got advice from lawyer... still unsure.

[David Allen]

Kenji, my personal opinion relating to the cops that pulled you over is that they are very dangerous (because of what they did), and I think it would not only be in your best interest, but in the best interest of protecting others, for you to not only get an attorney to fight the case, but also file an official complaint against the officers.

Don't let them get away with what they did - if you do, they will just continue to hurt other people.

If this attorney is REALLY good at what they do for $1,500, see if you can also work in a deal where she also files something against the officers after the deal has been closed (or even during, depending on the progress).

I hope it all works out for you and good luck!

------------------
David Allen
'00 Silverstone NSX-T

 

[ck]

Kenji,
From recent and personal experiences of even more serious charges than yours, I would plea bargain for a speeding ticket or some other lesser offense. That is your best choice. Don't try to fight it. You will lose. Cops lie, everyone knows it, the D.A. will even admit it. You probably won't need the lawyer to make an appearance for $1500. But you may want to find someone who specializes in such cases and just pay a consultation fee. You can e-mail me privately for more details about my case.

Good luck!
Chris

 

[dochartung]

I would Check your state laws and see if there is something on the books for a "Undetermined amount of speed offence". Here in NJ and NY that is in fact on the books and I got 2 speeding tickets reduced to the such after a plea with the prosecuter following pre trial pleas. It seems to be there for people that have odometer problems such as a broken or damaged gauge. Anyway if you can get the prosecuter to agree, you will be responsible for a fine but as long as you get out of the points and record on your licence. Also you can call the prosecuter before the date of the hearing or even better, go down to city hall and try and meet with him/her and plea your case with them if you can. Sometimes you can get someone who is sympathetic from their office. For example the one ticket I got reduced in NY state where the troopers are ruthless , I got on the phone with the Assistant prosecuter. She was great, I cried like a kid to her and she helped me through the whole process to get it reduced. There are people in the world that have a heart, and if you comunicate with them properly you might have a chance.

This doesn't always work but it is worth a try. Also you can file a complaint with the police department for what happen and get this incident on record of your disgust of the way the officer handled the situation. And how you are now suffering mentally from the gun incident.

A simular thing happened to me in Georgia while going to school down there. A NY state trooper pulled my friend and I over while on our Honda CBR900RR's in the Elija mountains. We used to road race for the AMA and were out riding fast that day. Well he thought we were trying to out run and evade him, and proceded to cut us off and then pull out his gun and started screaming at us to get on the F#$%^#$ ground! Well he cut off a Jeep Grand Cheroke in the process and we had a witness of what happened. Well this GA state trooper was given desk dutie and was repremanded after the 3 of us filed an official complaint with the GA state police dept. We were all called and a letter was sent to our houses with an official apology from the state. So I am assuming you can try and file such a complaint and this might help you in your court case to get all charges dropped!

 

[kenjiMR]

dochartung, thats great advice! Unfortunately, my court date is tommorrow.
I will do my best to at least negotiate with the DA. A lot of the suggestions have really inspired confidence and I plan to have my outline of things to say tommorrow. I probably won't get to speak very much, so I will try to say the most relevant information to try to convince them to give me just a ticket. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go with the lawyer route.