Are Traffic Ticket Guilty Pleas Admissible in Accident Cases?


[B' Spokes: The following article really makes me wonder if our traffic fines are too low if it is just not worth the bother to fight them. If enforcement of traffic laws is a joke and the fines are a joke does anyone really think that makes our roads safer.]
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By Laura G. Zois

Should traffic ticket guilty pleas be admissible in a civil case? Most courts, including Maryland, believe that it is unfair to defendants in civil cases to allow traffic ticket guilty pleas to hover over an accident case because tickets are - for better or worse - not a big deal to most people. Maybe the defendant pled guilty because he didn't feel like presenting a defense or taking the day off work. Or maybe the pain of sitting through all of the idiotic arguments of silly people in traffic court was just not their cup of tea. (Has anyone actually seen a decent argument made in traffic court? Does such footage even exist?)

Another school of thought - my preferred school of thought - is the "juries are not stupid" argument. Novel idea, sure. But here is how it goes. "Okay, Mr. Defendant, you skipped your criminal trial, pleading guilty, because you didn't feel like going. Fair enough. Tell the jury that."

Makes sense, right? The defendant is free to explain the circumstances of the decision to the jury. It is not unduly prejudicial or complex. Everyone gets it. Let the jury decide how much weight should be given to the evidence. .
<a href="http://www.marylandaccidentlawyerblog.com/2011/07/are_traffic_tickets_guilty_ple.html">http://www.marylandaccidentlawyerblog.com/2011/07/are_traffic_tickets_guilty_ple.html</a>;

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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