God F***ing Damn It! Latest victim of corrupt police

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Long story short; ticketed on bullshyt 'red light' violation by police in my city of residence, who have to this day refused to act in my interests when I've needed assistance.

These tickets are easy money for them - they are contestable but they want $500 up front and hardly anyone has that much cash laying around, me included. The patrolman would be easily laughed out of court if I could manage to muster the extortion fee required to hear my case.

I wasn't able to convey my issues due to the suddenness of the attack. I spent about 45 minutes in straight SI mode out of the events and the frustration that I can't get anyone to stop letting them get away with this crap.

I was checking a couple of machines for someone and this is going to end up costing twice as much as I'll get from the job, unless I can find a more impactful way to quash this and stop others from getting fvcked over in this manner

Hire a lawyer.

Good luck.

What was the ticket for? Running a red light?

Did you get a ticket from a camera or from an actual police officer?

If you got a ticket from an actual police officer, and they are charging you 500 dollars to go to court, you could sue them in Federal court for violating your constitutional rights. Placing a fee on a court case is tantamount to a poll tax, which is unconstitutional.

I actually think you could sue if it was a red light camera too. You can't put a price on going to court.

This is assuming your in the USA. I would talk to a lawyer.

God, I hate cops. Most of them belong to what I like to call "The Good Ole Boys Club". Some of them are decent, don't get me wrong, but the vast majority of them are good ole boys, plain and simple, they get off on bullying citizens and I hate them for that!!

Actually, you can be charged whatever dollar amount that court system decides, regardless of innocence or guilt. My most recent court case was for 2 vehicle related charges, both dismissed. I still had to pay these fees for: (times 2 for having 2 charges):
Not guilty plea charge
Public defender charge (even though I did not use a public defender)
Public prosecutor charge (even though I never saw a prosecutor in the courtroom at all)
Dismissal fee
Court costs
Administrative docket fee
and something called a Records and Reciepts fee

All totalled it cost me just over $400 USD. And that is without any penalties or fines for being found guilty. While I was to pay the clerk of the courts (who would only take cash), a guy who looked maybe 20 was shouting that he didn't have enough cash and that they should have to take a credit card was tasered and handcuffed by a police officer who laughed out loud and said said something about clearing out the riff-raff to the clerk.

Oh, and before you tell me to get a lawyer, I talked to several who refused to take my case as it is "un-winnable" and one who said that he would do everything in his power to make them pay, as long as my checks cleared. I also talked to our local ACLU chapter, who gave me sympathy, but no real options.

In my city, red light cameras can be used to issue tickets for speeding, running red lights, failure to stop for 3 seconds before turning right, cell phone texting while driving, license plate violations, and in one case a DUI (which was later overturned when it was discovered that the picture showed her drinking an IBC root beer). I have gotten 2 camera tickets, one for going 28MPH in a 25MPH zone, and one for going 22 in a school zone (speed limit 20). The first was dismissed, but the school zone ticket was not. The minimum mandatory fine for speeding in a school zone was $95, plus a point on my license.

I have also gotten a ticket from a police officer who visually estimated my speed at 40MPH in a 30MPH zone, even though it was between one red light and the next at the end of the block. Apparently, the police are fully qualified to testify about your speed through visual observation, and it is 100% legal.

How much is the fine if you just pay it? Also, can you represent yourself?

Remember, a legal defense isn't about being right or wrong or about the truth, it's about who tells the best story.

In the case where it cost me around $400 after the charges were dismissed, I would still have had to pay most of the cash charges, in addition to the fines (totalling $225). I was required to be present in court for the case, as local laws require anyone who is "detained" by the police to be there in person (if the court date is missed, a warrant is issued for your arrest). In that instance I spent 6 hours being "detained."

The person who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer.

Is there a reason a lawyer shouldn't represent himself if he gets charged with a crime?

The prevailing opinion seems to be that a lawyer charged with a crime: (1) can not maintain his or her objectivity due to the emotional attachment to the proceedings and the outcome; (2) may be hampered in his or her investigations due to his or her notoriety; (3) may impose undue influence on witnesses and prejudice the case; and (4) may have extreme difficulty with cross-examinations.

Other than that, there seems to be no specific law against a lawyer representing him- or her- self in court.

I appreciate the replies (I was hiding under the desk expecting a bunch of "you did it, pay up" replies)

I've got a clearer head on what to do. I took a few photos at the corner in question, compiled a list of questions that paint the cop as a bully for the trial de novo should it come to that.

But first thing as soon as the 'courtesy notice' comes in is Trial By Written Declaration. My version of events fits neatly on a sheet of notebook paper and shames the cop for hassling the operator of a disabled vehicle, since I WAS trying to safely get out of a major thoroughfare and onto a side street to investigate an ignition malfunction.

If they still want to grief me, they'll get some hours out of me, but not one penny.

Years ago, I read about an incident where someone shot up a bunch of speed trap cameras, then shot the guy who showed up to fix them. At the time, I thought that was taking it a bit too far, but I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that the proper course would have been to continue the shooting spree at the company that manufactured the cameras, as well as the homes of the politicians who approved them.

Red light cameras are a joke. Just another way of fleecing citizens for money. It was even proven in some city in Florida that they had made the yellow lights shorter in order to make more $ off the people driving.

It's even worse when you read the studies showing that shortening the yellow actually significantly reduces the chances of accidents, and that lengthening them has a much more positive effect on crash rates than the cameras do, but doesn't generate income. So they're literally making things less safe in order to line their own pockets.

Rope!

I"m not clear on the accident ... from what you've said it seems that you were having car trouble on a main road and were attempting to pull off and in doing so, you went through a red light.
So are saying you didn't commit the violation or that you were justified in committing it. If you did go through the red, you might as well pay the fine (especially since the cop is not on your side.) If you didn't then you should fight it.
I'm not sure about the wisdom of calling the cop a bully though - it's his system.