Should I Continue To Fight? Trial Rescheduled
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and any advice would be appreciated. I just got out of court today, my trial has been rescheduled. I requested disclosure, which the prosecutor told me today I needed to do at least 2 months beforehand, but they sent me the trial date with only 6 weeks notice, so they messed up. I pointed this out and the judge acknowledged, but since the officer showed up today (I was hoping he wouldn't), the trial has been rescheduled to Nov to give me time to have disclosure. I'm just wondering if anyone with more experience thinks it's worth continuing the fight.
Background
I got a speeding ticket in May, the officer claiming I was going 83km/h in a 60km/h zone. He decided to be "nice" and reduce it to 65kmh, which comes with 0 demerit points and a reduced fine, about $30.
The officer then decided to be a jerk and wrote me a $130 ticket for License Plate Obstruction, claiming the cover I had over my plate should not be there. He said if I remove the cover and present such evidence to a prosecutor, this ticket would be dropped, allegedly.
My Defense
I have a my driver's abstract from the ministry to show that I have a clean record, with these incidents being the first, if that will help with the judge.
In regards to the license plate, my car is from 2005. The cover is a transparent cover put on by the dealership. It does not impact the plain visibility of the plate in anyway, it has been on the car since it came from the dealership, and there was never an issue at all. I've been stopped by officers before for RIDE etc and no one mentioned anything. I have photos of the plates and will argue that I shouldn't be held guilty for something I did not do and that wasn't an issue for 12 years. If the officer wants the plate removed, fine, I've done so, but a warning should have sufficed instead of a hefty ticket.
In regards to the speeding ticket, the incident happened because the road is curvy and in one stretch you can't see what's in front of you until you complete the curve. When I did so about 200m in front of me I see a black car pulled to the side and some dude standing in the right lane (this was the officer and his car but I couldn't make it out). There were other cars around so I switched into the left lane, but to do so required me speeding up to merge safely. As I began to slow down that when he decided to stop me.
Also, the zone is a 60km/h zone, but the very next week after I was stopped it changed to a 50km/h zone. The ticket says 65km/h in a 60km/h zone. I'm wondering if the ticket would be voided if I show that it's a 50km/h zone and the officer put down the wrong information? I doubt he would have information prepared showing that it changed the week after.
I just don't want my insurance to go up, and that is why I initially decided to fight these tickets, but this is going such a headache now. I know speeding tickets affect insurance, but what if it's just a minor 5km/h one time thing? And would the license plate issue affect it at all?
Thanks!
Noxa