So let's say I was driving and a cop sees me on my phone in California. What If I were to give my phone to the passenger right away.(Let's say there's no cameras invovled). He gives me a ticket and I take it to court. It's basically his word against mine, right? P.s. This didn't happen to me
The vast majority of cases seen in court boil down to the cops word vs the defendants. And unfortunately for us, the burden of proof is almost ALWAYS shifted to the defendant. Because after all, being a police officer automatically makes their word more believable than yours. One could argue that in cases like this the police has no dog in the fight, while the defendant most certainly does, but that kinda gets thrown out of the window when you realize and understand just how important (and ridiculous) quotas are to these people. Because if they aren't catching enough people breaking the law, it's up to them to fabricate instances in which people are breaking the law. And it happens all the time...
if all you have is your word, the cop wins...you lose. YOUR passenger will not be a credible witness...
he is a cop, in a court room with a judge and PA...you are a weasel trying to trick and LIE his way out of being held accountable (that is how the court will see you...)
its $20 the first time and $50 every subsequent one. it adds no points to your license. there is also an exception for reading, selecting, and dialing a name or phone number. id probably just quickly delete the most recent texts you sent and claim i was doing that stuff. if that doesnt work and seriously have nothing better to do you could always try fighting it. idk if itd affect this any, but most traffic violations fines lower simply by going.
If you take it to court the cop must provide evidence not just his word The problem is most people dont fight they just give up. My brother in law got out of speeding tickets and dui's just by telling the judge the cop lied. If the cop doesnt show up to the trial thays even better for you Sent from my LG-E739 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Of course, but this is just hypothetical. I should of chose a better example, but it still gets my point through
In this particular type of case I would tend to believe the cop, even if he doesn't have the ability to show up for the hearing.
Okay, found a better example. I drop a bad of weed in public. No cameras and no one saw but the cop. Cop arrests me and I take him to court saying it wasnt mine.