i got a speeding ticket at 11:30pm and the officer wrote down dawn as the time of day, would that be enough of an error to get it dismissed?

Or you could actually take responsibility for your own actions.

It's amazing how people are always looking for ways to wiggle out of personal responsibility. If you actually were speeding, pay the fine and learn a lesson. Welcome to adulthood.

If you committed the crime and knew you were doing it then stop trying to wriggle out of it. Writing down the wrong time is not as bad as speeding and the officer may have been at the end of a long shift.

No, and it would cost you more time and money to contest it than to pay it. If the points on your license is an issue that might be a different story.

he also wrote down 9pm as my court date, and the court house closes at 5pm...?

nope

No.

If you tried to use that as a defense, the judge will say it is irrelevant and you were still speeding.

"Clerical mistakes, such as a wrong number or wrong order of a person's name, are usually overlooked. Material mistakes, like the identity of the driver, the direction of travel, the street where the citation occurred or the description of the vehicle, can usually help a driver win the case."

Source:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/8TopTrafficTicketMyths.aspx

You can also confirm this on any number of legal sites dealing with this, or ask an attorney.

Here in San antonio I would take it to a traffic lawyer, who would probably get it dismissed, and it would cost around $100 - you could chance it yourself, but make sure you research it further first - there are books in the library on how to beat speeding tickets.

It might be. It would be if I were sitting judge for night court. That's pure laziness on the part of the officer.

Usually you're better off just showing up and accepting responsibility. Make them jump through hoops and a nominal fine could get really big really fast. Do NOT piss off the judge!