Customer Reviews

Fight Your Ticket & Win in California

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I used this book fighting my speeding ticket when the officer used radar. I can't speak for how the book's methods would perform with other kinds of infractions.

The book teaches you how to use the process of informal discovery properly to get the information the officer will bring against you in court. IF he decides to show up for your case, chances are he won't have done all the work he would need to do to prepare for your case. More than likely he won't come, or as in my case he just didn't respond to my informal discovery request which is against the law for him to do, therefore the case was dropped. It teaches you how to document your case well, and to effectively make a lot of work for the officer to do BEFORE he even reaches court.

You should know however that fighting a ticket is time consuming. I spent a total of 10 hours (over the course of several weeks) sending letters, and writing my motion to the judge. The book tells you what and how to do every step all along the way.

The bottom line is that my ticket was dismissed and I got my money back. More importantly my insurance didn't go up. I actually used the "trial by written declaration" option. I did this because if you are found guilty you can always show up in person for a re-trial.

Buy this book if you are fighting a California ticket, and if spending the time fighting it is worth it for you.

Since this book was written by an attorney and not a police officer, it's strong on the courtroom end but somewhat weak on the traffic violation end of things. Because of that, I recommend getting this book AND Richard Wallace's "An Educated Guide to Speeding Tickets." Brown's and Wallace's books compliment each other - what one lacks, the other one has.

Wallace's book goes into more detail on the different methods police use for judging your speed; what to say and what not to say when you're pulled over; different radar faults such as shadowing, bumping, and batching; and what a "tracking history" is. This is great stuff for planning a defense strategy in court.

However, Wallace's book falters when it comes to legal details, and this is where Brown's "Fight Your Ticket in California" shines. It tells you about the forms you should use before going to court, like the "Informal Discovery Request" which allows you to request a copy of the officer's notes along with an engineering and traffic survey. Failure of the city to provide these documents (which is what usually happens) can result in dismissal of your case - something not even mentioned in Wallace's book. There is also a ton of advice on what to say in court, and when to say it.

I just beat my radar speeding ticket in court today because the arresting officer failed to show up - even though I saw him in the parking lot just fifteen minutes before our court session started! Based on what I learned reading Wallace's book, I realized that the officer had a weak case. And because I sent an "Informal Discovery Request" to the city police department, the city attorney, and the district attorney as recommended in Brown's book, I believe that the officer realized that he would be up against someone who knew what he was doing, and thus he chose not to appear.

Get this book, and Brown's book, spend a lot of time studying them and planning your defense, and you'll have a good chance of beating your ticket in court.

This book gives an excellent overview of the law and of the procedures that apply in traffic cases. It gives a pretty good assessment of what your chances are in each situation and advises you in your legal strategy. However, I recommend that you also attend a session of traffic court to see the system in operation for yourself. Doing that, I noticed that:

1) Not all officers showed up, but those that did were very well prepared and articulate.
2) Expect both the officer and the judge to know this book as well or better as you do.
3) The judge was willing to give some leeway on the fine amounts, but none on questions of guilt.
4) Even if you win, you'll probably have spent a lot more time fighting your case than you saved with speeding in the first place.

This does not detract from the fact that this is a very useful book. Recommended.

This is a very time consuming process. However, I have been burned so many times by overzealous cops, as at the time I was only able to afford older used cars that were cop magnets. I decided enough is enough, and I decided to fight back, and I never regretted the effort. After you go through the process once, you can use similar techniques with ease.

The book is very straightforward and no nonsense. You can get an honest sense of where your case stands. It has example forms and good legal claims you can utilize to assert your rights. Some of the most useful information is the social aspect of the court, police, and citizens, which gives one insights into how to go about your case. It is fairly honest, and let's you know when you need to get a lawyer, and how to successfully utilize a lawyer's skills effectively (to save time and money when needed).

As words of advice from a personal perspective, many courts will not permit you to win, despite that you have all your research and can prove without a doubt. This book alludes to that. Despite this, there are many ways you can arrange for your case to be dismissed, by doing a discovery, having reasonable motions denied setting your case up for an appeal, or by having your case exceed 45 days and not waiving your rights to a speedy trial.

