Fighting a stop light violation in Ohio

Because I was under the assumption he was turning. Plus, I don't "drive scared" around cops...I am a responsible driver, why should I change my driving habits? I was not being a bad driver, he was just being a tool cop. If I had slammed my brakes on, I would have ended up with a 1/4 of my car in the intersection..how would that have looked?
I filed all the paperwork I need with the prosecution office Monday to see what evidence they are using against me, just waiting to hear back from them. If they do not produce the evidence, then I can file a motion to dismiss the trial if they don't provide me with the notes. 2 hours of business day left and not a peep from them.
BTW: I am going in with the understanding I have about a 2% chance of winning...but I still will believe I am innocent until I see actual video of my car.

 

I may have missed it, did you ever state how fast you were going?

 

The speed limit, which is 45.

 

It would have looked better than you running a red light ...

I hate when folks are out in the intersection like that, especially if I'm behind them and -- for some reason -- the light doesn't change because they're over that little pad or whatever, but you could've avoided all this had you just stopped.

 

The final verdict is in:
Guilty for brake violation, fine: $10.

The prosecution showed me the video and, yes, I was in the intersection, but I didn't technically enter it under red...so the cop had grounds to pull me over, and the judge would have found me guilty, so they recommended the charge to be changed and the cop and I agreed on it. The judge stamped it a few minutes later and my wallet is a bit lighter with no points.

Yes, I "lost," but in my eyes, I won...I knew he shouldn't have pulled me over (it's like pulling someone over for going 67 in a 65: yeah, it's illegal, but why be a dick over such a small amount?) but "rules be rules" so I could have gotten worse if I stuck to not guilty.

Yippie...justice at work.

 

So did the video show the light changing as you were under it, as you remembered? Or sooner, or later?

 

A bit sooner, my whole car was in the intersection, but on the final 1/3 of it. I think him marking "could have caused accident" was going a little far and I think that had something to do with the prosecution changing the charge before I sat down in my seat at the pre-trial.
FWIW, the trooper looked REAL pissed off I was there. Then again, he's an Ohio Highway Patrol officer, they always look like pissed off dicks!

 

Thanks for all the questions and comments, BTW. It helped me get prepared for this...and was a great help...even though it ended up not coming to an actual trial.

 

Good job.

 

Good job! Glad it paid off for you.

 

If you were really a "responsible driver" you would have slowed at the first sign of yellow, and not gone through the intersection when you knew a cop was there. In case you didn't know, every police force in the country is cracking down on red-light running and counties are jizzing themselves to get red-light cameras up for the extra revenue.
If you don't drive scared around cops, you're asking for it. I'd rather "drive scared" than go what you're going through. Doesn't cost me a dime.

PS: Glad you won but at least you admitted the cop had the right to pull you over.

 

Good going, Spike.

Hondo, a lot of places in California have found that red-light cameras don't really make any money. It is a greedy, money-making thing.

The thing about traffic court is that this is where most people have to face the justice system. If this can't be administered fairly, how can you trust the justice system to handle anything bigger?