my latest bad luck with the cops

[Suspect]

I've been trying to be "good", trying to get my driving record cleared up. It seems impossible. I've always had legally plated cars and always insured vehicles.

 

A couple months ago, I had my 63 Mercury Meteor Wagon and my 89 V8 S-10 plated. I went to the secretary of state, transferred the plates off the 89 S-10 and put them on the 87 Suburban I had just bought. They did, repeated it back, taking the 89 chevy off and putting the 87 gmc on.

 

Friday night, I did some work at my friends bar, driving the wagon. A cop was strolling the parking lot, stopped behind my car for a while and I walked up to the cop car and he left. After a while I decided I was going to head home and crash for the night, well I got pulled over. He was waiting for me to leave. He got my info, walked back to the cruiser. It took forever, but he gave me a ticket for improper plates.... which is a misdemeanor, instant court date, possibility the state will have my car and plate destroyed plus I could go to jail along with fines. The cop said the plate on my car is for an 87 Suburban, my registration says its for 63 Mercury. He let me go, still with the ticket and my car. I got home checked the registration of my Suburban, same plate.

 

I've come to gather that I have insurance on my wagon, insurance on the suburban, registration on my s-10, wrong plate on my wagon, wrong plate on my suburban. The secretary of state messed up and now I have to go to court, over a stupid plate transfer. They transferred the wrong plate to my suburban.

[MicroMachinery]

Don't sweat it. It wasn't your bad. Take your evidence before the judge, present your case and a clear and sober manner, and it should be made right. Mistakes happen all the time, especially at the governmental level, and they should understand that. In the mean time, build your case. Gather legitimate proof of your innocence, make calls to the Secretary of State, and get names/dates/times of people you talk to. You and your car will be ok.

[hang_510]

which is a misdemeanor, instant court date, possibility the state will have my car and plate destroyed plus I could go to jail along with fines. The cop said the plate on my car is for an 87 Suburban, my registration says its for 63 Mercury. He let me go, still with the ticket and my car. I got home checked the registration of my Suburban, same plate.

 

They transferred the wrong plate to my suburban.

in CA, the plates go with the car, not the owner.

can't use old plates from another car. (some leeway w/ the blk/yelo plates, IF you have both)

 

hassle... but if you have the paperwork, then you should prevail.

[Suspect]

Michigan dont understand anything but money in their pocket. Ive had tickets stick that I have proven not to be legitimate. They even go as far as creating traps with traffic lights. I know of one intersection that even if you enter the intersection on a green doing the speed limit, it will be green on the cross direction before you get to the other side. its been that way for many years now, I got busted there once already. After I took a walking measuring stick, calculated distance traveled at certain speeds, proved that if you are not going 7mph over speed limit and it blinks yellow as soon as you cross the line, you wont make it to the other side in time. The courts just told me when I fought it that I wasn't qualified to make those calculations. So I was forced to pay the ticket and 3 points on my record.

[xxmass]

if you get to drive away, it's a good day.

[HRH]

Is it illegal to cross on a yellow in MI? Weird. In WA and Idaho, as long as the plane of your bumper has entered the intersection on yellow, you're okay to continue crossing. I'd say you need to get a lawyer and fight the powers that be. I'm taking a ticket to the lawyer tomorrow morning. Got a ticket first of the year. Deserved, but I'd rather have it not reflect on my driving record. Sucks is it costs more money.

[ZackTheImpaler]

Yeah michigan is a fucked state in regards to those things. I moved only a few years ago, but the driver responsibilty act is probably the most unconstitutional fee they have.

[Hardwyre]

I've been trying to be "good", trying to get my driving record cleared up. It seems impossible. I've always had legally plated cars and always insured vehicles.

 

A couple months ago, I had my 63 Mercury Meteor Wagon and my 89 V8 S-10 plated. I went to the secretary of state, transferred the plates off the 89 S-10 and put them on the 87 Suburban I had just bought. They did, repeated it back, taking the 89 chevy off and putting the 87 gmc on.

 

Friday night, I did some work at my friends bar, driving the wagon. A cop was strolling the parking lot, stopped behind my car for a while and I walked up to the cop car and he left. After a while I decided I was going to head home and crash for the night, well I got pulled over. He was waiting for me to leave. He got my info, walked back to the cruiser. It took forever, but he gave me a ticket for improper plates.... which is a misdemeanor, instant court date, possibility the state will have my car and plate destroyed plus I could go to jail along with fines. The cop said the plate on my car is for an 87 Suburban, my registration says its for 63 Mercury. He let me go, still with the ticket and my car. I got home checked the registration of my Suburban, same plate.

 

I've come to gather that I have insurance on my wagon, insurance on the suburban, registration on my s-10, wrong plate on my wagon, wrong plate on my suburban. The secretary of state messed up and now I have to go to court, over a stupid plate transfer. They transferred the wrong plate to my suburban.