For example of this, here is my scenario that would not have happened without this book:

In my case (San Mateo County), the judge ignored my pre-trial pleas and stated, "I'll decide what you can to in MYYY COURT!!!" This only infuriated me further, and made me study this book in greater detail. Before my court day, I prepared a peremptory challenge to disqualify the judge, just in case I had her again. Sure enough, this infamous pre-trail was my case judge. When my case came up, the cop proceeded to ramble his story, and she did not let me speak. I handed her my legally typed document (that I retyped from an example in the book), and with a snooty remark she asked why I did tell her about this before. She re-assigned the case to another date with another judge. On that date, I made a motion to dismiss my case for failure for a speedy trial - previously I had filed a legal document for my motion with the clerk (using example documents in the book). I did this just in case the judge would try to pull a fast one on me, as this is not uncommon in some counties. Reviewing past court hearings, the judge found I never waived my right to a speedy trial and dismissed the case. The cop was dumbfounded and wondered what happened. I was pleased because I got my money back and dragged the cop out to the court twice. However, despite my exhilaration that I got from winning, I also know how the process works, and I can fight similar cases without any significant loss of time.

I highly recommend this book. One should go through this process at least once, as it can save you a lot of money, and also let you know honestly where you stand, and how you can plausibly win a case. Consider standing up for your rights and not sheepishly giving money to our broken system. This book will empower you.

First off, everyone makes at least a couple of traffic mistakes (most of them harmless) every time he/she gets behind the wheel. It is just the unfortunate ones who get caught and receive tickets. This is why I believe no one should ever just pay an expensive ticket without knowing the options available.

What I've learned from this book AND from experience in court:
NEVER EVER pay a ticket without going to see a judge first. If you didn't run a red light or passed a flashing school bus (non-reducable offenses), you WILL get your fine reduced when you see a judge and plead guilty!

If it's your first ticket, you should fight it anyways and save your traffic school option for another time (this is good when your insurance rate does not increase with only 1 point on your record).
If you choose to fight:
You risk losing and getting a point on your DMV record, BUT...
There is a good chance the officer won't show up for the trial if you keep filing extensions at the traffic window. This does take a lot of your time (I got my trial date 4 months after the day I got the ticket after visiting the window 2 times). There is a lower chance the officer will show up if the trial date is as far apart from the ticket date as possible. My officer didn't show up as did 2 other officers that day.

Once you've received a court date, use this book to learn how to write a request for more information from the officer about the ticket he gave you. Do this as soon as possible! This is how you can get the trial dismissed if the officer does not respond to your request, which you will learn, they often don't respond.

If you have trouble speaking in court, you probably shouldn't worry. The judge, if you get a good one, will usually ask the officer questions on your behalf. My judge was very thorough with the officers and spent a long time asking them questions before he decide on the defendant's fate. Therefore, if you really have a good case, chances are, you can win!

There is valuable information in this book and if you can't afford to buy it, check it out a your local library. It's a must-have, even if you don't plan on fighting in court. It's better just to be informed about the state's legal practices, especially when you're involved.

Fantastic book. Especially targeted at California residents and speeding ticket defenses.

This is a great guide -- it helped me prepare and win my case in court for Section 22101d, when I didn't make a right turn that was required.

You will find the section you allegedly violated and the recommended defense. Furthermore, you will learn how to cross examine and when to object.

Everyone on my day in court was found guilty -- except for me! I believe I was the only one that had prepared a case, thanks to the book!

After 10 years without a ticket,I recieved 5 moving violations in a four month period. Aside from seriously re-thinking my vehicle choice(I had purchased a fast car)and modifiying my driving habits, I had a real possibility of losing my driving priviledge. Additionally I was faced with a stiff insurance hike at best and at worst, insurance cancellation. A friend reccomended "Fight your ticket...and win" so I ordered it and started reading.

I am a results 0riented kind of guy, so let me share with all the final "score".

First ticket: Traffic school no points on record no insurance increase.

Second ticket: Plead not guilty. Went to trial and lost the case. No insurance increase but recieved a warning letter from my insurance company informing me that any further incidents could result in a rate increase. The pressure was on!.

Third Ticket: Plead not guilty. Officer no show at trail, case dismissed!

Fourth Ticket: Plead not guilty. Found NOT guilty at the trial!

