I doubt whether anyone here knows about your specific security clearance requirements. Check with your chief.

 

Get a lawyer, research things as much as possible. Is this the only moving violation on your record? You may be able to have this moved to just a speeding ticket. In NJ there's a catchall violation they let you plea to and pay a fine without getting points on your license. There may be something similar.

Most of all, be remorseful and do not argue the radar. You were unaware of the speed limit dropping to 35 , you are very sorry and will be more careful in the future, and you need your clearance for your job. And you tell the judge you will never jeopardize your clearance by driving over the speed limit on base again.

Best of luck! If your job is in jeopardy I'd get a traffic lawyer. You'll probably get about 5 letters in the mail in the next few days, once your ticket shows up on the docket.

 

I was in the Navy a million years ago. If you lost a security clearance they didn't kick you out, you just finished out your enlistment doing some crappy job like mess cooking or barracks cleaning.

Also, back then there were Navy lawyers on base. Why not try to see if they can at least tell you what the penalties might be (I'm sure they wouldn't represent you in court, though)?

 

Having been a Provost Marshal in another life I am guessing you got an 1805. The Magiatrate will decide your case, but normally any points or loss of driving privileges pertain to "on post/base" only. I have seen folks who could only drive to the front gate, park their car and walk the rest of the way. Oddly, if your driving privileges are revoked it actually means "on any federal property". For example you could not drive on ANY military base or Park under federal control, such as the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Jim

 

So you were on base? If so, the first thing is "you *******". I am in the Navy and I got a ticket out in town here in Hawaii about 4 months ago. I was going 77 in a 45. Which out here in Hawaii is a misdemeanor and you lose your license for 30 days and have to pay for Sr22(proof of high risk insurance). It ended up getting knocked down to a speeding violation and drivers ed. Is it just a citation with a fine or does it have a court date? If it is a fine just pay it. If has a court date you are going to plead not guilty or guilty your first time there. Then you will have to return with a lawyer and plead your case. And if you were on base consider yourself lucky they didn't scrap your sticker off. Hopefully if you go to trail you might be able to get a plea bargin with the state that will knock it down or differ the punishment into drivers ed or something like that.

 

My guess is that he will be going before a U.S. Magistrate and the case will be decided right then and there. Although the Military adapts the traffic laws of the state in which it is located, by going through Title 18 of the U.S. Code or Artical 134 of the UCMJ, the fines etc recommended by the state do not have to apply. The Magistrates can do what they feel is necessary. Getting a ticket on base is not the same as getting the same ticket off base.

Jim

Jim

 

Your security clearance will be fine, I know people that got a DUI and still got there clearance; I have been pulled over for speeding more times than i care to mention and still have mine, it is not that big of a deal. If the government took security clearances away from and kicked people out of our armed forces for something like getting a speeding ticket we would have a huge shortage of Military personnel on our hands.

 

I'm 19 too, in January I moved from Buffalo, NY to Albany to live with my brother, and I didn't know the area that well. Within the first few weeks, I got a ticket on the highway for doing 27 over. Stupid, I know, but in Buffalo all the highways were either 55 or 65, and I honestly didn't see the 45 mph speed limit sign on one part the Albany highway. 27 over in NY is a pretty big fine, and lots and lots of points on the license. A few days later, I went to the town clerk to hand in my plea of "not guilty," and was expecting a letter in the mail with my court date. A week or so after that, I got the letter in the mail, and opened it up. It was a random "We are notifying you because your case has been dismissed," letter. LUCKY!

A month or so after that one, I got pulled over for doing 82 in a 65. For that one I actually had to go to court, but the officer that pulled me over never showed up, and I got lucky again, no points on my license, and no fines.

A friend, also 19, that wasn't so lucky got a ticket for doing 23 over in his Nissan Versa in Buffalo. He ended up getting 6 points on his license and a $450 fine. The fine was the easy part, his insurance ended up being over $200 a month in his $13,000 VERSA! And, he has to continue to pay that until he's 25 I think. I couldn't imagine what it would go up to in a Mini, especially if your car is an S or a JCW.

My only advice is go to court, dress nice, and like others have said, bring a notebook and a pen and have a "script" ready for the judge. Try not to make excuses or accusations towards the officer or anyone else, be VERY respectful. I couldn't believe how many people showed up to court in shorts or ripped jeans.

Hopefully you'll be as lucky as I have been. If either one of those tickets I got would have went through, there's no way I'd still be driving my Mini right now.

 

Really? Tell us more.


Now watch your security clearance go poof.



Talk to your chain of command. I'll bet you haven't. Not getting them involved is the surest way to screw yourself for this. If YOU begin the communication, without excuses, respectfully requesting help, you will be much better off.

 

I was going to offer some advice.

However, your clear disregard for spelling and grammar suggests that you may not notice other little details.

Like speed limits.

Good luck to you, sir.

