If you are stopped by the police and issues a speeding ticket it isn't the end of the world. You have a few choices of how to deal with it: pay it, fight it (on your own or with the help of a lawyer), or ignore it. Of course you should never choose to ignore it. Doing so will lead to much bigger trouble. So having dismissed that option lets look at the others. Now in many cases it may be simple enough to just pay the thing and move on. However it isn't all that bad an idea to fight the ticket either. Whether you choose to hire a lawyer or fight it yourself, you should be aware of the basic law that you are charged with breaking. You can do that easily by accessing public records. Here is what you do.

First of all, look up the traffic law that you were charged with breaking. Read over it and become familiar with its wording and any relevant laws that may be related to that particular code. You may need to access the public records provisions to get needed documents to help you prepare your defense (or understand what your lawyer is doing). You can usually get this information at a local public library or a Law library.

The idea here is to assume that you will prosecute your own case (even if you aren't), and write down any laws that you think would help your situation. Do your best to find some of the different case laws that relate to the charges against you and note any references that support your potential defense. That's sounds hard and confusing I hear you say. Well perhaps a little, but it isn't all that bad. If we use California as an example of what the prosecution will need to prove against you, it should be more clear what kinds of information you are looking for.

The California Motor vehicle code has a section on unsafe speed. It states: "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent. Having due regard for weather visibility, the traffic on and the surface and width of the highway. And in no event at a speed which endangers safety of a person or property."

Given that little section of code, you now know what the prosecution must prove against you in order for the case to stand.

1) you have to be identified as the driver and the witness for the prosecution needs to have observed you actually driving the vehicle

2) The prosecution has to establish where the violation occurred

3) What is reasonable or prudent? It's merely someone's opinion. They must establish that their opinion of what is reasonable or prudent is the correct opinion. To do this they will probably need to refer to the weather, visibility, road conditions etc.

4) That you actually guilty of endangering a person's life or someone's property?

As you can see if you work at breaking down the law into smaller chunks that you can manage you should be able to figure out all the points that the prosecution needs to prove against you. If they can't prove all these points, you have grounds for dismissal after they rest their case.

Now of course you can (and perhaps should) always seek legal counsel to get better help. However in many cases a traffic violation can be successfully defended on your own. All the best of luck, and drive safe.