Fighting Speeding Tickets: What You Need To Know About The Informal Discovery Stage

Before a speeding case goes before a court, both parties follow an important stage called discovery. During the discovery stage, the defense and the prosecution can collect and or exchange information that helps them prepare for the case. If you have recently received a speeding ticket, learn more about the discovery stage and how you can effectively prepare your defense.

Why you might want to invest in the informal discovery stage

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 112,000 people in the United States receive a speeding ticket every day. In total, 20.6 percent of drivers receive a ticket annually, generating $300,000 in revenue for every American police officer. Given that so many people receive tickets, it's unsurprising that a lot of people believe a ticket is unfair and decide to challenge the penalty in court.

Formal discovery is often an expensive, time-consuming process, and you'll normally need legal representation. Attorneys will often take a lot of time to gather, document and review the information they collect during this stage, and, in a complicated case, you could end up with thousands of documents to review. Informal discovery is generally quicker and easier, and you won't need an attorney to complete every part of the process for you.

Sending a discovery letter

If a police officer issues you with a speeding ticket, you can write a discovery letter to the police department and the district attorney asking for information related to the event. In many cases, this information is crucial to the case. For example, you can ask the police to send copies of the notes that the traffic officer took at the time of the event.

If the police department or district attorney fails to respond to your request, you may need to send the letter again. Send the letter using certified mail, so you can prove when you sent the request. In some states, you cannot legally serve these letters yourself, so you may need to ask a friend or family member to send the document for you.

What to do if the police ignore an informal discovery letter

The police or the district attorney may ignore your request. In some cases, the authorities will mistakenly believe that this legal right does not apply. If you don't get a response within three weeks, you can go to court and ask for a 'pretrial motion', where the judge orders the police to respond to your request.

At this stage, you can also ask a judge to dismiss your case if:

• State law where you live entitles you to discovery
• Your state has speedy-trial laws and the police have not responded to your request within the prescribed time limits
• Postponing the trial would push your case outside the speedy-trial time limits

Even without a pretrial, you can still ask the judge to dismiss the case at the start of your full hearing. If the judge won't dismiss the case, you should repeat your request to see the information. You can also ask the judge to give you some time to examine the evidence before the case starts.

Why it's still a good idea to talk to an attorney

Some states limit the information you can ask for during the discovery stage. For example, in Washington, you can only ask for the citing officer's statement, copies of any photographic evidence of the alleged offense and the names of any witnesses. If you ask for information you're not legally entitled to, the authorities may legitimately ignore your request. Conversely, your request may miss crucial evidence that you didn't know you could ask for.

A criminal defense attorney from a firm like Brian Walker Law Firm, PC can make sure you gather the right information, in the timescale permitted where you live. He or she can also then help you understand the implications of the details you receive. Without an attorney, you may not make the best use of the informal discovery stage, and your case could take longer than necessary. Indeed, you may not even get the best outcome without legal support.

The informal discovery stage is an effective way to gather evidence to help you fight a potential speeding ticket. If you want to understand more about the process, contact an attorney for more advice.