Jump on this forum: http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/forum.php

 

Scroll down and find the traffic law section. I think for one, depending on whether or not the parking lot is private property, he may not have even been allowed to "stroll" the bar checking plates. What was his reason for pulling you over in the first place? Because he knew from checking cars that yours had wrong plates? Ask your friend what permissions the cops have been given. If the lot is part of the bar's property, and the cops haven't been given permission to random come check out cars there, that might be enough to get the whole ticket dropped so long as you have an ethical judge. However, I would reserve that argument until after you present evidence that the SOS screwed up and the judge ignores that. Again, if he's ethical, it should be an open-shut case of the state not getting their shit together.... again.

 

Michigan dont understand anything but money in their pocket. Ive had tickets stick that I have proven not to be legitimate. They even go as far as creating traps with traffic lights. I know of one intersection that even if you enter the intersection on a green doing the speed limit, it will be green on the cross direction before you get to the other side. its been that way for many years now, I got busted there once already. After I took a walking measuring stick, calculated distance traveled at certain speeds, proved that if you are not going 7mph over speed limit and it blinks yellow as soon as you cross the line, you wont make it to the other side in time. The courts just told me when I fought it that I wasn't qualified to make those calculations. So I was forced to pay the ticket and 3 points on my record.

Contact your insurance company and argue the points, telling them you believe the judge negligent in his duty but that you can't afford to appeal (this is how so many traffic court judges get away with their bullshit). Give them your whole argument. Some times they'll forgive some points if you can convince them the ruling was wrong.

 

I had a friend who went in front of a judge, went on to tell him how the cop was improperly using his radar/laser because it was raining even so slightly, explained the science behind why it is impossible to get a truly accurate reading, and even after having ironclad logic presented to him, the judge still started making motions that he was going to rule in favor of the state (of course... bitch) by claiming that his argument was invalid because he wasn't, like they told you, qualified to make those claims.

 

Then Mark pulled out his certification for the radar (he'd contacted the company and was able to get the same certification that the police do) and state that, yes, he was qualified, because it was even mentioned during the coursework that using a radar/laser in anything other than clear conditions was not approved. The judge offered to reduce the fine, Mark offered (in more tactful terms) to let the judge bite his shiny metal ass, and finally the judge did his job and actually dismissed the ticket.

 

Traffic courts are such a farce. There's a reason some judges make careers out of being traffic judges, because virtually none of the citizen protections apply like they would in standard court. Traffic judges are perfectly free to pull opinions straight out of their asses.

[Suspect]

My friends bar, parking lot is all owned by him. Its also his residence. The cops are not permitted to stroll the lots, but they keep doing it.

[Str8_69]

Is it illegal to cross on a yellow in MI? Weird. In WA and Idaho, as long as the plane of your bumper has entered the intersection on yellow, you're okay to continue crossing. I'd say you need to get a lawyer and fight the powers that be. I'm taking a ticket to the lawyer tomorrow morning. Got a ticket first of the year. Deserved, but I'd rather have it not reflect on my driving record. Sucks is it costs more money.

 

In Oregon you have to stop on a yellow. So legally if we don't attempt to lock up our brakes 10 feet (or 1 foot for that matter) from the line when the light turns yellow, it is a ticketed offense if caught, technically.

[Hardwyre]

My friends bar, parking lot is all owned by him. Its also his residence. The cops are not permitted to stroll the lots, but they keep doing it.

 

Can you post a copy of the ticket? Both sides? You're going to want to get a letter from friend stating that he has never given the police permission to cruise his lot. You're going to need to get a copy of his report as well to see if he admits to having seen your car in the parking lot first. He may want to file a lawsuit against the police department for trespassing and disturbing his business. Though cop houses love being dicks towards anyone who complains about them.

 

Did the cop actually admit to you that he saw your car in the parking lot? Please say yes. :)

[Hardwyre]

In Oregon you have to stop on a yellow. So legally if we don't attempt to lock up our brakes 10 feet (or 1 foot for that matter) from the line when the light turns yellow, it is a ticketed offense if caught, technically.

 

I think it's arguable that you MUST stop on a yellow if you safely can; but drivers' definition of "safely" is vastly different than most states. Apparently most states think people should be perfectly comfortable decelerating at a rate of 32mph/second... also known as hitting your brakes hard enough that the ass end of the car rises while the nose dips. If a cop gives you a yellow light violation and you were doing the speed limit and didn't feel you could stop safely, it, logically, should be a perfectly reasonable explanation. However, since the vast majority of traffic court has nothing to do with safety or reasonableness, instead focusing on revenue generation for bloated bureaucracies.

[Dirk Diggler]

What was the reason for the stop? If he stopped you just to check you out, then the ticket will not hold up. He had to have seen you commit an infraction or misdemeanor or have reasonable cause to initiate a traffic stop. Its a beautiful idea, in my Criminal Law class last semester we spent a few days arguing our cases about an illegal traffic stop that resulted in multiple controlled substances arrests. All charges were dropped because the officer stopped the car and initiated a search for no justifiable cause.

