welcome to virginia.

I lost a court battle for a ticket...3 mph over in 60, on a motorcycle, with an uncalibrated radar gun that wasn't even rated for MC use anyways. VA courts are ridiculous.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Court system here is so f*cked up it's not even funny. Your case is a prime example of how jacked up the justice system is.

That sucks dude,

If you got firm with the cop/judge in the courtroom, that never ends well. Thats just how the system is. Filing an appeal probably wont net you much, especially if you got belligerent in the court room by saying how the officer was "unprofessional".

Ive gotten pulled over in the past before for all sorts of BS, some people get away with it and some dont. Id just move on and not fret about it, its not like it was a moving violation for going 2mph over the speed limit (like what happened to me back in december).

But good luck with whatever you do!

Sucks big time.

The Republic of Virginia SUCKS, plain and simple! :shakes head:

Can't wait to get the hell out this state! :mad:

I think that you might need a lawyer for your appeal court date and let him present the evidence. I know that is going to cost you money.

One of the question to ask to cop was or is if he had any Industrial Hygienist Training or degree. What makes him a Subject Matter of Expert on noise pollution.

prime example of guilty until proven innocent. Just remember state judges are elected officials, if you're truly pissed off at this person take matters into your own hands. Run a campaign of "truth" against this person when they're up for re-election. Probably not a great idea but you can always remind them that they're job depends on the people and pissing the people off is not a good way to keep your job.

Judges will always stick up for cops in traffic courts, I've been through that too.....in fact, Judges are even MORE asshats than cops.....sitting in their silly black robe, being all soooooo above a regular person. They are two nuts in a ball sack, since when they get pulled for speeding or DWI or other traffic issues the cop will NOT write them up too.....Its pathetic....the judge knew you were right, but he wanted to be a **** to show HE had the power...not you. File a complaint against him.

Hmmmm how does one go about doing that?

I have never seen a Judge so completly not want to see any evidence or even look at the actual words of the law in my life.

It was like the cop said "I think he killed him" and the judge says "GUILTY!" I was looking around because I thought it was a joke.

I was convicted on one persons opinion and nothing else, then told to stop talking and leave or be found in contempt of court.

EDIT: One of the loacal lawers just called me back. He told me that the judge for traffic court is a retired judge subbing for the normal one. He was not surprised at all, and told me that the judge does what he wants and does not care cuz he is retired. He told me that I will have better luck at the appeal with the other normal judge who should actualy do his job.

I still find this to be BS! How can they let a judge be up there who does not care about the law and could give a shyt about who he pisses off as long as he gets a laugh with his golf buddys? Is the court system just a joke even to the people who work there? OMGWTFail

Yep. Va law, I think, still says anything NOT Factory. I use to get this with my Pontiac from time to time and would ask the officer why he didn't stop me on my way home yesterday on my Motorcycle when I passed him. The 4" pipes on that are way louder than my car. Besides, what if I bought the car this way?

Cop was being a ****. Having been a Prior Norfolk Officer myself, I'd say he was being a ****; yep. VA troopers are generally this way. I had one pass me on the shoulder so fast that all the debri shattered my windshield that flew up. I chased him into the Rest Zone and called him out on it. Would have killed someone on a motorcycle....Mostly rookies looking for a fight. VA is a common wealth, so it's full of Good-ol' boys and some of the dumbest Officers I've ever encountered. Should say something having been one myself.

Northern VA is really bad about this kind of stuff. I'd recommend getting pre-paid legal and just waste the officers and the courts time. Get the ticket, call prepaid, paid the minimal fine. Go have fun. They are just trying to generate $. They say BS, but they got caught lying about it 3 years ago when they tried to enstate the law that if you're ticket for 20 over, you have to pay that fine for 3 years straight...They denied it over and over and over, until the dumbasses finally had to admit that it's convicting of the same crime more than once. Then they had to repeal the law and pay everyone back that had been doing it. Their reason, 'to build revenue". So I say play the game too. I waste more $ in the few hours in the court room to addres a stupid muffler issue, cause it must be evil, and life threatening, and harming people than the **** tard officer makes all week. So, Piss away his time and keep him from doing anything real with his job....This is why I left the PD; full of some of the dumbest, Jack-moles. Badge envy is the issue.... :nutswinger:

Then again, keep in mind these are Troopers we are talking about, not your local PD. And not every Officer is a total Douche bag.:shakes head:

7-9-12 update final!
 

NOT GUILTY!!!
****I WIN!****
SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!
:happydance:

That's right! Round 2 is over at the backwoods court of Culpeper, Va. I showed up in another spiffy suit, as any court date requires, equipped with my trusty DB meter, purchase receipts for my exhaust, a fresh inspection receipt, a DVD with video of meter readings of a wide sampling of stock automobiles as well as half a dozen of my car, along with a copy of the law I allegedly broke. It was a female Judge this time, and all 3 of the appeals before me were Fails and all were found guilty, again.

My name was called and Officer Hobbs said his piece and lied again, as expected. He did't even tell the same story as last time. If any body bothered to compare the court transcripts and look at the cruiser tapes they would have 3 different stories.
:shakes head:

Then came my turn. The judge did not interupt me this time, and I was able to tell my side of the story, then I started to present my documentation. I read out loud the sections of the law that pertained to "replacement exhaust systems", and explained each bit of my evidence as I passed it foward. The judge actually looked at my cornucopia of evidence, but did not play my video. After about a 3 minute silence, she looked up and said "After reviewing the evidence, this court finds the defendent Not Guilty. You are free to go."
:owned:

It took every drop of will power I had not to say something smart to the officer as I walked past him and out of the courtroom. But as soon as the door closed behind me I yelled "I won! I won!" all the way out of the Court House! I beat the lying cop and that other crooked judge! I'm now safe to let my aftermarket exhaust roar with impunity!
:happydance:

Thank you all for your advice and comments and help through out this battle with the childish Virginia Police! They dont make the law, and its nice to see there face ground in it one good time. I hope others can use this thread to help them fight unjust tickets across the land.
:tup:

:rock::rock::rock::rock::rock:

congrats dude! Sucks you had to go through all of that but at the very least justice has been served. But on a side note, if you just displayed your license plate in the front to begin with, you wouldn't have had this issue.

I'd also like to congratulate you, even though it is wasteful that such a case went to court in the first place, or even required an appeal once it did. At least someone in the Virginia Judicial System knows what they're doing.

Congrats! Sucks that you had to go through this to begin with but it's nice to see that you came out on top.

Congrats on the win, but that license plate probably doesnt help you with the police.