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Newest reality show follows traffic court drama

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Newest reality show follows traffic court drama

Old 10-16-08, 12:15 PM
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Newest reality show follows traffic court drama

Reality TV is back again. This time, it's thanks to the new truTV show `Speeders Fight Back.'


``I wasn't going that fast.''

``My clutch was broken.''

And the ever-popular ``The light was yellow.''

These excuses and many more will be trotted out -- and televised -- in reality television's latest foray into Broward County: Speeders Fight Back.

The show debuts at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on truTV, formerly Court TV.

Its star is Chief Traffic Magistrate Brenda Di Ioia, who presides over thousands of speeding ticket cases a year, mostly at Broward's West Regional Courthouse in Plantation.

Through her courtroom runs a parade of characters. They iinclude:

A driver who told Di Ioia he was bored, and when he gets bored, ``I turn my car into a musical instrument whenever I hear music.''

A woman who admitted she drank a shot of alcohol before driving, but, ``I was trying to get home before it hit me.''

Or high schooler Omar, who thought his good grades would sway Di Ioia.

''I heard the magistrate's a lady,'' Omar tells the camera. ``I've got a way with the ladies.''

Omar's ''way'' fell flat in court. Di Ioia punched holes in his defense, including Omar's history of traffic tickets and how driver's education was noticeably absent from his report card.

All the while, graphics pop across the screen, introducing characters and flashing a scorecard with points for the officer and speeder.

Ultimately, Omar lost.

But others win.

Who knew traffic court was so unpredictable and, believe it or not, exciting?

The folks at truTV had just that hunch.

It began with their show Speeders, which is exactly what title suggests: chronicles of drivers caught speeding.

While filming that show, which went on the air in 2006, crews met motorists who vowed to fight their tickets, said Robyn Hutt, truTV's senior vice president for current programming.

And so a new reality TV show was born.

Speeders had already done some filming in Broward, Hutt said. And the county has a flirtatious history with reality TV, dating back to the early episodes of Cops in the late 1980s up to last year's day-by-day coverage of Anna Nicole Smith's death and the courtroom battles over custody of her body.

STAR SEARCH

Finding participants for the newest show was a matter of following up with people who got tickets and videotaping those who went to court.

The show doesn't give its participants legal advice, Hutt said.

Next came the search for the right magistrate, which led producers to Di Ioia, a traffic court magistrate for 14 years. But it was more than just her experience that made her right for TV.

''Brenda is just a really great mix. She's really smart and objective,'' Hutt said. ``Plus, she really calls people on their excuses, and is really funny.''

Speeders Fight Back experienced a few hiccups. In September, state money dried up for traffic magistrates. For now, traffic cases are being heard by County Court judges.

For the program, Di Ioia said she went to the main courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale and volunteered to sit in on cases for a county judge.

`WE CAN ALL RELATE'

Filming for the first season is complete. TruTV has not committed to a second season, Hutt said, but she has a feeling it will. ''It's something we can all relate to,'' Hutt said. ``Anyone who drives can relate to what it's like to be afraid of getting pulled over for speeding.''

Di Ioia said she heard plenty of excuses during filming, although she doesn't know which ones made the cut for Speeders Fight Back's 13 episodes.

Among her favorites: an optometry student who asked to test the officer's eyes.

''I thought it was great. It was clever. After all, visual estimating is what they have to do,'' Di Ioia said.

But clever doesn't guarantee a win. ''The officer's eyes were perfect,'' she said.


Well if anything we can see what works when trying to get out of a ticket.
Old 10-16-08, 12:41 PM
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When I was in law school, I worked in the prosecutor's office for a week. In the state I went to law school, you could practice as a third year under a practicing lawyer's supervision. That meant that I could be prosecutor for a day (in minor misdemeanor court, including traffic offenses).

The excuses I heard were hilarious. One guy made a right on red, and didn't stop for police, running in a McDonald's. The police report said that "upon entering the bathroom to apprehend the suspect, the officer heard moaning and dectected a foul odor from the stall. Upon existing the stall, the suspect complained of acute stomach pains and appeared sickly." Translation - dude had to take an emergency buffalo wing induced dump. We pled him down to a moving violation.

I really didn't have any power. The prosecutor had written what he wanted on the files (dismiss if shows, plead to fine only, reduce points if valid excuse, no reduction, etc.). Only on a few did he give me permission to reduce if I saw good cause. NO ONE had the chance of going to jail, only fines. It was a fun day.
Old 10-16-08, 02:07 PM
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You know Josh I have a friend that has gotten out of two tickets by telling the officer that he had a stomach and ache and was speeding to get to a bathroom. No ticket at all. I need to try this one.
Old 10-17-08, 03:40 PM
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I recorded this last night and just watched it. I've received 3 speeding tickets in my life but I always went to traffic school and paid a reduced fine so I was curious to see what traffic court was like. It was a pretty cheesy show but I enjoyed it. There are some really stupid people out there who apparently think they can get out of a ticket for any reason. It was cool to see the last guy get out of it with some nice evidence.

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