Hello! I've just spent the past several hours researching my possible avenues of response to a citation I recently received of travelling 81 MPH in a 65 MPH zone in the state of PA. After browsing this and other forums for similar threads, I am convinced that there are people with much more knowledge and experience with these citations than me, so I thought it couldn't hurt to ask a few questions!
Well, a bit of background is in order, I presume. It was the end of July, and I was travelling home on an interstate. I was travelling my usual rate of speed for longer interstate trips of between 80 and 85 MPH, which is well in excess of the posted speed limits. I was slowly passing a car (which I estimate was travelling between 3 - 5 MPH slower) while going around a curve, and I noticed a State Police cruiser perched on the side of the road as the road straightened out again. I saw him pull out shortly after, and I was pulled over to the side in short order. The officer said he had clocked the guy I was passing ("flying by," in his own words) at 80 MPH, and that he had used a radar while coming up behind me and I was still travelling in the "high seventies." He asked to see my license, but said my registration and insurance were not necessary. He then went back to the cruiser and wrote me up a citation for travelling 81 in a 65. The encounter was fairly quick and pleasant. I like how the officer mentioned it was a busy day for them today, and that there were a lot of troopers on the roads that day. It is too bad he was the first one I saw! = )
The total citation fee is just about $160, and I found that this charge bracket (travelling 16 MPH over the posted limit) also carries a penalty of 4 points on my PA driving license as well. Being a not-so-well-off college student, the cash fine is certainly not fun - but that's not really the big deal now that I've been looking into this. Avoiding points and keeping the violation off my record in order to NOT increase my insurance premiums are the big goals for me. It looks like the only way to do this is to either write "not guilty" on the citation, send it in, and try my hand in court, or try a plea bargin (which may require the above, anyway - I'm not sure if I can do even this without signing not guilty). I don't think actually hiring a lawyer will be a viable option for me at this point, due to the money situation, so anything I will be trying (other than just paying the fee and accepting guilty outright) I'll be doing myself.
I've gleaned a lot of potentially useful information off the internet in the past hours, but I can't seem to find what may or may not be currently applicable to Pennsylvania. This is where I'm hoping I may find some guidance. This is my first offense, so I will be counting on this to bolster my chances for leniency.
What I see as my options (in order of preference), in proceeding:
1. Look into "Probation Before Judgement" - where the citation is put on hold for awhile (6 months? - I'd have to get more information) and no action is taken. If by the end of the Probation period I have not had any other citations, then this citation is entirely dismissed. If another citation should be received however, both are applied to my record. I see this as probably my number one option, as I honestly make an effort to be a safe and courteous driver, and this has been my first citation in my 5 years of driving.
I don't see myself getting another citation anytime soon, and certainly not within 6 months(!), so this seems like a most excellent option. I can not seem to find if this is even an option in Pennsylvania (I was cited in Union County, but I doubt that has any relevance, in this matter). Does anyone know if this is an option in this case, OR how I would go about finding if it was or persuing it? Would this be a plea bargin, where I would need to speak with the DA or officer (hopefully in advance), or something I would contact the Clerk of the Court about? Is there something I am missing here that doesn't make this option so great?
2. Plea bargin(?) to take a traffic school course. I'm not sure if this option is available to me in this situation. I believe this may not actually be a plea bargin, but something I would contact the Clerk of the Court about. As I understand it, this would require me to attend a "traffic school course" and would effectively remove all points from the offense, and it would be kept entirely off my record. The cost may be a bit higher than the original citation, but I am unsure if this cost would include the original fine or if that would be in addition?
3. Plead to a 3111(-A?) offense. This would effectively move the citation to a "non-moving" violation, which carries the same monetary penalty but puts no points on the record. I'm not sure if this puts a conviction on the record that the insurance companies can see, however. I am also thinking that I would need to send in a "plead guilty" stub and appear in front of the District Justice to plead for the move to a 3111 offense. For my uncertainty about the insurance companies, and the probable need to appear in court, and also the fact that if I did this I might not be able to do it until the court date right before (or during?) trial, this is my third choice - even though it would likely be less expensive than the "traffic school" course.
4. Plead "nolo contendere" - or "no contest." Basically I do not plead my guilt or innocence, but agree to accept the penalty of the citation. There is a slight chance the Justice would voluntarily reduce some part of the penalty, but that is nothing to count on. Personally, I don't agree with the current speed limit laws, but that is entirely irrelevant. I recognize I was travelling faster than the posted speed limit, and now the state wants remuneration - I understand that.
Personally, I'd prefer not to plead guilty to a criminal offense, no matter how "minor" the criminal case may be, so this plead has appeal to me. I feel that this would be the best option for my ego, but is effectively just as good as a guilty plea. Any further insight I may be missing on this? Furthermore, I have no idea how I would enter this plea, as on the citation stub I must send in, there are only fields for "guilty" and "not guilty" and it states if you do not sign it, a plea of guilty will be entered. To actually do this then, does someone need to plead not guilty, show up on the court date, and then just plead "nolo contendere" when the Justice asks is you plead guilty or not guilty? This would seem like a great waste of time for everyone involved, just to effectively accept the fine and walk away!
