How To Fight Your Speeding Ticket in Illinois

Since speeding tickets were invented, people have always been trying to get out of them. Many people try to fight their speeding ticket in Court and get it thrown out. So how do you go about getting your speeding ticket thrown out? The short answer: "You won't be able to".

However, there are many tips of the trade, and ways to make it better for yourself. Read this post to find out how to make your life easier after you have gotten a speeding ticket. These are the many ways for how you can fight your speeding ticket in Illinois.

First of all, let me give you some background about speeding tickets in general. Speeding is what is called a "strict liability crime." What that means is that your mental state is not important. What you were thinking and whether you meant or intended to speed is irrelevant. All the prosecutor needs to prove is whether you were speeding or not. Everything else is just not important.

When people demanded trials, here are the things I brought up when I was a prosecutor as it related to speeding:

• The officer was on duty
• The officer noticed a car that appeared to be going at a high rate of speed
• The officer used some official tool to determine the person's speed
• Radar
• Lidar
• The officer's own car and speedometer 
• The official tool was in proper working condition
• The posted speed limit in the area
• The person who drove the speeding car is the person who received the ticket
• Any incriminating statements made by the person who received the ticket ("I'm sorry I was speeding" or "I wasn't going 50, I was only going 45!"- even when the speed limit is only 40)

Every single prosecutor will be able to ask these very simple questions, and if it's not the prosecutor's first day on the job, they will ask these questions. Most, if not all of them, can win a speeding ticket trial in their sleep. 

However, there are still many tips of the trade that I have learned throughout the years of things that procedurally you can do:

1) Open Plea / Blind Plea

An "open plea" or a "blind plea" is when you plead guilty to the crime, but instead of taking the prosecutor's offer, you have the judge sentence you instead. There are many counties in which you come into Court and the prosecutor will make you an offer for a deal. It is not in your best interest to take that deal. The prosecutor is adverse to you and has very little interest in helping you. The prosecutor's job in traffic cases is to make the most amount of money possible for the County. Now in a handful of Counties, mainly Cook County, you won't ever interact with a prosecutor; only the Judge. In that case, ignore the first paragraph. 

A judge's job, unlike a prosecutor's, however, is much more favorable to you. Many judges are elected, and therefore have much more of an incentive to be nicer and more favorable to you. In my experience, elected and non-elected judges alike have been much more lenient towards speeders than prosecutors ever were. 

What you should ask for is Court Supervision, and ask for less time than what the prosecutor offered you. The vast, vast majority of the time, the prosecutor will offer you 6 months of Court Supervison. There's a good chance you can get 3 from the Judge. It would be a good idea to also ask for less money. If it's only a $100 fine, then you probably shouldn't push your luck. But the point remains, you can most likely be ordered to pay less money if you Open Plea rather than taking the prosecutor's offer.

Blind Pleading is also especially useful when the prosecutor does not offer you Court Supervision, yet you are Court Supervision eligible. If you are over the age of 21, you can get Court Supervision on 3 different occasions within a 12 month span. But if you are in Court for a 2nd or 3rd speeding ticket within a 12 month time frame, the prosecutor might be less likely to offer you Court Supervision, and may offer you just a Conviction. At that point, there's no downside to asking the Judge to sentence you. 

THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT WHEN DOING THIS, IS TO BE RESPECTFUL TO THE JUDGE. THIS PERSON IS THE ONE WHO WILL BE GIVING YOU A SENTENCE!

2) Never, Ever Take Traffic School

In many Counties, you can sign the back of the ticket in order to get Court Supervision. However, you will also be ordered to take traffic school along with that. If you are over the age of 21, there's no reason you should be taking traffic school. While this may cost you a half a day of work because you will actually have to go into Court, as opposed to just signing the back of the ticket, it will probably be worth it so you don't have to take a traffic safety class. 

The law says if you are 21 and under and you take a disposition on a speeding case, then you must attend a traffic safety class. I have seen an instance where an attorney had a client who was under the age of 21 get a speeding ticket, and the attorney open pled the case. The attorney asked the Judge to not send his client to traffic safety school, and the Judge granted that request. Do not ever count on this happening to you. What the attorney did is ILLEGAL and especially what the Judge did is ILLEGAL. 

However, if you are over 21, there's no reason you should go to traffic safety school. This is another benefit of open pleading a case as opposed to taking a prosecutor's offer. If you politely ask the Judge that a traffic safety school is not appropriate for you, and your many years of driving is more than enough experience, then there's a very good chance the Judge will not force you to attend a class. 

3) Bench Trial

Another way you can fight your speeding ticket in Illinois is through a bench trial. A bench trial is when you have a trial, but it is instead in front of the Judge as opposed to a jury. If you truly feel that you should not have gotten the ticket or that you were not speeding and you want your Day In Court, ask for a Bench Trial. While you do have a right to a Jury Trial, it is extremely unwise to do so without being represented by an attorney. A jury trial is very formal, and if you do not have any experience in conducting a jury trial, it is probably not in your best interest to start now. Plus, more often than not, you will be required to make multiple trips to Court.

