I got a ticket in the mail for opening my door while my car was parked on the street, another driver came by and took his passenger's side mirror off on the end of my door. The officer did not see the accident. How do I defend myself?
by 
kdiggity
ANSWERS: 3
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I assume you were in your vehicle, at the time of the accident. if so, an accident report should have been made at that time and the police called. The other driver, apparently wrote down your license plate number and notified the police, which in turn, gave your name and address. If the above occurred, the other driver, not the officer, is the prosecutor. the officer can only act on what he sees, smells, feels, or hears. To end, opening your car door to traffic is your responsiblity to do so, safely.
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Did the officer sign the citation or did the citizen? an officer can only act on what he sees, smells, feels, hears, or touches. If the officer was not at the scene, he cannot testify in court to any of the facts of the citation. i normally advise to go to defensive driving school, but if what you say is true, i believe you need to go to traffic court and face the officer or the citizen. who signed the citation??
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I dont think you can defend yourself against opening the door when a car was coming down his legal lane. He had no idea you were about to open your door and he was in his own lane. You were supposed to be sure there was no one coming before opening your door.You are at fault. A cop can give a ticket even if he did not actually see a traffic violation in progress. For instance a cop could see you make an illegal U-turn and radio ahead for another cop in the lane ahead to pull you over for having made the U turn. The 2nd cop writes you a ticket for a U-turn when he did not see it happen. If you go to court the first cop will appear that saw you as well as the 2nd cop who wrote your ticket.
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