• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

This Is Not Fair!!!!!!!

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

angela00

Junior Member
Here is what happened to my 16 year old friend today.

1. Got pulled over for going 27 in a 25 mph area, got a ticket.

2. He was asked to step out of the vehicle (w/o stating a reason why), got hand cuffed and put in the back seat of the police car (right next to a dog).

3. Police officer searched the car w/o permission. (of course nothing was found)

4. Got back into police car and told him that he could not drive back home. When my fried asked why, police officer simply said that "because you are a speeder!". Police officer took my friend back home (left his car in the parking lot), so he had to walk back to get his car.

5. Let me also mention the fact that my friend had every document on him: insurance, driver's licence, registration, even a certificate that he passed his driver's exam!!!!!!.

I told him that he should file a complaint and he is going to follow my advise. But...who is the judge going to belive? A police officer (lets say with a clean record and no previous history of complaints), or a 16 year old teenager???

If that police officer does it now and gets away with it, he/she will keep on doing that to other innocent people.

Can you please tell me exactly what that police officer did wrong? There is only 10 days to appear in court, so we need to file charges against that police officer before then.


PLEASE HELP!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO START!!!!
 


Leviticus

Member
Plead not guilty.

When it's your turn to cross-examine ask the officer what the tolerance for error is with his speed gun. When it was last calibrated etc. etc.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Start with an attorney.

A stop ONLY for 2 MPH over the limit is a little ridiculous and well within the tolerance for error of the radar.

Either something is missing, or, the officer has a lot of learning yet to do.

- Carl
 

Pugilist

Member
I agree that something may be missing.

Was there a reason why the officer might have thought that 27 was too fast for the conditions - was there ice, snow, etc?

And what state was it in.

Pug
 

sukharev

Member
CdwJava said:
Start with an attorney.

A stop ONLY for 2 MPH over the limit is a little ridiculous and well within the tolerance for error of the radar.

Either something is missing, or, the officer has a lot of learning yet to do.

- Carl
Say that again? I can guarantee you that at trial, the officer will be sworn in, then tell the judge that the radar was calibrated, tested properly and is an EXTREMELY ACCURATE device (+/- 1MPH or less). He will also testify he estimated speed visually before using the radar.

You can't fight this by saying it's ridiculous and officer was inexperienced. Being 16 years old, this guy needs to either pull himself together and fight with REAL tools, facts and evidence or get an attorney to do so. Then again, there is a slim chance prosecutor will show mercy and change it to parking ticket :mad:
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
sukharev said:
Say that again? I can guarantee you that at trial, the officer will be sworn in, then tell the judge that the radar was calibrated, tested properly and is an EXTREMELY ACCURATE device (+/- 1MPH or less). He will also testify he estimated speed visually before using the radar.
First, he can SAY it was calibrated and maintained, but if the defense has managed to obtain these documents or challenges the statement, it may be moot to make such a claim.

Second, the officer had best not make a statement about the accuracy of the advice. He can certainly TRY. But, if challenged, he is not an expert in the mechanics of the device and certainly cannot do any more than regurgitate his training; he woul dno tbe an expert qualified to offer an opinion on the accuracy of the device. Fortunately, he won't have to. And even if he does that he will find that there IS a wobble rate depending on his angle, position, etc. And his visual estimation training is either +/- 2 MPH or +/- 5 MPH - depending on the training he received.

His best defense would, of course, be an attorney.

But, as I said, it is a ridiculous stop - or seems to be. There is either something missing, or the officer is being far too hard nose and is likely to get spanked.

- Carl
 

sukharev

Member
The only time officer gets "spanked" is when a qualified attorney takes a shot at him. For regular folks, they get nailed and I have personally witnessed and heared from the judge things like "oh, yes, I know of this place, have been stopped there myself, so you are guilty", or officer saying "lidar device is extremely accurate, and is ALWAYS consistent with my visual estimation". As soon as you open your mouth to defend yourself, the judge interrupts saying "are you an expert?" or just plain does not let you say anything.