A Bench Trial is much more informal, and you will only have to show up for the trial itself. If you want a trial, make sure you bring any evidence and any witnesses with you for the trial. If you don't, then it's tough luck for you.

There are two main reasons to have a trial:

1) There is still the possibility of being found not guilty. While I have never seen that happen in all of my time as an attorney, it's still a possibility. 

2) Being found Guilty is a lot better than pleading Guilty. If you never plead guilty (like what you would have to do when you Blind Plea or Open Plea or sign the back of the ticket) you never admit to doing anything wrong.

If you do decide to go forward with a trial, here are a few pointers:

• Write down ahead of time any questions you have for the officers

The procedure for the trial will go like this. The prosecutor will call the officer who pulled you over, and will basically ask the officer the questions I listed above. If you think the officer should tell the Judge more than what the officer told the prosecutor, you then have a chance to ask the officer some questions. Often times people can't think of any questions to ask the officer right away, but then think of questions to ask later. You only get ONE opportunity to ask the officer who pulled you over some questions. 

• Ask for a "Motion For A Directed Verdict"

I highly encourage everyone who demands a trial to read the law they are charged with before their trial. The officer should write the specific law you are charged with on your ticket. It should look something like this "625 ILCS 5/11-601(b)" That is the law for speeding. If you Google that phrase, the specific law should pop up.

Remember, it is the State's job to find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; it is not your job to prove your innocence. After the State is done presenting their case, you have a right to ask for a "Motion For A Directed Verdict". Basically, what that means is that you should be found Not Guilty, because no one could possibly believe, after hearing what the prosecutor had to offer, that you could be guilty. If the prosecutor fails to mentioned a key element of your case, or you feel the prosecutor hasn't done enough to find you guilty, you can always ask the Judge to find you Not Guilty right then and there when you file your oral Motion For A Directed Verdict. Now, you most likely will have your motion denied, because, as I stated earlier, it is extremely easy for the State to prove you guilty, but it never hurts to ask.

• Tell the Court how fast you were going

I have seen so many cases where people complain that the police officer harassed them or they were just trying to drop off their kids at school, and that's why they shouldn't get a ticket. However, when they were asked how fast they were going, they respond with "the speed limit" or "I don't know."

The police officer can, and will, tell the Judge EXACTLY how fast you were going. If you can not tell the Court how fast you were going, then the State wins. Every time. 

I once had a Bench Trial when I was a prosecutor where a guy was fighting his ticket, and he clearly Google'd what questions he should ask the officer. The questions he asked the officer were confusing, and frankly, he came across as an idiot. He spent at least 15 minutes asking this officer these questions, because he thought it would help him win. He then proceeded to tell his side of the story, which took about another 15 minutes. Never once in his incoherent rambling, did he ever tell he Judge how fast he thought he was going. The Judge found this man guilty.

• Keep it short and sweet

Your trial is not the only thing going on in this Courtroom. The Judge has most likely spent a good few hours dealing with traffic cases, and still has other bench trials to hear besides yours. When it comes time for you to tell the Judge your side of the story, and why you shouldn't have been issued the ticket, be brief. Ultimately, you want the Judge to believe you and have sympathy for you. If you ramble on and on, the less likely the Judge will have sympathy for you as he is a busy person. 

The most likely scenario is that the reason you shouldn't have gotten a ticket is not a good enough reason to find you Not Guilty. However, it is probably a fantastic reason for why the Judge should give you a better sentence than what the prosecutor offered. 

• Sentencing

A trial only exists to see if you are Guilty or Not Guilty. Just because you are found Guilty, doesn't mean you lose per se. The Judge still has to sentence you. More often than not, the sentencing will happen immediately after the trial. This is now the exact same procedure as blind pleading. Guilt has already been determined, and now all you want is as light of a sentence as possible. 

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Lastly, we get to those caught speeding 26 miles per hour or above the speed limit in the State of Illinois. If you are caught speeding 26-35 miles per hour, you are looking at a Class B Misdemeanor. If you are speeding over 36 miles per hour, you are looking at a Class A Misdemeanor. The biggest problem you face is that these charges are NOT Court Supervision eligible. There are also some local ordinances in many places that state Speeding over 25 miles per hour in an Urban Zone, or other similar laws, is also not Court Supervision eligible. 

I will give you the same advice now that I would give to people back when I was a prosecutor: Consult an Attorney. The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan specializes in traffic cases like this. Paying an attorney in the short term in order to get Court Supervision is still cheaper than taking a Conviction and watching your insurance rates spike. Proceeding on your own when there's no chance of Court Supervision (or the likelihood of you getting Court Supervision is low) is very risky. Getting Court Supervision is extremely beneficial to you. Not getting Court Supervision can have more serious implications for you, and is much more of a headache.

If you have any more questions about what to do after you've gotten a speeding ticket, feel free to contact The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan to get more concise and better advise.

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NOTE: Adam J. Kaplan and The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan are NOT your attorney. You have not entered into an agreement with The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan. If you would like a free consultation or to be represented by The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan, please click on any of the links in this section or visit the "The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan" section on the middle, right side of this blog. The aforementioned was meant to be solely informative, and it should not be construed as legal advice.