Fifth ticket: Plead not guilty. Officer no show at trail case dismissed!

Needless to say I reccomend this book to anyone that wants to fight "city hall" and win. The book was easy to understand and written in a way that a lay person like myself didn't get lost.

Got an unwarranted and incorrect ticket in Northern California as an out-of-state driver. This book walked me through all the facets of fighting the ticket. I pled not guilty by mail, subpoenaed the officers' notes, gathered evidence, prepared my defense, and arrived in court ready to fight. The officers did not appear and I believe they knew they were going to have a well-prepared defendant make them look incompetent. Case closed. Get this book.

My case was perfect example when this book really shines. I got a ticket for "unsafe turn", didn't violate any posted limits and it was all based on cop's subjective judgement. My first intention was to pay a fine and go to traffic school to clean up the point, but I didn't feel I was guilty and I was looking for some way to prove it. The problem was I didn't know what to do.

I bought this book and after a couple hours of reading, I had a clear picture of how the system works, what my rights are and what options I have. Very clear and complete picture.

Then I planned my defence, pled not guilty, scheduled a trial, went to court ready to fight and my cop (the only one out of many!) didn't show up. My case was dissmissed. So my story had a happy end.

Now back to the book. Before you decide to buy it, think if you really want to fight in court.

- If you've done something really bad and there is a risk to lose your license or get in jail, you probably need a lawyer anyway and the book won't help.
- You'll need a few hours just too read this book and more time to fight. If you simply pay the fine it will save time.
- Call your court clerk. In some courts if you lose in court , you're not eligible for traffic school. It may be cheaper in long run to pay and go to traffic school rather then lose your case and pay higher insurance rate for years.
- If cop was nice and gave you a decent ticket, keep in mind the amount can go up after trial.
- If you're getting too many tickets maybe you need to focus on learning how to driver safely instead of fighting the tickets.

If you decided to fight, this books tells you about your options, but don't expect magic. The cops typically know the tricks from this book and are well prepared. If you're guilty, in most cases expect to be punished, unless cop doesn't show up and you luck out. Decreasing the fine amount is realistic.

Basically this book teaches about the system and tells you what to do if the system is getting out of control and you're being treated unfairly. If you feel the cop was wrong or if it is your first ticket in many years - get this book. It does what it promises.

Also, please, drive safely!

UPDATE 3/28/2010: I just got off on ANOTHER ticket by using the principles outlined in this book. The first one, the officer didn't show up so I won. The second one, the officer did show up. Believe me when I say that they are well prepared and you are very nervous. I bought this book AGAIN because there was newer information than the last edition I bought. Both of them paid for themselves easily. This time I actually interrupted the officer's testimony and objected by reading directly out of the book, there's no law that says you can't do that. I also read many quotes during court directly out of the book, citing laws and correcting the officer. He didn't "lay down a proper foundation" which allowed me to take his written notes away from him. All this is spelled out in the book. It really caught him off guard and he started getting flustered. By the time I was done, he didn't stand a chance. Judge ruled in my favor and the officer stormed out of court. Driving back to work from court, I obeyed every traffic rule, no rolling stops, etc. I thought he'd follow me all the way back to work ;-)

Only 1 out of every 50 traffic tickets are disputed

Police officers know this statistic and that's one reason why they write tickets that they know wouldn't hold water! That's one of the points in this book. But more importantly the author explains clearly exactly what vehicle code you've been accused of and how you might benefit from disputing it. For example: the most common vehicle code violation in California is Section 22350. Do you know what that means? The author explains it in an easy to understand way. There are something like 5 conditions that have to be met to prove your guilt (I don't have the book right in front of me at the moment). He also explains that ALL of the conditions of Section 22350 have to be met in order for you to be found guilty. Not one or most of the conditions, but ALL of them. I found it pretty easy to get out of one of the conditions and the judge had no choice but to dismiss the charge.

First thing that happens is the officer is given a chance to say his part. He rants on and on about how he's the radar god, the gun was calibrated that morning, blah blah blah. Then it's your turn. Yes you're nervous, but you're also prepared! I said that I didn't dispute the radar's accuracy or the officer's ability to use it, and went on to my defense using the information learned in the book. I highly recommend it. For me, it was worth every penny...and another $421 on top of that ;-)