Criminal Trials, Hearings Cop not showing up to trial

[laura1989]

I got a ticket for an MIP infraction over Halloween weekend.. I went into court in the beginning of December and pleaded not guilty. My argument is that I did not know that what I was holding was alcohol... My court trial was today and I went, but the cop was not there. The judge called me up to the stand and told me that she was not there because of "emergency training". I knew that technically the case is supposed to be dropped when the cop does not show up, and was hoping that this would happen; unfortunately, since i was put on the spot, when he asked me if it was ok that he reschedule the court date, I said yes... Now I am definately regretting my decision to say that, to say the least. When the cop handed me the paperwork I asked him "Isn't the case supposed to be dropped?" But he said it was because the cop had a good cause.. I told him I missed class for the date but he told me I should have talked to the judge about that.

Now the court date is scheduled for a week from today.

I have been determined ever since the beginning to fight this MIP because i absolutely cannot lose my license. I was wondering if there was absolutely anything I could do now to fight the fact that the cop was not there, or just any advice you could give me. I realized that I should have argued against the judge literally a minute too late.Please help me out here.
Thank you

 

[styles]

Its common practice to give the officer 1 adjournment before they dismiss a ticket.
Hope he dont show next time.
If you had made a stink about it,theres a slight chance the judge would have dismissed it. Depending on his mood
Hindsight is 20/20

 

[jharris352]

There is little to no chance the Judge would have dismissed your ticket when it was the first continuance and the policeman was on emergency training. You did fine. HOWEVER you said one thing in your post that hit me like a brick. If you say it in front of the JUDGE you can be GUARANTEED a guilty verdict.

You said, "I didn't know what I was holding was alcohol." Implicit in that statement is the admission that YOU WERE HOLDING ALCOHOL! Don't ever say that. Make the police officer show up, and prove you were holding alcohol. I don't know and it isn't worth the time to look it up, but I would think you could have an affirmative defense of, "Someone asked me to hold their cup and I had no idea what was in it." That's as good as it will get for you.

Personally I think you should get an attorney, either pay for one or get one appointed. He/she can probably negotiate to keep your license with a diversion program. If you go in by yourself I almost guarantee you will lose.