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View Full Version : need some help with a speeding ticket in north carolina


aglio412
07-10-2002, 07:31 AM
just got back from my road trip to florida. my gf was driving and we got pulled over going 79 in a 60...thank god for our borrowed radar detector, or it might have been worse. anyway...there is a mandatory court appearance associated with a 15mph+ ticket in the state. seeing that it's about 6hrs away from us...i want to try to get out of appearing. i understand that there's something called a "prayer for judgement" in NC, and i was wondering if we could get a court appointed DA to argue this for us w/o showing up. anyone from NC or been in this situation that could help us out?? thanks!
whitak24
07-10-2002, 07:33 AM
Originally posted by aglio412
we got pulled over going 79 in a 60...thank god for our borrowed radar detector, or it might have been worse
how fast were you going?!??!? :eek:
aglio412
07-10-2002, 07:37 AM
Originally posted by whitak24

how fast were you going?!??!? :eek:

i think 85ish....

we were in a hurry...and it was early, hardly any traffic on the road.

regardless...we need HELP!!! don't wanna drive to NC for a 15min court appearance.
WhiskeyPapa
07-10-2002, 08:47 AM
This serves as a warning for all out of state residents not to vacation/visit in North Carolina.

Contact the clerk of court for the jurisdiction in which you received the ticket. Tell them there is no way you can return to North Carolina to appear in court. Most likely you will be instructed to write a letter to the judge requesting that you be tried in absence. A couple of days after the trial (and subsequent conviction) you will receive a letter in the mail regarding the fine.
aglio412
07-10-2002, 10:01 AM
that stinks tho...b/c i'm sure we'll get the max penalty for the fine. i'm starting to think we should suck it up and go to NC...get a DA to plead it down for us...or hook up a "prayer for justice" [whatever the hell that is...]

i don't think there are many (if any) NC residents that post here...but if anyone is or has been in this situation, please post...there's gotta be some NC lurkers out there.
jstreet
07-10-2002, 08:46 PM
From someone's journal...


May 25, 2002
Well, I talked to my father today about what happened last night. He DID threaten to take the car away if it goes against his insurance. I called around to some insurance agencies and found that there would be no more than a small surcharge to the premium of each renewal for three years, because we don't have any violations or accidents, and this was my first ticket. So long as there are no other violations in that period, it's dropped. I also read in an article about speeding violations that some lawyer in Greensboro wrote, that no points can be added to insurance for a speeding violation of 10mph or less over the posted speed limit so long as the driver has a clean record- which I do- and the violation did not occur in a school zone- which it did not. I also found out that I could request a Prayer for Justice Continued, which means my guilt or innocence is decided by a jury and, regardless of the outcome, no points are put on the insurance or my license. The only catch is that I'd need a lawyer.