In part one of this two-part series, KATU Reporter Anna Song showed you how traffic court judges say you can lower your fine when you go to traffic court. Now, KATU follows three Portland residents as they make their way all the way to trial.

PORTLAND, Ore. - At the end of each Multnomah County traffic court session there may be one or two people who opt for a trial.

"Folks have a right to try a case if they don't feel they did it, right, wrong or indifferent," said Judge Michael Zusman.

"There are cases where a person truly did not do anything wrong," said Judge Steven Todd, "and those people get found not guilty."

"Plus," said Judge Gregg Lowe. "You're not going to lose anything if you're found guilty. The fine is going to be essentially the same."

In one case KATU followed, a man was ticketed for speeding through a Portland neighborhood. In another case, police stopped a woman on Interstate 205 for doing 75 miles per hour in a 55 miles-per-hour zone. In the third case KATU followed, a mom was pulled over on the freeway doing 72 miles per hour in an area zoned 55. 

Each defendant used a different strategy to try to win their case.

The first guy drew on the in-court whiteboard. His drawing illustrated for the judge how he was ticketed while speeding to approach a freeway onramp, which happens to be at the end of a residential street.

"So it's much of  a trap there," the man said. "You need to accelerate to get onto the freeway."

This second woman used just her testimony, saying there were other cars nearby traveling much faster that day - even weaving around her.

"I just was pretty adamant that officers ticketed the wrong vehicle that day," she said.

The other woman calls her son and his friend as witnesses, since they were passengers.

"It was impossible to go that fast, that's all I remember," her son said in court.

There were tears as the mother talked about one of the officers throwing her ticket through the window.

"It made me sad," she said. "But he said, 'I'll see you in court, sorry.'"

A major problem in her defense comes when one of her witnesses contradicts her testimony about where the testified traffic backup began. Not good.

Judge Michael Zusman also didn't appear to buy the other woman's argument about other cars being the actual speeders.

And Judge Gregg Lowe decides the man who testified in the first case was simply going too fast - despite potential problems with how the whole situation was set up.

"I've got to enter a finding of guilty," Lowe said in court.

It's guilty, guilty, guilty for all three defendents.

"It's a long process," said the man after court. "I think it's a big waste of time."

The results for all aren't exactly promising for others who want to try their cases. The good news? One of the defendents in the cases above had the fine lowered.

The judges told KATU that at least 90 percent of people who fight their ticket with a trial lose. Primarily it's because of the technology - the laser, radar or photo radar - that puts them at a severe disadvantage. The judges said that the ones who win do so because they really weren't guilty.

Catch up on part one: "Beat the ticket: Pay it or fight it?"
 

 Web Extra: Tips from the bench