mail. Your court date will be at a Magisterial District Court. District court is Pennsylvania’s version of magistrate court. The judge is an elected official and is not required to be a lawyer or possess a law degree. In some instances, Magisterial District Judge’s (MDJ’s) happen to be lawyers but this is not a requirement. At your court date or hearing date, the police officer that issued you the citation must be present along with the judge. If the police officer does not show up, ask the judge to dismiss the citation. If the officer shows up to the hearing, you must negotiate with him or her to reduce the charge or take the case to trial. You may try to call the officer by telephone in advance of the hearing, but police officers typically do not respond to your phone call regarding speeding tickets or traffic citations from my experience. I believe you are better off waiting to talk with the officer at the hearing. You must understand that the police officer has the power to drop the citation, not the judge. The only power the judge has is to find you not guilty in a trial.

If your case involves a speeding ticket and the officer cited you for 6 miles per hour (mph) over the speed limit, ask him or her to drop it down to 5 mph over. 5 mph over the speed limit carries no points on your license in Pennsylvania. If you are a New Jersey driver points will be assessed on a 5 mph over violation. New Jersey drivers should ask the officer to drop it down to a Failure to Produce a License violation which carries no points. Failure to Produce a license is a good “catch all” penalty for many traffic violations. I have had success having cases dropped to Failure to Produce a License.

If the police officer does not wish to drop your case down to 5 mph over or Failure to Produce a License, politely ask the officer if he or she should drop your case down to a provision with less points. The police officer may know of a less serious violation to which you can plead.

If the officer will not agree to a deal, at that point you may take your chances and demand a trial before the judge or give up and plead guilty. A traffic citation is a criminal matter and the police officer must prove every element of the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Before your court date you should locate the section of the motor vehicle code on your citation that the officer wrote. Look up this section of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code online and read it thoroughly. The officer must prove every element of the statute.

If you are fighting a speeding ticket the information below may help you win your case. If you are confused about any of the following material contact my office at (610) 299-0295 to discuss your case.

Speeding Cases – The Police Officer Must Prove the Following:

The Commonwealth has the burden to produce the following evidence in a speeding case. If any of the following pieces of evidence are missing in your speeding trial ask the judge to find you not guilty.    

1. The speed timing device used by the officer (i.e. - radar, laser) must be an approved device and must have been tested as accurate by an approved testing station with sixty (60) days prior to the offense charged. The officer must produce a certificate of accuracy at the hearing.
2. The officer must cite the appropriate Pennsylvania Bulletin Volume that shows the testing station cited in the certificate of accuracy is an approved testing station.
3. The officer must testify that he has been certified to use the speed timing device in question.
4. The officer must establish what the speed limit was at the location of the offense.
5. The officer must testify that the speed limit was properly posted and testify as to where it was posted.
6. The officer must testify that the speed timing device in question was being properly used and the defendant’s speed registered X mph on the machine.

If the judge finds you guilty, you have thirty (30) days to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. Contact my office at (610) 299-0295 and find out how to appeal your citation.