To some degree, the justice system relies on the average person’s hesitancy to challenge authority. The courts rely on most traffic tickets not being challenged in court because there simply aren’t enough prosecutors and judges to deal with them all. Tens of millions of traffic tickets are issued each year; yet, the court has the capacity to hear only a tenth of them. Compound this with the fact that traffic fines are a major source of income for the court system, and anyone paying attention can quickly see the conflict of interest inherent in the system.
Prosecutors and even some judges, for the sake of their egos and their job security, often attempt to foster the impression that the legal system is complicated and intimidating and that the best course of action is to simply pay the fines and move on. The average person can expect to encounter arrogance, condescension, or indifference when attempting to navigate the system. In some cases, the treatment of traffic violation defendants can border on exploitation.
Despite our understanding of the principles our justice system is founded on, traffic violation defendants are treated as guilty until proven innocent. More legal weight is given to the testimony of law enforcement officers than to the defendants, and those officers are often testifying according to a script rather than giving an honest account of the events. Every part of the system is designed to inconvenience the defendant in order to discourage legal action.
Furthermore, moral and civic rationalizations of many of the traffic offenses are often questionable. The threat to public safety addressed by many of the laws most commonly cited for traffic tickets is often minimal. Speeding tickets are given to create revenue, not to keep you safe.
Therefore, everyone should fight any traffic ticket they can. And to do that in the state of New Jersey, you may need an experienced New Jersey traffic attorney to advocate for you. Do not be intimidated by the legal process; do not be exploited by the justice system. Call New Jersey traffic attorney Dan Matrafajlo today for a free consultation.
