How likely am I to have an improper turn ticket dropped if I appear in court if there was glass in my immediate lane.

Question

I was making a left hand turn out of a single lane while leaving my neighborhood at an intersection with a traffic light.  The light turned green and I proceeded left into a two lane, but merged into the far right lane to avoid glass near the left hand lane in the intersection. After I passed the debris, I signaled to move back into the far left lane.  The officer was stopped at the traffic light, to the right of me, in the far right lane facing the same direction that I was driving. There were no other cars turning opposite of me into that direction and none driving behind me when I attempted to avoid the debris.  I was not given an opportunity to explain my reason for turning/merging into the far right lane instead of the left lane.  I don’t want this to cause me to lose my job or affect my use of a company vehicle. Is fighting this in court a waste of my time or might I be able to get it dropped?

Randy Bryan Ligh · Answer

Prosecution has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed a traffic offense----and you have a right (but you do not have to do so) to present a defense.  It sounds like you have a defense---I would contact a traffic ticket lawyer or 3 in your area, discuss your ticket and circumstances with them, obtain your options, and then hire the one with whom you feel most comfortable.

Q: How likely am I to have an improper turn ticket dropped if I appear in court if there was glass in my immediate lane.