number 8

iTrader: (7)

No flaming please I feel sh*tty enough already. Last night on my way home from work, a Chevy Silverado with 2 guys in t-shirts and baseball caps flipped backward, were following my car closely. The next traffic light I was the last car to go thru green. I see the truck in my rear view mirror clearly go thru the light turning red, just to get behind my car again. At the next light, I took a quick right, hoping to get away from them. I see a cop car coming in the opposite direction. I make a few turns on the side streets going to my house. I blew thru a stop sign and bingo there was the cop car. I get pulled over. Then the truck pulls up and it was 2 undercover cops. They wanted to impound my car and handcuff/arrest me. Instead they wrote me for 2 tickets, disobeying traffic sign and speeding. I need to fight this, as I already have 1 ticket this year(3/YR) means suspended license, insurance problems, etc. etc. I really can't afford a lawyer right now and will have to contest this in court myself. Do I have a chance? Educated input appreciated.

PHILLY EVO

iTrader: (31)

Here is a thread https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=144616

HMSevo8

iTrader: (6)

I think you do. It sounds like common sense, but when you meet with the clerk magistrate of judge or whomever, they get you to try to admit guilt, that is, if you say something like, "I wasn't speeding," and they ask "well, were you 'going with the flow' of traffic?" and you say "Yeah, I was," you kinda admitted you were speeding, since the flow of traffic could be 72 in a 60, for example, and although everyone was speeding, so were you, and you got caught. I just sit there and tell them "No sir, I was obeying all posted speed limits. When it went from 45 to 25, or whatever, I slowed down at the sign and proceeded at the posted speed limit." The stop sign you may not be able to get out of, other than maybe saying the truck was following you at an unsafe distance beacuse you were obeying the posted speed limit and they were not, so you felt you would have been rear-ended had you come to a complete stop, that might help. I dunno. I usually get out of em. No real "formal" law experience. Just my personal two cents.

Roberto

This is easy. Tell the judge that you saw some suspicious characters following you around in a pickup truck, and they spooked you. You saw them nearly run a red light, which raised your suspicion of their probable ill intent. You then decided to take several turns on the side streets to confirm they were indeed following you, and only then did you try to get away from them. It was nighttime and you feared for your safety. Once you win your case, go and file a complaint against them with IA. Police do get away with enticing people to race (while undercover), but the police should not be getting away with scaring people into breaking the law. That is far worse than entrapment because they made you risk your safety (and the public’s) by making you fear for your safety.

EVIL VIII

iTrader: (1)

I just got a citation for racing on the highway and endangerment for an accident that a friend got into a month ago...I feel you with the legal problems...I can't believe I was citd for something I was not involved in...thanks to a couple stupid movies, we as Japanese performance enthusiats got focked by the blue and reds...

number 8

iTrader: (7)

Great points. This definitely will help knowing what to say or not to say in court.

EVO-8-Nate

Good luck! Sounds like a ****ty situation.

-Nate

crusin_lancer

iTrader: (10)

I thought it was against the law for a cop to follow you more than 2-3 turns. Plus for being undercover cops they were sure putting your life at risk for tailgating you. That is a no-no and I would bring that up in court. IA will be very interested in these so called "undercovers".

My .02

I hate cops period. Whether they are nice or not they are still cops.

UT_Evo

iTrader: (5)

It's not against the law for them to follow you, at least not here... but only if they have probable cause to follow you for more than that (and guess what, we're all driving speedy Japanese imports, so they have probable cause). But they are most certainly not allowed to tailgate you at all, that's against the law for every car out there unless it's one of those trucks escorting one of the wideload things on the freeway etc etc.

TriCycle STI C

And your past ticket has no relevance in this issue in case you go to court and the other cop party tries to bring in your past records for relevance.

Although the better thing for you to do in your situation is to call 911 and have the operator direct you to a unit, that way you may not even get tickets in the first place because you have clear evidence to show that you are in fear of your own safety. Now, that I feel it could be an uphill battle for you since that the issue here is not about someone tailgating you anymore, but your disobedience to a stop sign and a speeding ticket.

Your defense of fearing for your own safety in this case for running a stop sign and speeding can be little sketchy. Nonetheless, if that was the case for you, you should go and tell the judge exactly that and hope that he/she would be swayed by you.

Kordwood

The first thing you should do is sell your Evo.

PVD04

iTrader: (23)

Unfortunately he does not have a cell phone, or that would have been a good option for him. I had suggested that he request the notes from the undercover cops. Is this possible? I've read that you can request the notes of the officer issuing the citation prior to the court date, but have never done it myself. With those notes he would likely know why the undercover officers were following him in the first place.

-Paul

number 8

iTrader: (7)

Kordwood - I'd rather sell my kidney.

jjm4life

iTrader: (14)

what a bullsh*t situation. these cops forced you into breaking the law. they must have saw the evo and figured you were just moments away from breaking a traffic law and followed you like a bunch of assh*les. fight the hell out of this one. i have never heard such ridiculous cop stories until i got and evo and joined this board.

number 8

iTrader: (7)

Yeah I'm really thinking it was profiling bordering on entrapment.