Someone called the police and accused me of running into her at a stop sign, but I never touched her car. The officer that responded gave me a careless driving ticket, even though she didn't see what happened. Is this legal?
by 
daddy05
ANSWERS: 7
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I t might be legal or it might not be. If you object to the ticket, take it to court and let a judge decide.
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Yes, it's legal but it's highly unusual. An officer doesn't have to be present to deduce that a driver was reckeless and issue a careless citation, but there has to be reasonable evidence. Unless there was a witness, it seems odd the ticket would have been written. At any rate, an accident report should exist that explains the situation. I'd get a copy of that and then request a hearing to state your case.
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The only way a citation could be issued, in this situation, is a private prosecutor sign the citation and an accident report to be filed. If neither of the above occured, the citation will be invalid. an officer cannot issue a citation for something he did not witness, unless the evidence is overwhelming. in any event, an accident report is mandatory in this case. If neither a report or an officer witness, were present, go to court. The officer should have known better.
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any witnesses? for you or her? If not go to court and tell the judge that theres no way this happened and if you never had any tickets or infractions as accidents go to your DMV and get whats called a DRIVERS ABSTRACT they usually run about 10$ which will show the judge that you are a good driver. always helps to show that. Good Luck
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Funny thing about cops is that they can do anything they want at the scene, they could've slapped you in handcuffs and taken you to jail that night if they wanted to, it is up to you to be able to defend yourself later. Usually it's a simple trip to traffic court to present your case. The number should be on the ticket you got, call it and they'll tell you how to go about fighting the ticket.
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Police officers can only act on what they see, smell, feel, hear or sense. The officer probably just issued the citation, but the other party actually signed it. This is legal and happens everyday. One person can sign a warrant or traffic citation on another person. this is what court is all about.
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If you really didnt touch her car or her body, you can go to court to tell your side of the story. She will have to prove it was you that hit her. She may have a witness in case you are lying.
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