Ticket for no insurance, but I have insurance. Keep telling me to come back to court...

mike472

New Member
Jurisdiction
Alabama
Got pulled over for not stopping all the way at a stop sign. I think I stopped all the way, but whatever. No lights at this stop sign, it's an empty place and the cop was on the side of the road without any lights (someone told me this isn't allowed, let alone isn't that dangerous for him to stop on the side of the road in pitch darkness without his lights on?).

He pulls me over, obviously his goal is some big DUI bust, he notices that's not the case and seems frustrated that I wasted his time. Asks for license and insurance, give him both. Insurance card was 2 weeks expired, I tell him I got a text from Geico about my new insurance card and I click the link to load the new insurance card. Cop doesn't seem to care, he waves me off and tells me he'll be back in a minute.

Comes back and gives me a ticket for not stopping all the way and literally spends ages explaining me how to go to court to fight it. Literally he's repeating the same things multiple times now. I tell him I'm not interested in going to court. He gets angry "why not!?". I tell him it'd be a waste of my time (I went to court, this Judge doesn't give a crap about this small things, he just wants you to pay it and get lost). He tells me "you wouldn't get it removed unless you go to court, so you need to go". I tell him you're just trying to get a bonus check (this is actually true, another cop that I'm cool with goes to my gym and told me the cops get a bonus for going to court). And wow that same instant this cop flips sh*t. Tells me "WAIT RIGHT HERE". I am thinking he's getting a shot gun for his car?

Comes back with a second ticket for not having insurance. I tell him I have insurance and you didn't wait for it to load. He tells me to bring it to court.....

Call the court the next day and tell them I have insurance and if I can just bring it by, they tell me no I have to go to court on my court date.
I go to court on my court date, literally wait 3 hours till they go through everyone else then the secretary tells me my cop didn't show and I have to come back 2 weeks later.
Two weeks later I go and this time just ask if the cop is there so I don't waste 3 hours and they tell me he's at some training and come back two weeks later......
 
I go to court on my court date, literally wait 3 hours till they go through everyone else then the secretary tells me my cop didn't show and I have to come back 2 weeks later.
Two weeks later I go and this time just ask if the cop is there so I don't waste 3 hours and they tell me he's at some training and come back two weeks later......

It might be best to appear in court as directed.

If you fail to reappear, you might not like the consequences.

What are they?

The judge could issue a warrant for your arrest for "failing to appear".

The best thing to do is bring PROOF of current insurance, and one citation might be dismissed.

You could even seek to have the stop sign violation dismissed, if the officer fails to appear for a 3rd time.

Ask to speak to the duty prosecutor.
 
You didn't ask a question about a legal issue, so I'm unsure what the point of your post is.

the cop was on the side of the road without any lights (someone told me this isn't allowed, let alone isn't that dangerous for him to stop on the side of the road in pitch darkness without his lights on?).

Determining whether it would be dangerous would require personal observation or a description of the particular conditions. I can think of lots of circumstances where it would be dangerous to stop on the side of a road without any lights, and I can think of lots of circumstances where it wouldn't be dangerous. Regardless of one's subjective perception of danger, it's unquestionably not a basis to get out of a ticket.

Beyond this, you've now learned that being a d**k to a cop is a bad idea.
 
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