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samboct -> RE: Getting out of a ticket due to Officer's mistake? (9/17/2007 8:10:28 AM)
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As someone who's gotten a few tickets in his life, and fought a few, won a couple, and lost some too, here are my observations and comments.
1) Writing tickets is revenue generation. Depends on the state, but as a lark, trying finding where this revenue actually goes. In CT, it's not so easy- and the state gets some $50M/yr.
2) DominaSmarttushie- you are quite correct- setting speed limits is extremely arbitrary. People tend to drive the speed they feel is correct for the condition- a speedometer is a useless piece of equipment for an experienced driver.
3) I once heard a lecture from MaryAnne Foxe (President of the American Chemical Society) about the idea that "everybody knows that speeding is unsafe." when she chased down the data. Overall, per mile traveled, there has been a steady decrease in fatalities over the years. The suggestion that "speed kills" was from the 1970s, when the speed limit was dropped to 55 mph on the interstates due to the oil crunch. Higher speeds DO chew up more gas- no question. After the law was passed, there was a minor drop in fatalities, which was widely trumpeted by the people who get money from speeding tickets as a rationale for radar units and cruisers on the highway. However, there were larger drops seen in years that end in 0 for example, and the following year, the number of fatalities increased to greater than the last year where the speed limit was 70 mph. In science, we have a name for data like this. It's called- "noise". Long term trends can be seen, but nothing valid on a year to year basis.
In terms of fighting tickets- from my experience, the situation really stinks here in CT. The last time I fought a ticket, I went before a judge- when I was told that the conviction wasn't based on science, and that a science based defense wouldn't work. Well, that was the only thing I had, so I used it. I tore the cop apart- it was quite clear that he had no idea of how the radar gun worked, or more importantly it's limitations. ( the radar unit had picked off the SUV behind me who was accelerating- I had been legit- so believe me, I was pissed.) I'd also enquired about getting a lawyer- I got told where I had to fight it, I was just as likely to win, or most likely lose, on my own. Which translated to-I was done. I spent several days preparing- and the trial took an hour or so. By the end, the judge told me that had a science based defense been possible, I had given it the old college try, and it would have worked, but since it wasn't, I got to pay $100. When I told the judge that I was there doing my duty as a citizen and wanted to know why, his comment was that he wasn't a lawyer, and didn't have to explain the law to me.
As an aside, my first hand experience convinced me that any prosecutor I met was venal, arrogant, and complacent, and shouldn't be trusted with the life of a gerbil- never mind a human being. Since these were the same people that would deal with serious offences, anybody that says that we have a good system of justice in this country is sadly misinformed. The platitude for mediocrity out of these people is "our legal system isn't perfect, but it's the best we've got."
Concrete suggestions-
1) call the court clerk (believe it or else, this person is the one who's probably the closest friend you can get), and find out what the batting averages are. If this would be a jury trial, you'd have a fighting prayer- because the cop has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he got the right car and individual and most people would look askance at a cop that couldn't tell a Ford from a Chevy- especially in Nascar country. If he can't identify the make and model of the car correctly, that's a pretty good start that he was incompetent or at least somewhat incapacitated that evening. Odds are you'll do better in suggesting the officer "had a bad day" than anything else- they don't want to be told the system stinks- odds are they know it already.
2) Remember that you DON'T testify. Tell the judge that you've got a few friends who are lawyers, and that you'll stand pat on your presumption of innocence. The prosecutor is a professional, and you're afraid to give him/her a chance to chew you up. There's nothing that says that you have to.
3) You need to chew the cop up. He's got to be absolutely certain, that he got the right car- but since he wrote the make and model down incorrectly- ask him about that. Why would he make such a mistake? What else was he mistaken about that evening? Find somebody and practice-as the TV show Shark points out- the legal system is theatre- you want to be rehearsed. Hopefully you chew the cop up- and you're done. Say nothing else. The judge asking you nicely if there's anything you'd like to say in your own defense is a trap. The judge is NOT on your side, but may have to follow at least some of the legal guidelines of this country. Also remember that you can be politely indignant- you're not asking for a favor- you've done nothing wrong! They've made a mistake. Just don't overdo it-(easier said than done.)
4) Do find out independently about whether or not points if Florida will show up on your insurance. The ticket is probably cheap compared to a 25% hike in insurance premiums for 3-5 years.
5) If the cop is a no/show and they request that you reschedule- ask for travel expenses politely. Use the IRS guidelines for mileage. That's worked for me in the past.
If you're feeling adventurous, try this defense on. It's one that I came up with after the last one didn't work, so it's got no track record.
1) You're entitled to see all the evidence against you. This means the radar unit- you want the make/model year, calibration (which in CT was a sick joke.) and perhaps most importantly- it's product specification sheet from the manufacturer. You'll have to call or better yet, write a letter in advance of your trial.
2) You won't get it- the mfg's consider this secret and won't give it out.
3)Your argument is as follows- the cop merely reads the numbers displayed on the radar unit. If you don't want to be antagonistic, you can say, it's unlikely that he screwed it up- although he managed not to get your car right!
4) Using an analogy though- if you go grocery shopping, and you fill a basket, and you think the total should be around $50, but the clerk asks for $75, you'd ask to see an accounting- not just the final number. Well, the radar unit doesn't just magically come up with your speed- it has to do several calculations. You want to see the raw numbers that went in to check it's calculations- hell tell, the judge you've got a science geek subbie that would do this for you happily. If the radar unit spec sheet isn't available- you have no way to check it's calculations- nor any way to figure out if it was being used correctly. You can also point out that in your experience, manfucturers claims that are secret often don't live up to their advertising in practice. Since you are supposed to be able to examine the evidence against you, having secret spec sheets isn't kosher- but doesn't seem to have been much of a fly in the money machines ointment.
Good luck-
Sam
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