NM ticket

[Bodiddely]

Hello,
I was stopped today in a construction zone for going 34 in a 25 zone. I had just entered the zone and saw the "speeding fines doubled" sign and deliberately slowed down. I went over a hill and may have picked up some speed but was breaking and an officer who was stopped waved me over. There was a Fed Ex truck directly in front of me which was not stopped and I'm not sure that the reading on the laser gun was from my car and not the truck as the truck and I were pretty near to each other. Anyways, the officer told me that I had to either agree to pay the ticket or ask for a court date. He told me that if I wanted to fight the ticket that he would put that it took place in a construction zone and the fine would be doubled and that I had to decide right then if I wanted to fight the ticket or not. Since he said the fine would be doubled if I tried to fight it and lost, I agreed to pay the fine and signed the box agreeing I was guilty and to pay the fine. This is my first ever ticket in the 4 years I have been driving.

Now in retrospect I feel that I was manipulated by the officer into waiving my right to an arraignment. Not only is getting a ticket a stressful time to begin with and people shouldn't be forced to make a decision right then to plead guilty or not, but on top of that I was told that he would put down that it was in a construction zone also if I did decide not to plead guilty.

Is there any way I can fight this and get a court hearing after signing the ticket admitting to guilt?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[lwpat]

You don't give us your state so any answer can only be a generalization.

Laser is very target specific. If he was using laser then there is no chance he read the speed of the truck.

Officers do not like having to appear in court and some use this tactic to insure that they never have to testify. If you feel that you were coerced into pleading guilty then you have the right to request a trial. However the officer also has the right to ammend the ticket to the original charge.

I disagree with this and so probably will his superiors. My suggestion would be to file a complaint. Most jurisdictions take citizens complaints very seriously and officers do lose their jobs.

Check with the clerk of court to see if you are eligible for traffic school or a deferment to keep the ticket off your record. This is not a big enough issue to lose a lot of sleep over.