Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

Bottom line, you violated that section of the NJ code and you don't have a valid excuse. There's no exception in the law the way it's written. You were within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle and put your high beams on. Guilty. About all you can do is challenge it, hope he doesn't show up, and if he does say that you put them on very briefly because you thought you saw something in the road. Basically, you're guilty but if it truly was only for a very brief moment maybe you'll get a nice judge.

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea this was illegal. This definitely wasn't covered in my Driver's Ed Class. Glad I know now though.

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

please... i need htis song. th elrycsi go like "i took a look around my life and without you i ain't got nothing" or something close to that. the only thing i remember exactly is ain't. it is a guitar type song. please help kurosh. he will be eternally gratefuul

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

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This is not a First Ammendment issue, at least where I grew up they call it obstruction of justice which is not a protected form of free speech. What you did was really stupid, what do you expect the cop to do when you warn people where he is? Fight it if you want but they are very unlikely to throw it out. This type of violation is not looked kindly upon by magistrates and the like.

NT

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Interestingly enough, this website by the state of New Jersey on jury instructions for HINDERING APPREHENSION OR PROSECUTION contains the following: [ QUOTE ]
(4) he warned (other) of impending or imminent discovery or apprehension. (Note: this does not apply to a warning given in connection with an effort to bring another into compliance with law, such as a fellow motorist warning speeders to slowdown for a speed trap, or a lawyer advising a client to discontinue illegal activities.)


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So, according to the state of New Jersey, warning others to bring themselves into complaince with the law is NOT a prosecutable offense.

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This isnt what he is charged with.

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

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why would you flash a car within site of the cop? thats just dumb.

Id prolly contest it I guess, cant hurt to try

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Why? F the PoPo. Giving out petty fines is such a waste of resources. Fight it!

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

[ QUOTE ]
About all you can do is challenge it, hope he doesn't show up, and if he does say that you put them on very briefly because you thought you saw something in the road. Basically, you're guilty but if it truly was only for a very brief moment maybe you'll get a nice judge.

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and chances are even in NJ a judge will be lenient. My father's a lawyer and the impression I get form him is that judges tend not to care about the little BS tickets. Especially with extenuating circumstances (in your case the phantom deer).

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

To all those recommending to contest it and hope the cop doesn't show up...Most departments these days schedule specific court days for their officers in advance and the officer has this schedule with him/her when they write a ticket. On those days the cop does nothing BUT court appearances, so, the chances the cop not showing are slim to none.

Contesting tickets is fine, but hoping the cop won't show up is NOT your best defense.

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

True. And not showing up doesn't look too good for the cop. But sometimes they don't. I'm not sure where you work but in California the date assigned on the citation is only for the arraignment. There's little control over when the trial date will be other than to ask for a change if it conflicts with a vacation schedule or the like. Not sure how Jersey operates.

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

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judges tend not to care about the little BS tickets.

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In California, traffic cases are heard by traffic commissioners so pretty much everything they hear could fall under your definition of a "little BS ticket". In this instance, the violation itself could certainly be dangerous. I'm sure we've all been driving down the street and have been temporarily blinded by some idiot with his high beams on. The only way this is different is that they were presumably on for only a very short period of time (to see if that was actually a "deer" in the road). So perhaps a judge will see that while there was a violation the OP was trying to ensure the safety of all by avoiding what might have been a huge beast in the road.

Re: traffic ticket, need advice, improper use of headlights
 

I am too lazy to do the research right now, but there were a few different cases like this in a few areas that I remember hearing about in the past few years. Do some research because all the cases I heard about were thrown out.