your trial! If the first phone call doesn’t work, try again and again. You can even try by calling the officer directly yourself, just don’t reveal what your true motives are to him.

 

Step V – Preparing for Court

 

This is a gather the evidence step. Remember when I said:

 

Do you know what the officer does in his car, after writing up your ticket? He’s writing up notes with details of what happened, why he is ticketing you, and your reactions to him.

 

Here are some good news for you. It is your right to request to see what the officer had written down on his notes. However, these notes will not be available to you unless you specifically request them. That’s why it is very important for you to request this because it will greatly help you to fight your case by knowing where the weakness of your officer’s arguments will lie in, and where he will be strong at. Remember, after a long period of time, the officer will not going to recollect good details about what happened after he had ticketed you months ago. He will most likely remember as much as what he had written down on his notes. By obtaining the officer’s notes, you will pretty much know exactly what the officer will be testifying in court. How to request a copy of the officer’s notes:

 

- Send a printed (NOT handwritten) letter to the police department saying that you request all copies of any applicable recorded statements and illustrations or any other form of information made regarding your incident by the ticketing officer. Be sure to include the name of the officer who ticketed you, the date when it was issued, your ticket citation #, and your return address. Make a copy of this letter.  If within 21 days and you still have not received any copies of the officer’s notes, then take the copy and bring it to court, and ask the judge if he can dismiss the case due to the prosecutor’s failure to supply discovery even upon your written request (show the copy of the letter to the judge). Say that even if you are given the copy of the officer’s notes now, you still would not have the time to suitably prepare for the trial. Many times, the judge will dismiss the case at this time. If not, he will make the officer give you the copies of his notes right at that time and let you have a bit of time to look it over.

 

If you were able to obtain the notes from the officer, take a close look and see if he had drawn out any diagrams. If he doesn’t, then it is likely that he will not remember much about the incident. Take a look to see if the officer’s notes contain any calculations or numbers. If there are no numbers to back up the officer’s claim, then again, the officer will not remember much about the incident and that should be your plan of attack.