Now, that said I had seen good judges, too, who do give you opportunity to question officers and try some defenses. But, it always starts with intimidation by either officers or prosecutor, and you have to be strong to overcome that.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
sukharev said:
The only time officer gets "spanked" is when a qualified attorney takes a shot at him.
Not so. I can cite literally hundreds of instances where officers have been "spanked" in bench trials or even by their agency when no attorney has been involved. I myself have "spanked" officers for taking actions that were contrary to the intent of the law and the goals fo the department.

It isn't true that they only get hit when an attorney takes a shot at him.


For regular folks, they get nailed and I have personally witnessed and heared from the judge things like "oh, yes, I know of this place, have been stopped there myself, so you are guilty", or officer saying "lidar device is extremely accurate, and is ALWAYS consistent with my visual estimation". As soon as you open your mouth to defend yourself, the judge interrupts saying "are you an expert?" or just plain does not let you say anything.
Then hire an attorney. If someone wants to challenge the veracity of the machine they will need to obtain very expensive and very knowledgeable legal assistance. By and large, radar and lidar devices are considered accurate and have received judicial notice everywhere that I am aware of.

Traffic court is the 7-11 of the court system. If someone wants to play Perry Mason in traffic court they could find themselves on the wrong side of a contempt charge unless they know what they are doing and are familiar with the particular court.


- Carl
 

sukharev

Member
Boy, Carl, once again I am amaized by your somewhat naive view on this issue. Maybe where you live it is, indeed, the way things are done, but by enlarge, officer's word is taken for granted. It is no coincidence that many of the posts here are 2 MPH over the threshold of some kind (like reckless charge in VA, for example). In reality, they can put down any speed they wanted to, and the driver has absolutely no way to contest it with solid evidence. Even if you have passengers, their word means little and they are not considered credible (did not watch speedometer, biased, etc.).

Now, I am thinking of putting a digital camcoder into my car, so that I, too have a solid evidence when it comes to the traffic stop.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
sukharev said:
Boy, Carl, once again I am amaized by your somewhat naive view on this issue.
Naive? Huh ... and here I thought this was the world I lived in.


Maybe where you live it is, indeed, the way things are done, but by enlarge, officer's word is taken for granted.
Generally, you are right. For a host of reasons this IS the case. I don't think I have implied otherwise.


It is no coincidence that many of the posts here are 2 MPH over the threshold of some kind (like reckless charge in VA, for example).
"Many" posts? I must have missed them. This is the first 2 MPH over the limit post I have seen in a while ... though, admittedly, I do not read every post.

And my guess is that if you find a 2 MPH over the limit stop, there is either something else going on or it is a pretext stop for another purpose (someone left a drug house, for instance, and the officers want him identified). But making a stop at 2 MPH is pretty iffy on the reasonable suspicion scale and anything discovered in such a stop is at risk of being tossed at a suppression hearing if something more than speeding is alleged later on.

It is bad practice to make such poorly substantiated stops for just such a reason ... you risk losing evidence of other crimes by doing so.


In reality, they can put down any speed they wanted to, and the driver has absolutely no way to contest it with solid evidence. Even if you have passengers, their word means little and they are not considered credible (did not watch speedometer, biased, etc.).
In theory, sure this can happen. But then the question becomes, "Why?" Why would an officer make this stuff up? I know that there are a few that do ... and they shouldn't be wearing a badge. But I know that out here we don't get a toaster for every fifth citation we write, and we sure as heck don't get a bonus for a cite. I can write just about as many citations in a day that I want ... it only matters how petty I want to be.


Now, I am thinking of putting a digital camcoder into my car, so that I, too have a solid evidence when it comes to the traffic stop.
Be sure to face it in the right direction to catch the officer's smiling face as he approaches.

- Carl
 

Pugilist

Member
We should stop discussing this until Angela Oh! Oh! (the OP) comes back and tells us the missing part of the story.

Pug
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top