[Hardwyre]

What was the reason for the stop? If he stopped you just to check you out, then the ticket will not hold up. He had to have seen you commit an infraction or misdemeanor or have reasonable cause to initiate a traffic stop. Its a beautiful idea, in my Criminal Law class last semester we spent a few days arguing our cases about an illegal traffic stop that resulted in multiple controlled substances arrests. All charges were dropped because the officer stopped the car and initiated a search for no justifiable cause.

 

That's what I'm wondering. I'm really hoping the cop is a tard and admitted that he saw the plates were wrong in the parking lot and then just waited for him to leave. If that's the case, since the cop did not have permission to scan the lot, it should be simple to get the case dropped. That's why he needs the report; most likely the cop will lie and say dude was swerving, speeding, etc, etc, etc to support pulling him over.

[metalmonkey47]

Maybe he saw your Ratsun user name?

[HRH]

^lol

[Suspect]

Lol, I got the name idea from an old game, Driver. When the police were chasing you, you can overhear the radio... Suspect turning left/right, Suspect hit another car, Suspect ran a red, etc.

 

The cop didn't give me any reason to pulling me over. I got up to 50mph in a 55.

[Hardwyre]

Lol, I got the name idea from an old game, Driver. When the police were chasing you, you can overhear the radio... Suspect turning left/right, Suspect hit another car, Suspect ran a red, etc.

 

The cop didn't give me any reason to pulling me over. I got up to 50mph in a 55.

His police report is going to be an interesting read then.

[hang_510]

The cop didn't give me any reason to pulling me over. I got up to 50mph in a 55.

weren't you driving a car with plates that didn't match with their computer when they ran it?

[Hardwyre]

weren't you driving a car with plates that didn't match with their computer when they ran it?

 

This is the thing. If that is why the cop pulled him over, it's because he ran the plates while stalking a private parking lot. If the owners didn't give the police department authorization to come on the property for the purpose of searching vehicles (which is what counting plates on private property amounts to), and the officer had no other reason to pull him over, there's a good chance the stop is invalid, and as such, so is the ticket.

[Z-train]

This is the thing. If that is why the cop pulled him over, it's because he ran the plates while stalking a private parking lot. If the owners didn't give the police department authorization to come on the property for the purpose of searching vehicles (which is what counting plates on private property amounts to), and the officer had no other reason to pull him over, there's a good chance the stop is invalid, and as such, so is the ticket.

Completely false.

[Suspect]

Well I went to the secretary, try to straighten this all out. No luck, they said it was my fault they transferred the wrong plate, cost me almost $20 to get it right.

 

I cant even explain the anger and frustration I'm feeling right now. I work at a place I can't stand the stupidity of people, work for nearly nothing, then the fukin state is just pulling cash from my pocket that make the difference whether I get to sleep with heat or not.

[Suspect]

it is my assumption the police can basically do whatever they want to do, above the law. they are just doing their job. I'm not mad at the officer, he could have just let me go and get it straightened out, but stuck me with a ticket... a ticket from his point of view was legitimate. The officer did say that he believed me since I have registration with that plate number on it and proof of insurance.

[Hardwyre]

Completely false.

 

Provide input to support your claim? AFAIK police have to have a reason to pull you over, if that reason was derived from an unlawful encounter (e.g trespassing), the resulting stop and ticket are invalid, unless the cop lies and generates another reason.

 

When he subpoenas the cop and starts questioning him, it's going to go something like this:

 

Suspect: What was your reason for pulling me over?

 

Cop: You had invalid plates on your vehicle.

 

Suspect: You came up immediate after I left and pulled me over right away, how did you know I had invalid plates?

 

Cop: I ran them while your car was parked.

 

Suspect: In the bar parking lot?

 

Cop: Yes.

 

Suspect: The parking lot is private property of the owner, does the police department have written permission to come on the property and execute plate searches without a warrant?

 

Cop: No.

 

Suspect: Move for dismissal.

 

 

 

Hmm... we might both be right; jurisdiction over private property swings wildly between states.

[Hardwyre]

it is my assumption the police can basically do whatever they want to do, above the law. they are just doing their job. I'm not mad at the officer, he could have just let me go and get it straightened out, but stuck me with a ticket... a ticket from his point of view was legitimate. The officer did say that he believed me since I have registration with that plate number on it and proof of insurance.

 

How am I not surprised that the SOS put the blame for something you had no physical control over on you. It's not like they handed you the keyboard and said "do it yourself!".

 

Do you have all your receipts and stuff from the first time you tried straightening it out? Hopefully the judge will treat it as a fix-it ticket which sort of seems like the cop's intent since he didn't arrest you, etc, etc.