I'm not up on the ins/outs of the above stuff. But since a resolution was made, the officer released by prosecutor, then the defendant pulls that stunt is "acting in bad faith", shouldn't 11B then go against defendant? I see what you guys are saying, but I also pointed out (last reply) that the defendant could tell the prosecutor "I'll have to think about your offer" and then make a decision on the stand, thus not acting in bad faith. What do you say to this? ALSO, this is what really interests me: how does the prosecutor communicate to each officer that he can leave becau...

Let me clarify again that my trial is over, so I am not really asking for advice. I may have started off the thread giving the wrong impression that I was in court simply to make a deal with the prosecutor, whereas in fact this deal was made right before the trial and I was convicted. in reply to Viper1: While it is true that I can fool the prosecutor by accepting a deal and then asking for the witness when I am called to the stand, thus earning the contempt of the opposing party, I could also be more honest and tell the prosecutor "let me think about your offer" and then take a deci...

you probably know better than me, but it wouldn't make sense or at least it wouldn't be fair to attribute the rescheduling to the defendant if he/she wants a trial and the witness is absent. After all, who's fault is it that the officer is not available?

It is not a good idea. Like OPS said the DA will get a adjournment and you will get no deals. So you agree with OPS, but can you elaborate on why getting an adjournment is necessarily bad? As I pointed out, a reschedule could be used towards an 11b argument, no? And once again, I ask, will the DA always get an adjournment? Also if you live in the area where the cop patrols you can expect to get pulled over a lot. So the officer is going to hold a grudge against me because I made him attend my court appearance and he will haunt me for the rest of my life? ;) Let me state, by the way, that my t...

I thought something like that might happen, but is it always the case? Perhaps the JP might think it would be a waste of valuable time/resources to reschedule. And then there's always the argument for the right to a speedy trial if the reschedule is months away. If everyone played hardball and got a reschedule, surely that would be a very convenient loophole for defendants, but I doubt it's that simple. So thanks for the input, but I'd like to hear some more opinions if there are any.

Ok, so let's say that they are notified on that day about who will not be present for whatever reason. That still leaves a lot of uncertainty as to whether the rest will in fact make it. I say this assuming that the prosecutor does not meet with every single officer before proceeding to the courtroom. Or do they? The reason I don't think this is a trivial question is because... let's say a defendant accepted a deal with the prosecutor, but then decides to play hardball in the courtroom, and so before he enters a guilty plea, he asks the prosecutor "is your witness present?" What does...

I was in court today to get a deal from the prosecutor for speeding 73 in 50 zone. I decided to get a trial date because of the possiblity that the officer won't show up. One thing I learnt from a legal expert (who happened to stop by in the hall and talk to the public) was that I did not have to verify whether or not the officer is present in order to make a deal; that the prosecutor will automatically withdraw the charge once I am called upon if the witness is absent. Indeed, this is what happened to some people. In a courtroom of 20-25 people, I noticed 3 charges withdrawn based on the abse...

OK, I think I wasn't being clear enough. When I say "talk to the prosecutor before the trial", I mean to say before they start dealing with "not guilty" pleas on the day of the trial. In other words, I remember reading somewhere that the prosecutor will attempt to talk to me both before my scheduled time, and once again when I am called on (BOTH on the day of the trial). I'd just like to verify that this is in fact the case for everyone, so that I know whether I can wait until the last moment to decide whether to accept an offer, knowing the officer is present. That's the m...

Thanks for the info guys, but I'm not so much interested in whether the officer will show up, but rather whether I still have the option to talk to the prosecutor once my turn is up and I learn that the officer is present. In other words, can I do the following: before the trial, talk to the prosecutor and see what he has to offer; then tell him "I'll think about it" and wait for the judge to call on me; then finally, if the officer is present, go to the prosecutor and accept his offer? or do I only have the chance to talk to him before I am called upon by the judge or whoever? Also,...

I am contesting a speeding ticket and am banking on the possibility that the cop wont show up. My main concern is how do I determine whether the cop is there without losing the option to bargain with the prosecutor for a lesser charge? More specifically, if I wait until my trial begins to determine if the cop/witness is present, and if he is, will I still get a last chance to bargain with the prosecutor before he presents his argument? My original plan was to talk to the prosecutor before the trial and ask him then, but he may not be able to give me a definitive answer (e.g. officer has not ar...