5. If I show up for trial and the officer has not, I am hoping I will be able to know this before entering a plea before the Justice. If so, I'd like to make a motion to the court to dismiss the case. As I've never been to court before, I'm not sure if this is even possible given the order of court proceedings, or whether or not I'll even be able to know if the "accusing" officer has appeared for trial. Any insight into this point would be stellar! As I understand it, the officer is technically the plaintiff with the DA as his attorney, and I am the defendant. If the officer is not there, there is no formal accuser present, and the case defaults to me - so it is dismissed on those grounds. The DA will likely make a motion for a continuance in this event, and I am unsure if there is any way to block such a motion. I am also unsure how often the officer fails to appear in court, but this is basically "Plan A" if I am able to know he is not there before moving beyond the point of dismissal of the case. "Plan B" would be the plead of "nolo contendere" - although having the case dismissed would be preferrable, of course, if I'm already there, why not try for it?
6. Just send in the fee, plead guilty, be done with it. Accept the full fine, the full points, the full insurance hike. They certainly make this the easy way out, don't they? I'm not one to give up easily, but then again I recognize the potential futility of this struggle. This is why I've come here for advice.
Random other things:
- I'm planning on calling the Pennsylvania State Police (I guess I'll look for the number of the barracks in Union County to call) to find the citing officer's name and contact information if possible. I can't read his handwriting well at all on the citation, but the fields of "badge number" and "PA PSP ORI number" are filled in. I'm hoping I can get this with these numbers. Should I ask the PSP barracks for advice?
- I think I will have to contact the Union County's DA office if I wanted to try any of the "plea bargin" options. Can I do this before the trial, or even before pleading guilty or not guilty on the citation stub I need to send in? I would like to have this resolved preferrably by plea bargaining before going to trial - and that would probably require me to sort that out ahead of time so I can send in the citation filled out as "guilty," albiet for a lesser penalty. Should I ask the DA for advice?
- After weighing all my options, I am thinking I should call the citing officer (if I can get ahold of him through the State Police) and asking him for advice. This sounds kind of strange, but kind of like a good thing to do. The whole encounter was rather uneventful, so I doubt he would even remember me specifically. And hopefully he would be more sympathetic to a plea bargin if I contacted him and asked him what he thought. Or is this just a really bad idea?
Oy - thanks for reading my little book here - sorry but I thought I should include all my relevant information and chains of thought. THANK YOU for any input whatsoever. Even if you tell me to shut up and just plead guilty, that's one more valuable opinion to consider.
= )
Well, a bit of background is in order, I presume. It was the end of July, and I was travelling home on an interstate. I was travelling my usual rate of speed for longer interstate trips of between 80 and 85 MPH, which is well in excess of the posted speed limits. I was slowly passing a car (which I estimate was travelling between 3 - 5 MPH slower) while going around a curve, and I noticed a State Police cruiser perched on the side of the road as the road straightened out again. I saw him pull out shortly after, and I was pulled over to the side in short order. The officer said he had clocked the guy I was passing ("flying by," in his own words) at 80 MPH, and that he had used a radar while coming up behind me and I was still travelling in the "high seventies." He asked to see my license, but said my registration and insurance were not necessary. He then went back to the cruiser and wrote me up a citation for travelling 81 in a 65. The encounter was fairly quick and pleasant. I like how the officer mentioned it was a busy day for them today, and that there were a lot of troopers on the roads that day. It is too bad he was the first one I saw! = )
The total citation fee is just about $160, and I found that this charge bracket (travelling 16 MPH over the posted limit) also carries a penalty of 4 points on my PA driving license as well. Being a not-so-well-off college student, the cash fine is certainly not fun - but that's not really the big deal now that I've been looking into this. Avoiding points and keeping the violation off my record in order to NOT increase my insurance premiums are the big goals for me. It looks like the only way to do this is to either write "not guilty" on the citation, send it in, and try my hand in court, or try a plea bargin (which may require the above, anyway - I'm not sure if I can do even this without signing not guilty). I don't think actually hiring a lawyer will be a viable option for me at this point, due to the money situation, so anything I will be trying (other than just paying the fee and accepting guilty outright) I'll be doing myself.
I've gleaned a lot of potentially useful information off the internet in the past hours, but I can't seem to find what may or may not be currently applicable to Pennsylvania. This is where I'm hoping I may find some guidance. This is my first offense, so I will be counting on this to bolster my chances for leniency.
What I see as my options (in order of preference), in proceeding:
1. Look into "Probation Before Judgement" - where the citation is put on hold for awhile (6 months? - I'd have to get more information) and no action is taken. If by the end of the Probation period I have not had any other citations, then this citation is entirely dismissed. If another citation should be received however, both are applied to my record. I see this as probably my number one option, as I honestly make an effort to be a safe and courteous driver, and this has been my first citation in my 5 years of driving.
