Engaging in Speed Contest

[vtec91740]

Hi, I'm new to the forums, and I'm seeking advice on the subject of 23109a (Engaging in Speed Contest).

Very Quick Story:
- 12:30am on Saturday in Glendora, California (LA County).
- Showers ended several hours before, so the roads were relatively wet.

My friend (18 years old) in a 2003 Eclipse and I (18 years old) in a 1995 Honda Prelude pull up to a red light. We check our surroundings, and the coast was clear. We wanted to race, so when the light turned green, we bolted. Both our tires were peeling out. As soon as we cleared the intersection, we saw the infamous police lights. We pulled over and got a ticket.

Details of the ticket are:
- Engaging in Speed Contest (23109a).
- 55mph in a 40mph zone.
- Traffic was light, and the weather was wet.
- The officer circled "safe" on the ticket; however, he put a dash under 'veh lmt" and "radar."



What am I looking at in terms of charges, fines, penalties, ect... [average fine for this ticket? how high is insurance going to increase? (I'm a part of a family insured deal through Allstate) ect..]

Because it is a misdemeanor, will it affect my record so greatly that job hunting will become increasingly worse?

Is there any chance to fight this ticket?

Please help out a rookie in need. Any inputs and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[mafioso]

Given the tickets are traffic related, it should not affect your job search for the most part. Your chances of fighting don't seem very good but you can definitely plead them down to lesser charges..........that would be your best bet now. Contact cdwjava (Carl) on this forum.......He is very experience with CA law. He would best access the possible damage of the cumulative effects of your ticket(s). Some counties have very tough laws on such racing and threat it with a hammer. Hope you are not in one………..

 

[Scooterdog]

Hi, I'm new to the forums, and I'm seeking advice on the subject of 23109a (Engaging in Speed Contest).

Very Quick Story:
- 12:30am on Saturday in Glendora, California (LA County).
- Showers ended several hours before, so the roads were relatively wet.

My friend (18 years old) in a 2003 Eclipse and I (18 years old) in a 1995 Honda Prelude pull up to a red light. We check our surroundings, and the coast was clear. We wanted to race, so when the light turned green, we bolted. Both our tires were peeling out. As soon as we cleared the intersection, we saw the infamous police lights. We pulled over and got a ticket.

Details of the ticket are:
- Engaging in Speed Contest (23109a).
- 55mph in a 40mph zone.
- Traffic was light, and the weather was wet.
- The officer circled "safe" on the ticket; however, he put a dash under 'veh lmt" and "radar."



What am I looking at in terms of charges, fines, penalties, ect... [average fine for this ticket? how high is insurance going to increase? (I'm a part of a family insured deal through Allstate) ect..]

Because it is a misdemeanor, will it affect my record so greatly that job hunting will become increasingly worse?

Is there any chance to fight this ticket?

Please help out a rookie in need. Any inputs and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

http://ticketslayer.com/

 

[vtec91740]

Thanks mafioso and scooterdog for the quick reply.

Mafioso, I pm'd CdwJava just now, and I await his reply. Thanks for referring me to him. Also, I'm very interested as to how I could execute lowering my ticket? Would I do that on my traffic court date, where I would plead "not guilty," and state that my charges are merely of a speeding ticket? What exactly would my procedure would be? Would I be given another court date, after I plead no guilty?

Scooterdog, thanks for the link. I checked out that weblink you told me about. Is it merely an informative website, giving people legal information upon their topic? For $75, is it worth it?

Also, I have one vague question: will my car get crushed/demolished?

Thanks guys.

 

[CdwJava]

What am I looking at in terms of charges, fines, penalties, ect... [average fine for this ticket? how high is insurance going to increase? (I'm a part of a family insured deal through Allstate) ect..]

The suggested fine and fees for CVC 23109 as a misdemeanor is $1,368 ... this amount can vary up or down slightly depending on your location.

It is also a two point hit to your license.

Because it is a misdemeanor, will it affect my record so greatly that job hunting will become increasingly worse?

If convicted, and if an employer asks about convictions for misdemeanors or felonies, then you would have to answer "yes". However, many employers exclude traffic related offenses from their questionnaire.

Is there any chance to fight this ticket?

There is always a "chance" ... but, if the officer saw two cars zipping up the street racing side by side, it's a pretty strong case.

You are very lucky - the officer could have snagged your car at the scene and impounded it.

You can also lose your license.

You might consider engaging an attorney to help you minimize the effects of this.

- Carl

 

[vtec91740]

Thanks for the feedback, CdwJava.

Do you guys feel like my case is minor? And could the judge charge me for speeding, ontop of engaging in speed contest? Would it then be 3 pts against me?

 

[CdwJava]

Huh ... I don't think they WOULD stack it like that because the unsafe speed could easily be a lesser included offense (or, an "element") of the greater offense.

And my mind is a little befuddled at the moment (long 8 day run of shifts and little sleep due to work being done at home), but I think that they can only assign points due to the highest single offense in an incident, and NOT for all of them together. But, you might have to check with the DMV on that.

No, it's not minor, but it's not necessarily serious enough that they will go after you all the way. However, if there has been any injuries or fatalities in your area recently, or if this is a hot-button issue for the community or the police, you might get spanked hard.

I would still recommend consulting an attorney so that you might know ALL the potential ramifications of this - including the possibility of jail time.

- Carl

 

[Scooterdog]

Thanks mafioso and scooterdog for the quick reply.

Mafioso, I pm'd CdwJava just now, and I await his reply. Thanks for referring me to him. Also, I'm very interested as to how I could execute lowering my ticket? Would I do that on my traffic court date, where I would plead "not guilty," and state that my charges are merely of a speeding ticket? What exactly would my procedure would be? Would I be given another court date, after I plead no guilty?

Scooterdog, thanks for the link. I checked out that weblink you told me about. Is it merely an informative website, giving people legal information upon their topic? For $75, is it worth it?

Also, I have one vague question: will my car get crushed/demolished?

Thanks guys.

http://ticketslayer.com/testimonial.htm

Ya, because it works again, and again.

 

[CdwJava]

http://ticketslayer.com/testimonial.htm

Ya, because it works again, and again.

Generally in instances of ex parte communications and if the matter is a brought up on appeal. A reading of the entire case - and not just the snippet so often cited by these web sites - reveals that the circumstances are pretty specific.

Might it work on appeal? Sure. Depending on what happens at trial.

However, this is a case that is very likely to be prosecuted by a DA and not in a court trial.

http://login.findlaw.com/scripts/callaw?dest=ca/caapp4th/6/supp1.html

(requires a registration for Findlaw.com to access)

- Carl

 

[Scooterdog]

Generally in instances of ex parte communications and if the matter is a brought up on appeal. A reading of the entire case - and not just the snippet so often cited by these web sites - reveals that the circumstances are pretty specific.

Might it work on appeal? Sure. Depending on what happens at trial.

However, this is a case that is very likely to be prosecuted by a DA and not in a court trial.

http://login.findlaw.com/scripts/callaw?dest=ca/caapp4th/6/supp1.html

(requires a registration for Findlaw.com to access)

- Carl

First of all, ticketslayer has nothing to do with an appeal. You are defaulting the prosecutor. As the Cal judge in this case put it: "good cause exists to dismiss case due to lack of prosecution." You don't appeal, because the prosecution has no case to begin with.