By the way, one other tip. This applies in Canada but I suspect that it is equally applicable in most US states. If you are thinking about just pleading guilty and paying the fine (I can't even fathom this, but to each his own), you should change your auto insurance company immediately before you do. The government reports speeding fines to the insurance companies, but they do this based on the last information they have as to the identity of your insurance company, and you provide this information to the government when you renew your plates (every year or two years, depending on the circumstances). By changing your insurance company before you assessed the fine, the Government will send the information about your conviction to your old insurance company not your new one. As a result, the new company will never know and your record will remain clean.
Also, if you are going to fight your ticket, you should file a motion for discovery. I typically request the following information:
· both sides of the officer's copy of the ticket
· the make, model, and serial number of the radar unit, and its owner's manual
· the officer's training record specific to the said radar unit
· the calibration record and repair history of the said radar unit
· the records of any calibration equipment such as tuning forks
· the officer's log on the alleged offence day, including all tickets he had written on that day, and a copy of any other notes of the officer on that day.
So far, I have been largely ignored on these requests, which makes it pretty easy to quash the ticket.
Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty, and if they can't discharge their burden of proving you guilty, then you were never guilty of speeding in the first place.
What a great thread. There is nothing I like more than a good adversarial contest - really gets me excited.