I don't see myself getting another citation anytime soon, and certainly not within 6 months(!), so this seems like a most excellent option. I can not seem to find if this is even an option in Pennsylvania (I was cited in Union County, but I doubt that has any relevance, in this matter). Does anyone know if this is an option in this case, OR how I would go about finding if it was or persuing it? Would this be a plea bargin, where I would need to speak with the DA or officer (hopefully in advance), or something I would contact the Clerk of the Court about? Is there something I am missing here that doesn't make this option so great?
2. Plea bargin(?) to take a traffic school course. I'm not sure if this option is available to me in this situation. I believe this may not actually be a plea bargin, but something I would contact the Clerk of the Court about. As I understand it, this would require me to attend a "traffic school course" and would effectively remove all points from the offense, and it would be kept entirely off my record. The cost may be a bit higher than the original citation, but I am unsure if this cost would include the original fine or if that would be in addition?
3. Plead to a 3111(-A?) offense. This would effectively move the citation to a "non-moving" violation, which carries the same monetary penalty but puts no points on the record. I'm not sure if this puts a conviction on the record that the insurance companies can see, however. I am also thinking that I would need to send in a "plead guilty" stub and appear in front of the District Justice to plead for the move to a 3111 offense. For my uncertainty about the insurance companies, and the probable need to appear in court, and also the fact that if I did this I might not be able to do it until the court date right before (or during?) trial, this is my third choice - even though it would likely be less expensive than the "traffic school" course.
4. Plead "nolo contendere" - or "no contest." Basically I do not plead my guilt or innocence, but agree to accept the penalty of the citation. There is a slight chance the Justice would voluntarily reduce some part of the penalty, but that is nothing to count on. Personally, I don't agree with the current speed limit laws, but that is entirely irrelevant. I recognize I was travelling faster than the posted speed limit, and now the state wants remuneration - I understand that.
Personally, I'd prefer not to plead guilty to a criminal offense, no matter how "minor" the criminal case may be, so this plead has appeal to me. I feel that this would be the best option for my ego, but is effectively just as good as a guilty plea. Any further insight I may be missing on this? Furthermore, I have no idea how I would enter this plea, as on the citation stub I must send in, there are only fields for "guilty" and "not guilty" and it states if you do not sign it, a plea of guilty will be entered. To actually do this then, does someone need to plead not guilty, show up on the court date, and then just plead "nolo contendere" when the Justice asks is you plead guilty or not guilty? This would seem like a great waste of time for everyone involved, just to effectively accept the fine and walk away!
5. If I show up for trial and the officer has not, I am hoping I will be able to know this before entering a plea before the Justice. If so, I'd like to make a motion to the court to dismiss the case. As I've never been to court before, I'm not sure if this is even possible given the order of court proceedings, or whether or not I'll even be able to know if the "accusing" officer has appeared for trial. Any insight into this point would be stellar! As I understand it, the officer is technically the plaintiff with the DA as his attorney, and I am the defendant. If the officer is not there, there is no formal accuser present, and the case defaults to me - so it is dismissed on those grounds. The DA will likely make a motion for a continuance in this event, and I am unsure if there is any way to block such a motion. I am also unsure how often the officer fails to appear in court, but this is basically "Plan A" if I am able to know he is not there before moving beyond the point of dismissal of the case. "Plan B" would be the plead of "nolo contendere" - although having the case dismissed would be preferrable, of course, if I'm already there, why not try for it?
6. Just send in the fee, plead guilty, be done with it. Accept the full fine, the full points, the full insurance hike. They certainly make this the easy way out, don't they? I'm not one to give up easily, but then again I recognize the potential futility of this struggle. This is why I've come here for advice.
Random other things:
- I'm planning on calling the Pennsylvania State Police (I guess I'll look for the number of the barracks in Union County to call) to find the citing officer's name and contact information if possible. I can't read his handwriting well at all on the citation, but the fields of "badge number" and "PA PSP ORI number" are filled in. I'm hoping I can get this with these numbers. Should I ask the PSP barracks for advice?
- I think I will have to contact the Union County's DA office if I wanted to try any of the "plea bargin" options. Can I do this before the trial, or even before pleading guilty or not guilty on the citation stub I need to send in? I would like to have this resolved preferrably by plea bargaining before going to trial - and that would probably require me to sort that out ahead of time so I can send in the citation filled out as "guilty," albiet for a lesser penalty. Should I ask the DA for advice?
- After weighing all my options, I am thinking I should call the citing officer (if I can get ahold of him through the State Police) and asking him for advice. This sounds kind of strange, but kind of like a good thing to do. The whole encounter was rather uneventful, so I doubt he would even remember me specifically. And hopefully he would be more sympathetic to a plea bargin if I contacted him and asked him what he thought. Or is this just a really bad idea?
Oy - thanks for reading my little book here - sorry but I thought I should include all my relevant information and chains of thought. THANK YOU for any input whatsoever. Even if you tell me to shut up and just plead guilty, that's one more valuable opinion to consider.
= )
