Urgent help from Lawyers on the board !!

[james1_10018]

I have to appear in court for alleged passing a school bus.
This was fabricated by a woman who decided to take it out on me.
anyone knows of any standard defenses against this ? Any help would be appreciated

James

[VX crazy]

I am no lawyer, but one of the worst things is passing a school bus when the lights and flag is out. Need more details....if the flag on the drivers side was not out, I would have passes as well, although slowly.

[transio]

I'm not a lawyer, but I've been in your shoes.

The person accusing you of passing the bus must give a signed affidavit and testify in court. If she does so and lies, it is perjury, which is a felony, and she can go to prison for that. In court, you should point this out to her during her testimony. "You know that lying in court is a crime and you can go to prison for this, right?" Also, make sure to point it out to the judge: "She's lying, your honor. This is a retaliation for [xyz]."


If there were other witnesses (e.g. bus driver, kids), they should have been questioned / referenced.


If so, get their testimony in court


If not, ask the cop in court why he didn't get the accounts of other pertinent witnesses. The bus driver is very important. Also, use this as conjecture to draw the conclusion that the woman is lying (i.e. why didn't she get the license plate of the bus and give that to the cop?)



Adamantly deny everything and be angry. If you are passive, people will assume you're lying. I believe passing a school bus is a criminal trial in most states (lawyers correct me if wrong here). That works to your advantage, because it means they have to prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT that you did it.


Tell the judge why you believe the woman is lying. Did you cut her off or give her the finger, or what? I once cut a woman off in a parking lot and took her spot (bad, I know) and she called the cops and told them I keyed her car. :rolleyes:

[VehiGAZ]

James, you are not providing much detail of what happened, and the two statements you gave in your post are totally disconnected - "a woman who decided to take it out on me" has no direct relation to ending up in court for pasing a bus.

I'm not a lawyer either, but I know that it's the details of the circumstances that will make or break your defense. You will get better advice if you explain the whole story of what happened and when.

[transio]

Gaz, I assumed he meant that she called the cops on him and lied in retaliation for something he did to her (such as cut her off). It's the only thing that makes sense to me.

[carlymac]

I'm not a lawyer...but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night....,
Just kidding, I am however a police officer in Tennessee. Just remember your innocent until proven guilty without a shadow of doubt, That is if the constitution applies in your area. Oh and by the way the burden of proof lies with the woman who swore the warrant out against you.
The only defense I can see to running the busses stop sign is; if waved on by the bus driver or directed to proceed by an officer or crossing gaurd. If you didn't run the sign and any witnesses exsist to testify to that, It would be in your best intrest to have them by your side in court.
Now if you did run the sign...I'd rather be honest and throw yourself to the mercy of the court rather than get proven guilty after entering a not guilty plea.
Best of luck