Got a speeding ticket on base, need some help

[The Sizzler]

Need some suggestions. I was on Scott AFB and got pulled over for 41 in a 30 and the security forces guy gave me a ticket that was titled "United States Court Violation Notice" and the mailing address is in Atlanta Georgia if you choose to mail it in. Can you fight a ticker that has been issued on base? I asked some people at the Aero Club and got 50 different answers, and since I’m a civilian contract worker most seemed to say that I was S.O.L. One person told me that the part of the base I was pulled over on was owned by the local city (Belleville) and they guessed that if I challenged the ticket it would come back to a local court in Belleville and possibly to a local D.A. whom might be willing to lower the ticket. I assumed this was incorrect, anyone know? I assume if you just pay the ticket it will go down as points on your license because the back of its says "if you are charged with a motor vehicle violation, a record of your payment of collateral may be reported to the DMV of your state". What’s “may” be reported mean? Any suggestions on what type of lawyer to get for this? Anyway if anyone knows about this subject please let me know if you think Ill be able to get it reduced. Oh and I almost forgot will this ever come up down the line when I join the military, deal with the FAA for a record check, or other civilian pilot jobs. Some people told me the points would disappear after a year if I stay clean.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Put on some nice clothes, go to court, plead no contest. In many locales, the judge (assuming you have an otherwise clean record) will defer the ticket, and after six months it will be dismissed, never to see your record. Slow down, man, there ain't no rush.

 

[Jmmccutc]

Put on some nice clothes, go to court, plead no contest.

NO NO NO....Plead NOT GUILTY...cause you are until they say otherwise...as for who you gotta contact to get it in court, you just might be SOL...Uncle Sam is a bit more hard nosed than your local Magistrate...

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Sure, you're not guilty until they find otherwise, but if you do that, be prepared for the judge to send you over to the clerk to assign you a court date. The cop has to come in (he will), and they'll produce the radar log, you'll be found guilty, be fined just as much, but probably more, the ticket becomes a part of your record, your insurance goes up and for five years, there's a blemish and also, should you happen to find yourself in front of that same judge two years down the road, you just might be remembered and certainly your record will not be clean.


Or....no contest, judge assigns reduced fine, defers the ticket predicated on no violations for the next 6 months and the thing is dismissed, disappears...

Your choice.

 

[The Sizzler]

Well in the mean time I found out this ticket is a federal ticket so it stays in the federal court system. It’s the same type of ticket you could get on any federal property such as a national park. The "Central Violations Bureau" handles the fine and if you pay it, the clerk has the “option” of reporting it to you home state DMV. If you challenge it they will issue you a federal court date to appear in front of a magistrate in the area where your ticket was issued, in this case, Eastern Illinois. Now whether or not the ticket can be pleaded down by an attorney is still in question.



Anyways thanks for the advice so far. I was paying no attention when the guy pulled me over and he was not a jerk or anything, in fact I had borrowed a car from a friend and my friend forgot to put his insurance card in the car so technically the guy could have hauled me off if he really wanted. I’m not accustom to the slow speed limits yet and that’s no excuse, just a fact.