Legal Question in Traffic Law in Oregon

Re: out of state ticket

Walter: The circumstances surrounding your speeding ticket may or may not have been a "set-up" to snag people. Places as you describe, if true, set these up as a legal way to support portions of their local gov't. In other words, it's a way to raise revenue.

On the other rather LARGE HAND, just because you disagree with a law, you don't get to ignore it and expect to pay no consequence. If you get a bum ticket, there is a procedure in place to address that -- we call it the COURTS! Next time, look at the directions on your ticket on how to plead NOT GUILTY, so you can have your day in COURT instead.

If you live FAR from the area of the citation, I realize it's often impractical to come back. If so, then one could just pay the fine. But there is an EXCELLENT ALTERNATIVE in most states, including Oregon, that permits you to have a TRIAL BY AFFIDAVIT, meaning among other things that you wouldn't have had to show up. There's an Oregon statute that explains the entire procedure in detail, and requires a request for it in writing, with a good reason. Trial by affidavit is often granted if you are out-of-state.

WHILE still in Oregon, you'd have wanted to take as many FOTOS as you could of the entire area, showing where all the relevant objects, people, vehicles, signs and measurements occur. That would have been part of your defense.

You don't discuss your timeline here, either, as to when this happened, although since you didn't answer the ticket, it's probably too late. But check. MY SUGGESTION: Contact a traffic defense lawyer in the town or a nearby town where you were cited, and find out if it's possible to RE-OPEN THE CASE. If so, maybe you can THEN do a trial by affidavit, which does NOT require a lawyer.

MOST LIKELY: You're stuck. Your remedy was to have addressed the charge during the time period required by law. By ignoring it, absent some very good reason, most judges would not reopen a traffic citation conviction. BUT, you never know, and again, if you're serious about trying to fight the ticket, that's the route to go -- find a local traffic defense attorney. Sometimes, a friendly court-clerk might even tell you on the phone which attorneys in that court defend a lot of these types of cases -- in that county of the citation, that is. ASK an Oregon traffic ticket defense lawyer to see if the case can even be reopened, whether it would be for a court trial or a trial by affidavit. If not, consider it all a good lesson in not letting stuff slide, and pay the ticket.

Good luck!

Sam