Legal Question in Traffic Law in Florida

I go to court on Wednesday for an improper left turn charge that stemmed from an accident that I caused on June 10. I think I made a mistake by pleading not guilty as I could have just paid a $166 fine and elected traffic school. If found guilty I will still request that the judge allows me traffic school. I do have a defense but I won't get into all of the details here. My question is this. I know that under the constitution I have the right to confront my accuser. Who can be my accuser other than the officer who wrote the ticket? However he didn't wittness the accident. If I confront him and ask him to explain how I am guilty I don't see how he can since he didn't witness the accident. Can this be used to my advantage?


Asked on 8/15/17, 12:30 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Craig Epifanio Craig Epifanio, P.A.

First thing you should know that to be clear under the Constitution you do not have the confrontation clause rights since this is a civil traffic matter. However the witnesses that will be there will most certainly be the other driver and any other witnesses that may have seen it. The officer may or may not be there to establish jurisdiction but it isn't always necessary to find you guilty for the officer to show up. With all this said you should go to court with an attorney to see if it can be fought. Call an attorney in your area to be sure. If you can't afford an attorney you can ask the judge to withhold adjudication on your case and plead guilty. This will keep the points off. Good luck.

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Answered on 8/15/17, 7:46 am


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