LIDAR speeding ticket

What is the name of your state? MA

I got a ticket going 80 in MA, which sucks because every one in MA goes 80. The ticket says the cop used LIDAR. I own a calibration lab and have see exaples everyday that show that most people don't understand calibration or traceability, so I thought I'd look into their calibration as a means to debunk the ticket.

Right off the bat I noticed that the ticket doesn't list any identifying information on which detector (if the dept. owns many) was used. Without that information there isn't any way to prove traceability/accuracty to a standard. However, there are ways around this.

I've read that many departments only calibrate a few of their detectors and when summoned to court just bring the certificate for the calibrated detector. What I want to know is, is there any way to determine how many detectors a department has? If there is, and if even one of their detectors failed the last calibration, it would be impossible for them to prove that the detector that failed the calibration wasn't the one used on me.

Oh, also, when the cop asked me how fast I was going I said 80. It was really more like 84. But on the ticket he wrote 80. Why would he ask me and then write down what I said. Wouldn't his LIDAR tell him how fast I was really going?

Oh, also, when the cop asked me how fast I was going I said 80. It was really more like 84.

You were speeding...pay your ticket.



Standard answer

Here are some hints on appearing in court:

Dress professionally in clean clothes.

Do not wear message shirts.

Don't chew gum, smoke, or eat.

Bathe and wash your hair.

Do not bring small children or your friends.

Go to court beforehand some day before you actually have to go to watch how things go.

Speak politely and deferentially. If you argue or dispute something, do it professionally and without emotion.

Ask the court clerk who you talk to about a diversion (meaning you want to plead to a different, lesser charge), if applicable in your situation. Ask about traffic school and the ticket not go on your record, if applicable.


Here are five stories that criminal court judges hear the most (and I suggest you do not use them or variations of them):

1. I’ve been saved! (This is not religion specific; folks from all kinds of religious backgrounds use this one.)

2. My girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled and needs my help.

3. I’ve got a job in [name a state five hundred miles away].

4. This is the first time I ever did this.

5. You’ve got the wrong guy. (A variation of this one is the phantom defendant story: “It wasn’t me driving, it was a hitchhiker I picked up. He wrecked the car, drug me behind the wheel then took off.”)

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=854687#post854687

Public defender’s advice

http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/70300494.html


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.

You admitted you were doing 80. That is all the officer needs.

So what if I was actually speeding. Everyone who gets a ticket was speeding. Not all of them cave and pay the ticket. Anyway, that's not the point. And it doesn't matter if I told the cop I was going 80. He didn't record my voice saying that, and the ticket doesn't say that the "80" he wrote down was from my admission or from what he saw on the LIDAR.

So back to my origianal question. How can I find out how many LIDAR guns a department has?

brian123 said:

So what if I was actually speeding. Everyone who gets a ticket was speeding. Not all of them cave and pay the ticket. Anyway, that's not the point. And it doesn't matter if I told the cop I was going 80. He didn't record my voice saying that, and the ticket doesn't say that the "80" he wrote down was from my admission or from what he saw on the LIDAR.

So back to my origianal question. How can I find out how many LIDAR guns a department has?

Click to expand...

It's called "discovery". I hear there are a lot of good books on how it works available on the internet. Probably your best bet.