 

oh that comment above about his spelling is really stupid... give him a break who the hell cares if he is spelling it right.. what remains of the topic is.. trying to fight a speeding ticket..
Well.. i for one live on a military post... and i hate to say it.. suck it up.. and drive on.. you got a ticket.. take whats coming, and be more aware the next time.. i dont have small children in the home, but i do get pissy with people tearing up the roads on post.. what the hell its not a race track.. if you were worried about your security clearance? You should have been going slower.. my husband who is the soldier.. says if the speeding ticket is felony, depending on circumstances, and more.. then yeah you can lose your clearance..but its quite rare.. use this time as a learning point.. pay the dang thing and move on.. i hate that.. when people start threads, i got a speeding ticket.. but.. this and but that.. and i didnt and i wouldnt and coulda.. you did.. and you need to pay the fine.. end of..

 

Getting a ticket won't make you lose you clearance. As for the rest? ^^^ What he said.

 

Yes. A good point for all of us.

 

I have received 5 tickets in the past, one of which was 53 in a 25 in a construction zone. Each time I got a lawyer and subsequently got all charges dropped. Most expensive fees were $700, on Long Island NY.

 

One traffic ticket won't result in clearance revocation. Lying could, so be a man and respectfully ask for leniency, but take your medicine. It will result in higher insurance costs, but one offence won't torpedo your career.

 

Glad I'm not into commenting on punctuation.

 

I agree with the people saying you are unlikely to lose your clearance over this and you certainly wouldn't get kicked out for it.

As for the people who keep ragging on your spelling/typing - get a life.

 

If anything you will have to do drivers improvement and you weren't going fast enough for them to scrap your decal. So pay the fine and peay attention next time. There is absolutely no excuse for speeding on base. When it says a certain speed don't go even a mph over it or they will pull you over.

 

Do they still use decals on Navy bases? I thought the DoD did away with them. They don't use them on Air Force bases any longer.

 

There is an easy way to avoid getting harassed about one's spelling online: Spell Catcher Works for me. My spelling skills leave much to be desired. Checks as you type. I have no commercial affiliation with this product, but I've been depending on it for decades. The glossary expansion feature is really useful as well.

Back on topic: Since ignorance of the law (or speed limit) is not a valid excuse, and disproving the officer's claim would be difficult, I side with the advice to be polite, apologize, and hope for mercy.

 

AkFarina. You have been issued a summons to report to court. Don't do what I did and expect the court to hear you without a lawyer (in effect taking a knife to a gun fight). Find a lawyer so that you are on equal footing. In my case, the judge didn't hear a well-prepared word that I said. While he heard every insinuation the cop made. Justice at it finest! If you are not a lawyer, prepare yourself by finding one.

 

The codes on my ticket were "18 USC 13" and "46.2-862" I believe it is in the original court. I basicly needed to know if I should get a lowyer and what my chances are at getting it reduced. In my defence to all those parents with kids it was 3am driving in between an area with no turns or houses. You info has helped but more is usually better

 

That may have just been your lawyer. I (stupidly) have been up for a reckless driving ticket TWICE and both times the same lawyer got it reduced. It didn't come cheap, but my insurance rates would have skyrocketed otherwise.

Now, needless to say, I rarely speed.

 

This won't help you now, but I've been on lot's of Marine, Air Force and Navy bases as a civilian contractor and I know the MP's in all of them have ZERO tolerance for speeding. It doesn't depend on the time of month, these guys are usually bored out of their minds and are looking for any documentable violation to ticket, if nothing else just to validate their existance. My dad got ticketed once for 5 mph over the limit.

Part of the problem here is you really don't have a case against the cop, based on what you've told us. You've already admitted you knew you were over the speed limit, and that you didn't know by how much until the cop told you. Therefore, once you're in the courtroom, you can't say you were under the speed limit, nor can you say the cop was wrong in citing you for speeding.

The judge will have zero tolerance and patience for your case if you use ignorance as a defense, so don't even give a hint of doing that.

In the matter of how much you exceeded the speed limit, the evidence the judge will look at will be your word against the cop's professional, trained observation. You could hope the cop got you on a radar gun that he forget to calibrate that night, and you could ask to see the calibration log to prove it. Without proof of calibration, you can argue that the cop overestimated your speed and ask to have the excessive speed charges dismissed, but you can't argue you weren't speeding.

Even if the cop forgot to calibrate his radar, the judge is going to believe testimony from someone doing the job they were trained for, more than testimony from someone trying to get out of a violation.

I can't think of anything else that's pertinent to your case. It's just a speeding ticket, with the extra charge added because of the amount of excessive speed, so the evidence is simple and, sadly, overwhelmingly against you. There really isn't much for a lawyer to work with in this case, so I doubt a lawyer could give you any real help. I'm sure you could find one that would be happy to take your money, tho!

If it makes you feel better, I highly doubt you're the first 19 year old in the Navy with a security clearance who's gotten a speeding ticket. If they yanked clearances based on speeding tickets, I'd bet there'd be almost nobody in the Navy with a clearance.

Sorry, this post got longer than I expected.

 

its nearly fourth of july... there were/are cops EVERYWHERE