please help me guys........gotta go to court

[da808GTSboi]

I was charged last night with "street racing on a public highway" and i must appear in court next month for my court hearing. The thing is, we were stopped at a roadblock where we were charged. There were no police around to judge if we were "racing", nor did they get a certain speed that we were going. All their claim is based on, is the fact that they heard my exhaust down the street. I dont see what i did as racing but rather, pacing the other car. How do i go along to resolve this issue??? Do, i explain to the judge this, or do i just plead guilty and get whatever happens.

Now, i am in no way trying to downplay what i did. What i did last night was very stupid and it gets people killed. I have no idea what i was thinking, i guess its just one of those things, that happens in the heat of the moment when another import is around and both cars start speeding up. :o/ Now, im playing a price for it.

[apexsw20trd]

you just admitted to guilt, but of course i myself being in court so many times i already know the drill and how to get around teh judicial system.

first of all "do not admit to guilt in court" of course if you want to go right ahead, but remember teh consequences if you do. for your offense of street racing is very serious. fines from $1000 to to extremem of jail but highly unlikely, insurance sky rocketing, and many more.

so my suggestion is when you go to court " never admit guilt".
the judge will ask you how do you plea, say this " your honor i am not guilty",,then he will set another court date for a hearing. in the hearing state your case and make it sound more favorable to you.

from what i read , there is clearly insufficient evidence to prosecute you so the prosecutor or the judge will most likely dismissed the case. but you have to be careful of what you say.

if your record is clean you shouldnt have a problem, but if you are scared with many speeding tickets and so forth then maybe you will have some trouble.

if you dont know what ot do then i suggest get yourself a lawyer.

[da808GTSboi]

yeah, i only have 1 speeding ticket and no other offense.

[da808GTSboi]

well if i say that we were pacing does that also constitute as street racing?? What do i say to the judge?

[apexsw20trd]

Originally posted by da808GTSboi
well if i say that we were pacing does that also constitute as street racing?? What do i say to the judge?

like i said be careful of what you say in court because it can be used against you. if you say that you were pacing the other car that does constitute as street racing if the officer that tagged you felt you were going fast.


the defense for your side is to empahsize that you were not speeding or racing and that you were merely with the low flow of traffic and the cop that tagged you only made judgement of me racing due to sound of the car and look of the car alone. the officer had no clear evidence of me racing on the streets.

but of course you admitted you were racing so you better bring out your poker face and have many experiences with lying.


also what wear to court also makes a big difference, wear slacks, long collared shirt and tie, also if you can take pictrue of where the road block was, also speak in proper english , please no pidgin because judges do not like punks with attitudes, and most importantly know what your talking about and be prepared. if you have all this down the judge will dismiss the case. hope this helps.

[2002SLVERGTS]

Damn Delo, sorry to hear about ur mishap.....everyone's getting screwed recently....when is ur court hearing???

[2002SLVERGTS]

my bad.....Russ....not delo...got confused for a second with AIM and the board SN....

[ohmygts]

I might be able to help. delle has done extensive research and papers on hawaii street laws and defence for her major in school. I can get you a copy of her paper on laws of "street racing" and you might be able to make a defence off of that.

[GTS808]

that sucks, now with that new law in place it might be worse.

[QWKsilvr808]

Alex has brought up very good points.

First thing, like he said, DO NOT ADMIT GUILT in a court of law. Force the State to prove it's case against you, because as it stands right now, you're innocent. If there was no officer following you, then it's hard to prove what really happened. Racing is more than just pacing another car, it has a start and ultimate goal. Pacing can be interpreted as racing, as the law on this is VERY loose... even if neither car was gaining, and EVEN if you were both below the speed limit.

This is difficult to prove tho, and the State obviously doesn't have solid evidence unless either you or the other party already admitted guilt in front of the officer, and at least another witness that can testify in the citing officer's defense.

The best strategy is to push the issue. Keep pushing it thru the court system, and show the State that it's gonna cost a lot of money to make this charge stick. If the the prosecuting attorney can't see a solid win in the future, it'd be more beneficial to offer you a deal, or perhaps even drop most of the charges. You'll walk in on your first day, and do nothing more than plead NOT GUILTY. Then you'll be arraigned for trial... which will be awhile from now. You may go to court a couple more times before a judgement is found, and if found guilty then you'll appeal and go thru this again. What you should do is find out if you can get a public defender.

I've been thru this before, and remember I got it all wiped out. Your record is pretty clean and that's a good mark for you. Just say you were driving with the flow of traffic.

[ohmygts]

The law has not yet taken place......it hasnt been passed yet, Its still in the house of rep.

[da808GTSboi]

well my argument is that, the police have no eye whitness account of my "racing." All the officer said was that they assumed i was racing from my exhaust that they heard down the street. From where the block was, they have no clear view of the street below because they were hidden on top of a hill and behind a turn. also, they do not have a speed that my car was going. In fact they did not ask me if i was "racing" but only if i knew the car that was ahead of me. Now if any of you are familiar with the kaneohe area, the DUI checkpoint was placed between the cemetery and "pali view baptist church" The officer told my parents that they heard my exhaust coming from castle junction, which i estimated is about 2.5 miles away. Now that is a far distance for any exhaust to be heard. Also, if i was that far, what is to say that the exhaust tone was not from a car goin in the opposite dirsction from me or if it was even from a car at all, or if the sound they heard was even an exhaust???

