If you've ever attempted to fight a victimless traffic citation by attending traffic court and found yourself being railroaded by the judge, then you're not alone.
It's almost like the judge doesn't hear anything you have to say.
It's as though he's already has his mind made up before you even open your mouth.
It can be frustrating and confusing, to say the least! Or perhaps you've gone to court with a guilty conscience and just allowed the judge to do whatever he wants with you, without putting up much of a fight.
For example, let's say you were pulled over for speeding but no one was hurt, and yet you were given a speeding ticket.
You may know in your conscience that "Yes, I was speeding," and feel that there is no way you can get out of this.
And so you don't put up a defense.
Either way, it can be a demoralizing and disappointing experience.
What has really happened, though, is that the system has used your ignorance of law against you! Now, if that doesn't make you angry, then nothing will.
And you should stop reading any further in this article.
But if you are a little miffed by such experiences and want to learn more about how you can beat the system at its own game, then read on.
Because, as far as the system is concerned, coming after someone in court over a victimless traffic infraction is little more than a cat and mouse game.
And more often than not, the cat (the system) wins, and the mouse (you) goes home defeated! Often, without really understanding why or what just happened.
If you want to learn how to beat a traffic ticket, then you need to know and understand how law works, and what laws apply to you as opposed to those that do not! If that's got your curiosity up, then keep reading.
The first thing you need to understand is: the moment you agree to show up in court in a matter of controversy, that is your explicit consent to agree to being a party to the matter at hand.
Now, sometimes its true that you are a party, and other times it isn't.
It all just depends on whether you fall within the jurisdiction of the court in the matter.
Although it can be a little more complicated than that in reality, for the present circumstance it can be no more simple than that.
What the courts calls an "appearance" is nothing more than "a coming to court as a party to a suit, whether as plaintiff or defendant.
" This entails the "voluntary submission to a court's jurisdiction.
" Just so you understand, both of the aforementioned quotations about "appearance" are taken from Black's Law Dictionary.
The second thing you need to understand is that the law acts on and depends upon accurate and precise definitions of the terms used.
So, you need to know and understand what you are talking about in order to effectively make your legal points.
It's not that difficult as long as you know the definition of the terms you're using.
When a person walks into a court and responds to a name called that sounds like their name and does not qualify the reason for their presence in the court, but rather agrees, without condition or restriction, to the hearing of the matter at hand, this is called a "general appearance.
" It means that the person has just submitted himself to the court's jurisdiction in the matter.
On the other hand, when a person qualifies his presence in the court by announcing that he is making a "special appearance," what he is telling the court is that he has come "for the purpose of testing the legitimacy of either the service of process or the jurisdiction of the court.
" In other words, he is telling the court that he is appearing "specially" (i.
e.
, not submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the court) because he has reason to think that the court has no authority over him in the present action.
By making a "special appearance" he is not waiving defects in service of process nor is he submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the court.
He is challenging the plaintiff to prove his authority to bring whatever matter there is to the court's attention for settlement.
So, the take away from this little lesson about law is that if you make a general appearance, you are submitting yourself unconditionally to the court's discretion.
You are agreeing that you are a party to a matter before the court.
But if you specially appear, you are there for the specific purpose of challenging the jurisdiction of the court and absolutely nothing else; that is, you are not there to argue any of the facts in the matter before the court, but rather that the matter, in fact, does not concern you.
That it is without merit and frivolous.
But understanding what a special appearance is all about is only the first step in mounting a lawful defense that can defeat your opponent's frivolous cause.
There's a lot more to learn and become clear about before you can effectively deal with your traffic matter.