Unfortunately, they don't. The best a lawyer can do in most cases is negotiate with the prosecutor to have the ticket amended to a non-moving violation that will not appear on your driving record.

Incorrect Information on the Ticket

Your ticket will not be dismissed because the officer made a typo or mistake in the identifying information. The wrong car color, a misplaced digit on the license plate, or even the incorrect make or model will not save you. Theoretically, the officer could make enough mistakes to invalidate the ticket, but I have never seen a prosecutor file a ticket written that poorly.

Radar Gun Malfunction

Your ticket will not be dismissed because the police officer's radar gun malfunctioned. It would need to be off by a lot, even if it were, to make a difference. Any officer would immediately notice this and invalidate any tickets issued while the radar was not functioning properly. Officers can't adjust or manipulate the radar to report that a car is going at a higher speed than it actually is, and they would not get away with it for long if they could. I'm not even sure what the incentive would be, as it is not difficult to write legitimate speeding tickets in the St. Louis area.  Knowing this, lawyers are hesitant to waste time examining radar. You can pay a lawyer to file a request for calibration checks, maintenance logs, and training records. You can even retain an expert witness, but the cost would run into thousands of dollars and likely yield little benefit. Or you can have a traffic lawyer amend the ticket so it does not show on your driving record. 

Officer Not Showing Up for Court

Your ticket will not be dismissed because the officer didn't attend court. Officers are not required to go to court for every speeding ticket they write. They may be required to appear for trial, but setting a speeding ticket for trial in the hope that the officer will not appear is a bad idea. A lawyer will charge an arm and a leg for a trial because it is a significant time investment, and the officer will show up. You will be found guilty and will aggravate some people in the process.

The Extremely Rare Exceptions

Theoretically, a lawyer could get a speeding ticket dismissed if there is clearly exculpatory dashcam footage. The video must start well before the traffic stop, and it must be obvious that the speed on the ticket and the speed you were driving are not close. I have yet to see this kind of video evidence.

Your ticket can be "dismissed" because the prosecutor did not file it in time. This rarely happens- less than 1% of the time- but it does happen. We never know why. Maybe the officer forgot to turn it in, maybe it got lost in the shuffle, maybe the prosecutor noticed a significant error. Whatever the cause, a ticket occasionally floats off into the ether, never to be heard from again.

Lawyers who handle more serious criminal and DWI cases, in addition to traffic cases, tend to be aware of police officers who get in trouble. Every once in a while, the arresting officer in one of their cases will get fired or even arrested, virtually assuring a dismissal. A sharp lawyer will check their traffic cases, too. Hoping the officer who wrote you a ticket catches a felony might not pay off often, but you can always dream.

Getting Your Ticket Amended

 A lawyer may not be able to get your ticket dismissed, but they can almost certainly get it amended. That happens when the lawyer arranges with the prosecutor to change the ticket to a non-moving violation that will not appear on your driving record. There are plenty of good reasons to do this. It doesn't cost much and can even be done for tickets over 100 mph, if you are out of state, or if you have already missed court. Just give Beerup Law a call at 636-940-1111 if you would like to get started.