Which cop can ticket you for what traffic violation?

On Aug 7, 8:25 am, "johnmoli...@yahoo.com" <johnmoli...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Apparentley any cop can write a citation for any court.

Almost right.  Any cop can arrest you and/or briefly detain you to issue a citation ("ticket") if he observes you performing an illegal act in his presence that occurs within his jurisdiction (as to both geographic area, and nature of offense).   A zoning inspector, frex, is a kind of cop (they issue tickets too, for zoning violations) but he can't ticket you for speeding.   And a California cop can't write you a ticket for speeding in Connecticut.  However, various police agencies (city, county, state, federal) often have overlapping jurisdictions, both geographically and as to the kinds of offenses they can pursue.  Any cop working traffic patrol on a particular beat can cite you for any kind of traffic violation that occurs on his beat.  At any given moment, either a state trooper, county sheriff, or a city cop may patrol a particular stretch of road if the same roadway is on multiple beats.  And picking the court where the case gets heard depends on the geographical jurisdiction where the alleged offense occurred, and the type of offense, not on which agency employs the cop who stopped you.

> Can someone explain? Can small town "ABC" tell the state cops they
> need renenue and ask them to do a speed trap and write citations under
> state law that are heard in local court?

That's not how it works.  A state cop cannot ticket you for a local violation, but that mostly applies to parking.   Either a state cop, a county sheriff or a city cop can ticket you for violating a State-wide traffic law, which includes most moving violations, equipment offenses and alcohol/drugs.  The ticket clerk or assignment commissioner simply assigns cases for trial depending on where the violation occurred, and the nature of the violation.  Smaller offenses are typically heard in a municipal court, justice of the peace court, or other "people's court" of limited jurisdiction; these are the most widespread kind of courts and they deal with the most common minor offenses and minor civil claims.  Typically each substantial town in populous areas, or at least each county in sparsely settled areas, has one or more such courts.  More serious offenses are heard in a superior court, circuit court, or whatever your state calls their main courts of general jurisdiction.   Usually each county has just one of those, located in the county seat.  Federal offenses (frex if you get ticketed in a National Park or on other Federal property such as a military base) are heard in US District Court, of which there are typically one or two for an entire state.

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