Fight Your Ticket & Win in California

The book teaches you how to use the process of informal discovery properly to get the information the officer will bring against you in court. IF he decides to show up for your case, chances are he won't have done all the work he would need to do to prepare for your case. More than likely he won't come, or as in my case he just didn't respond to my informal discovery request which is against the law for him to do, therefore the case was dropped. It teaches you how to document your case well, and to effectively make a lot of work for the officer to do BEFORE he even reaches court.

You should know however that fighting a ticket is time consuming. I spent a total of 10 hours (over the course of several weeks) sending letters, and writing my motion to the judge. The book tells you what and how to do every step all along the way.

The bottom line is that my ticket was dismissed and I got my money back. More importantly my insurance didn't go up. I actually used the "trial by written declaration" option. I did this because if you are found guilty you can always show up in person for a re-trial.

Buy this book if you are fighting a California ticket, and if spending the time fighting it is worth it for you.


It worked for me!   September 22, 2000
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

After 10 years without a ticket,I recieved 5 moving violations in a four month period. Aside from seriously re-thinking my vehicle choice(I had purchased a fast car)and modifiying my driving habits, I had a real possibility of losing my driving priviledge. Additionally I was faced with a stiff insurance hike at best and at worst, insurance cancellation. A friend reccomended "Fight your ticket...and win" so I ordered it and started reading.

I am a results 0riented kind of guy, so let me share with all the final "score".

First ticket: Traffic school no points on record no insurance increase.

Second ticket: Plead not guilty. Went to trial and lost the case. No insurance increase but recieved a warning letter from my insurance company informing me that any further incidents could result in a rate increase. The pressure was on!.

Third Ticket: Plead not guilty. Officer no show at trail, case dismissed!

Fourth Ticket: Plead not guilty. Found NOT guilty at the trial!

Fifth ticket: Plead not guilty. Officer no show at trail case dismissed!

Needless to say I reccomend this book to anyone that wants to fight "city hall" and win. The book was easy to understand and written in a way that a lay person like myself didn't get lost.


Realistic and Empowering   March 8, 2004
Joaquin Menchaca (San José, CA USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

This is a very time consuming process. However, I have been burned so many times by overzealous cops, as at the time I was only able to afford older used cars that were cop magnets. I decided enough is enough, and I decided to fight back, and I never regretted the effort. After you go through the process once, you can use similar techniques with ease.

The book is very straightforward and no nonsense. You can get an honest sense of where your case stands. It has example forms and good legal claims you can utilize to assert your rights. Some of the most useful information is the social aspect of the court, police, and citizens, which gives one insights into how to go about your case. It is fairly honest, and let's you know when you need to get a lawyer, and how to successfully utilize a lawyer's skills effectively (to save time and money when needed).

As words of advice from a personal perspective, many courts will not permit you to win, despite that you have all your research and can prove without a doubt. This book alludes to that. Despite this, there are many ways you can arrange for your case to be dismissed, by doing a discovery, having reasonable motions denied setting your case up for an appeal, or by having your case exceed 45 days and not waiving your rights to a speedy trial.

For example of this, here is my scenario that would not have happened without this book:

In my case (San Mateo County), the judge ignored my pre-trial pleas and stated, "I'll decide what you can to in MYYY COURT!!!" This only infuriated me further, and made me study this book in greater detail. Before my court day, I prepared a peremptory challenge to disqualify the judge, just in case I had her again. Sure enough, this infamous pre-trail was my case judge. When my case came up, the cop proceeded to ramble his story, and she did not let me speak. I handed her my legally typed document (that I retyped from an example in the book), and with a snooty remark she asked why I did tell her about this before. She re-assigned the case to another date with another judge. On that date, I made a motion to dismiss my case for failure for a speedy trial - previously I had filed a legal document for my motion with the clerk (using example documents in the book). I did this just in case the judge would try to pull a fast one on me, as this is not uncommon in some counties. Reviewing past court hearings, the judge found I never waived my right to a speedy trial and dismissed the case. The cop was dumbfounded and wondered what happened. I was pleased because I got my money back and dragged the cop out to the court twice. However, despite my exhilaration that I got from winning, I also know how the process works, and I can fight similar cases without any significant loss of time.

I highly recommend this book. One should go through this process at least once, as it can save you a lot of money, and also let you know honestly where you stand, and how you can plausibly win a case. Consider standing up for your rights and not sheepishly giving money to our broken system. This book will empower you.


Not Guilty! You will win, too!   October 1, 1998
Diogo Rau (San Francisco, California)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Fantastic book. Especially targeted at California residents and speeding ticket defenses.

This is a great guide -- it helped me prepare and win my case in court for Section 22101d, when I didn't make a right turn that was required.

You will find the section you allegedly violated and the recommended defense. Furthermore, you will learn how to cross examine and when to object.

Everyone on my day in court was found guilty -- except for me! I believe I was the only one that had prepared a case, thanks to the book!


My case was dismissed!!!   January 9, 2005
Ruslan Moskalenko (Pleasanton, CA United States)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

My case was perfect example when this book really shines. I got a ticket for "unsafe turn", didn't violate any posted limits and it was all based on cop's subjective judgement. My first intention was to pay a fine and go to traffic school to clean up the point, but I didn't feel I was guilty and I was looking for some way to prove it. The problem was I didn't know what to do.

I bought this book and after a couple hours of reading, I had a clear picture of how the system works, what my rights are and what options I have. Very clear and complete picture.

Then I planned my defence, pled not guilty, scheduled a trial, went to court ready to fight and my cop (the only one out of many!) didn't show up. My case was dissmissed. So my story had a happy end.

Now back to the book. Before you decide to buy it, think if you really want to fight in court.

- If you've done something really bad and there is a risk to lose your license or get in jail, you probably need a lawyer anyway and the book won't help.
- You'll need a few hours just too read this book and more time to fight. If you simply pay the fine it will save time.
- Call your court clerk. In some courts if you lose in court , you're not eligible for traffic school. It may be cheaper in long run to pay and go to traffic school rather then lose your case and pay higher insurance rate for years.
- If cop was nice and gave you a decent ticket, keep in mind the amount can go up after trial.
- If you're getting too many tickets maybe you need to focus on learning how to driver safely instead of fighting the tickets.

If you decided to fight, this books tells you about your options, but don't expect magic. The cops typically know the tricks from this book and are well prepared. If you're guilty, in most cases expect to be punished, unless cop doesn't show up and you luck out. Decreasing the fine amount is realistic.

Basically this book teaches about the system and tells you what to do if the system is getting out of control and you're being treated unfairly. If you feel the cop was wrong or if it is your first ticket in many years - get this book. It does what it promises.

Also, please, drive safely!