[QWKsilvr808]

exactly. The state really has no case against you... if you pursue this, even if they decide to fight you against it, you can expect it to eventually be dismissed.

You have to be proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

What I also did was go back to where I was pulled over and take pictures of the whole site... that way later you can show the court the line of site the officers would have had from the DUI stop. They can't assume that what they heard a mile away was you.

[GTS808]

Originally posted by ohmygts
The law has not yet taken place......it hasnt been passed yet, Its still in the house of rep.

Nope the Gov. signed into law this past week.

[ZZT808]

what clint said is very right to the detail...."PROVEN GUILTY BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT" underline "beyond a reasonable doubt".

And what apexSW20trd said was right also. When you go to court. no matter what the prosecution or the officers statement is, say you were going with the flow of traffic and that the officer made a judgement based on the sound and aesthetics of your car, when actually there was no violation present.

Basically the officer has to make the judge believe you were racing based on the sound of your car.... So ask yourself, what sound is this? How does the officer know the "sound of a car racing" wasn't coming from somewhere else? the answer is he doesn't. Just stick to this story and it should be fine. Keep in mind that on the officers copy of the ticket is his written statement should he not appear for the hearing. The judge will have this copy and will probably read what the officer wrote.... remember.... do not in any way possible admit to anything other than driving with the flow of traffic.... because that is all you did right???

[Accord-boy]

Originally posted by da808GTSboi
well my argument is that, the police have no eye whitness account of my "racing." All the officer said was that they assumed i was racing from my exhaust that they heard down the street. From where the block was, they have no clear view of the street below because they were hidden on top of a hill and behind a turn. also, they do not have a speed that my car was going. In fact they did not ask me if i was "racing" but only if i knew the car that was ahead of me. Now if any of you are familiar with the kaneohe area, the DUI checkpoint was placed between the cemetery and "pali view baptist church" The officer told my parents that they heard my exhaust coming from castle junction, which i estimated is about 2.5 miles away. Now that is a far distance for any exhaust to be heard. Also, if i was that far, what is to say that the exhaust tone was not from a car goin in the opposite dirsction from me or if it was even from a car at all, or if the sound they heard was even an exhaust???

Hey Russ, I know which area you are talking about. I live in Kailua and I have a lot of friends in Kaneohe. I think there case will be hard to prove considering that your exhaust is impossible to be heard that loud nearly two miles away. Everything they are stating are just based on assumptions, there are no facts. Fight your case all the way.

[143hawaii]

Yikes! So many tickets and stories to be told! I swear that once you get any kind of aftermarket exhaust that cops are instantly attracted to ticketing it. Luckily I only got super illegal tint, but I told my gf that my plan was to put my 2 windows down and my top down if a cop pulled us over. Then I got no tint showing! :D

But cr*p, if Mike-Kunt is patrolling Waiks I may end up your situation Warner. My friend has an appartment in Waiks so I go there pretty often. In fact if you ever go into the Zoo parking lot and see a Red Spyder, it's prolly me.

[QWKsilvr808]

Yikes! You park your car at the zoo Mitch? That place is a hot zone for theft. A couple "associates" of mine would always rip cars off there every weekend in highschool. Usual stuff like sounds and whatever.

[darkspeed01]

speaking of court what should i plead on the blue lights and stuff guilty or not guilty...and o yeah are the punishments more strict if i plead not guilty and get ruled against?

[QWKsilvr808]

it depends, they CAN rule harsher on you if you push it as far as trial, but I doubt this case will go that far (for your blue lights Jerry). What you can try to do, since you're young and don't look like a punk, is TRY to play the "young stupid kid" angle. Hopefully the judge will be lenient.

He'll ask you what you want to plead on each of your charges, and since your tint was totally illegal and you can't get around it, try to play the good guy and plead guilty for it, showing you accept some responsibility. Tell him the shop you bought the muffler from said you didn't really need recon for just a muffler, so you thought it was ok. Tell him the tail-lights you bought from "Fast and the Furious" came in a box that said 100% street legal, and show it to him (yeah I know you bought it from me, but hey ;) ), and show him the box if necessary. Tell him the ppl there didn't tell you it was illegal and since you bought it from the mall you didn't think twice about it.

Tell him you also bought the blue lights there, but they flash white. Everyone was buying them and you thought they were ok as long as they don't flash blue.

For recon stuff, you really have to hope for a cool judge, it's mostly luck. If you plead not guilty, you're gonna have to prove you were in the right, which is really hard with stuff like this. Best bet is perhaps to plead "guilty with and explanation" and hope the judge shows you mercy... because he prolly will. If anything they'll prolly make you pay a small fine. If not, then appeal and hope you get a better judge!

[apexsw20trd]

Originally posted by darkspeed01
speaking of court what should i plead on the blue lights and stuff guilty or not guilty...and o yeah are the punishments more strict if i plead not guilty and get ruled against?


if you want to pay for the blue light ticket which is probably $80 , then admit guilt but in the judicial system you can always get it dismissed eventhou you are guilty. once again if you dont want to pay for your tickets just say not guilty and fight it. just say that in early model celicas teh lights come bluish white, and say its a stock part. it always worked for me.

[bad-driver00GT]

hey russ, i got stopped at that exact same road block that night...it was weird cause the cop was waving me on with his flashlight, but then he yelled at me to stop...and my passenger was drunk so that didn't help. sorry that you got tagged for something you didn't do...