Ways To Contest A Speeding Violation - Jurisdiction And Locale

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by: alextrebau
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Word Count: 620
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 Time: 3:56 AM
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I must confess, I am a Seattle traffic lawyer, so as a living I work to overcome for individuals to conquer their Seattle traffic tickets. And I have got a bunch of tricks up my sleeve in the way of information and ability I have learned over the years in how to deal with traffic violations. Even though I must admit I do not get every traffic violation reduced or dismissed which I see, I do deal with most of them.

At the present time I'm right here for another purpose. I'm right here to assist you deal with your personal traffic ticket by allowing you in on one of the aces right up my sleeve, if you will. These types of "aces" are known as jurisdiction and venue. Before I get within how they may help you with your traffic citation, allow me to explain exactly what they are. Jurisdiction would be the power of a court to make a determination in your case. Without having jurisdiction a courtroom wouldn't be able to make a judgment or decide your case.

Venue is much like jurisdiction in some ways, however is even simpler than that. Venue is simply the location in which your case must be heard. When the jurisdiction and venue are improper, the case should be let go, as it can't be resolved in the court you are in. Allow me to caution, before you decide to look at this, that you should consult an attorney before you fight your personal situation. There are exclusions to each and every guideline and you don't want to go in guns a blazing relying on this data and lose since you did not have some understanding (also a good reason to use a traffic attorney to help you).

A good example would probably help you give you a concept if this defense might come in handy . Also it usually works in urban centers, though it may be employed in rural areas within the right circumstances. Let's say you are traveling around in Seattle, Washington. You think you're minding the traffic laws, but you are shocked whenever a state trooper pulls you over and tickets you for speeding. If you don't realize, Seattle is a huge city encompassed by a bunch of smaller metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas with names like Bellevue, Kirkland, Edmonds, Federal Way, and so on and on. Let's imagine, for this illustration, that you were on your way to Bellevue when you were pulled over, and you were almost there. Actually, you think when the trooper saw you exceeding the speed limit you were actually in Seattle but when he pulled you over and ticketed you you had been in Bellevue. And what's more, simply because he is a state trooper he cited you with a state traffic violation rather than a city one, and he sent you to Bellevue city court for that ticket.

In this case, you may have two valid defenses: one for improper venue the other for incorrect jurisdiction. The venue defense is based on the reality that the violation occurred in Seattle but will be resolved in Bellevue - the wrong venue. The jurisdiction defense is based on the rule that city judges, usually can't hear state citations (it's important to seek advice from a lawyer about this since there are exceptions). And voila, you might have simply defeated your Seattle traffic ticket by means of incorrect venue and incorrect jurisdiction. But again, before you decide to do this, consult a traffic violation attorney. They'll usually take the time to tell you if you are right or not, helping you save some time, and possibly, embarrassment.

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