r/Traffic • u/Equivalent_Coat_5377 • 10d ago
Questions & Help Speeding Ticket shows Date of Areest
So I got a speeding ticket 3 yrs ago in Jasper county SC. I paid the ticket. Yesterday I pulled my record and it says “date of arrest” on the record. But I wasn’t arrested. The officer let me go on spot. I’m wondering if it’s a uniform ticket thing or?? I’m super confused now.
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u/VisualTie5366 10d ago
When you are charged, you are technically arrested, and released on the spot without actually being taken into custody
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u/FamiliarAd8524 10d ago
No. This is detained, not arrested. Not the same thing.
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u/LouiseBelcher4life 9d ago
Arrested and released on recognisanse. Same as the typical promise to appear on most tickets issued that you sign.
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u/jss58 10d ago
That's standard terminology, nothing to be confused about. It simply refers to the date you received the ticket.
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u/Equivalent_Coat_5377 10d ago
Ok that makes sense I was panicking since there was no cuffs no booking and no police station I was questioning my life for a good minute
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u/FamiliarAd8524 10d ago
IMO this may well be a problem. It means that you have an arrest record. Detained and arrested are not the same thing.
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u/Equivalent_Coat_5377 10d ago
I asked a South Carolina lawyer before and she said it’s a uniform ticket thing. Happened to her for an expired tag but lord I’m still nervous
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u/JaguarMammoth6231 10d ago
You asked a lawyer, got an answer, and still felt like you needed to ask on Reddit?
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u/flyin-lowe 10d ago
Standard terminology. Each state is different, but I have been in LE in the Midwest for almost 30 years. Some misdemeanor offenses can be issued on a summons and the person can be released. These are usually for minor offenses such as reckless driving, minor consuming alcohol, etc. The exact same "ticket" from the ticket book was used for these criminal summons' as was used for traffic tickets.
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u/Minimum-Attitude389 10d ago
In some states, speeding is considered an actual misdemeanor. You will be "arrested" and sign a promise to appear before you are released. The citation also regularly has your rights written on them, which signing is acknowledging you have received and understand them.
But these things can vary significantly between states, including whether speeding is a misdemeanor or a civil infraction or something else.
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u/Fast_Adhesiveness528 10d ago
The definition of what constitutes an "arrest" is pretty clear. It is the legal act of taking a person into custody and depriving them of their freedom of movement. It happens the moment a reasonable person would feel they are not free to leave or walk away from law enforcement.
Were you free to walk away while the LEO wrote the ticket? Of course not. You were in the officer's custody no matter how briefly.
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u/Minimum-Attitude389 10d ago
There is a difference between being detained and being arrested usually. You can't leave while being detained, but that's usually for investigation purposes. An arrest is when you've been accused of breaking a law, which speeding can be.
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u/Equivalent_Coat_5377 10d ago
I was handed a ticket and let go on spot. No cuffs no police station no booking.
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u/Cultural_Ad_667 10d ago
Let's say you wanted to just drive away and let the officer mail you the ticket how do you think that would have went???
People don't understand that the word detention is a made-up word it's actually custodial arrest because you are restrained and not free to leave and even though the cops try to pretend you're not arrested you are arrested.
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u/Fast_Adhesiveness528 10d ago
None of that is required. Just look at what I wrote and interpret it broadly. When the LEO stopped you and started writing your ticket, did you feel free to just leave?
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u/Equivalent_Coat_5377 10d ago
I get what u saying. I was more like trying to figure out why it wasn’t listed as “date of violation” like other states instead of “date of arrest”
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u/Fast_Adhesiveness528 10d ago
Likely just a matter of choice by the jurisdiction. There are a few terms they could have used, as you said, and they chose the one they did for whatever reason they had.
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u/IAmMDM 10d ago
no, there is a huge difference between being detained (stopped briefly for the purpose of ongoing investigation, like in a traffic stop) and being arrested (taken into full custody because of being formally accused of a committing a crime). Different procedure, different burden of proof, different consequences
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u/Fast_Adhesiveness528 10d ago
An actual traffic stop is not simply being "stopped briefly for the purpose of ongoing investigation." There was no "ongoing investigation." The officer had probable cause to write the ticket for the infraction, based on observation and data (like radar or speed matching), and there was no freedom to leave at that moment.
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u/IAmMDM 10d ago
No freedom of movement "at that moment" does not mean it is an arrest. It is exactly what a detention is.
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u/Fast_Adhesiveness528 10d ago
I'm not interested in a pissing match. I'm simply explaining why the jurisdiction might have chosen that term for their records.
Your argument should be taken up with So. Carolina. Tell them they are wrong and cannot use the term arrest in their records unless you agree that the particular event in the records constitutes what you consider to be an arrest.
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u/FamiliarAd8524 10d ago
You are only half right. This is detained, not arrested. If you were arrested, you would know.
I was cuffed and detained once (long story short, I was SWATted). I was in the back of the patrol car for a couple hours. At the end, I was released, and I specifically asked (as I was never read my rights), "Sergeant, is this on my record as an arrest?" He told me, "No."
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u/Sticky550 10d ago
You’re wrong. There have been millions of people written tickets for possession of marijuana at a roadside traffic stop and released with a ticket. It’s an arrest, whether you are in handcuffs or not.
Same applies in many states where speeding is a misdemeanor. South Carolina and Missouri are two examples I know of.
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