i need to know if

i need to know if a police officer doesn't see u doing something can he still give u a ticket. this is what happened....... me and another girl were driving to a friends house and she went to pass me..... i slowed down so she could get infront of me cause another was coming...... she stayed in that lane till she saw a cop and slammed on her brakes infront of him... i pulled over cause i was at my friends house by this time........ when the op pulled her over she told him she was racing me to get there. i got a mandatory court apperence for racing on a highway. will this fall through in court? do i need a lawyer? i got this on the 5th and the court date is for this tues...s omeone help quick please

Nothing like waiting till the last minute. No, a police office does not have to witness the violation for you to be cited. And depending on what the girl does (was she cited too?) may have an influence on the outcome of your court appearance. Unless you can come up with some positive proof, you are dead meat.

With all due respect to racer, a police officer generally must witness the cited violation. If he issues the ticket solely on someone elses word, that is heresay and the ticket can generally be dismissed when the defendant starts to question the officer on the stand and it becomes obvious that he didn't witness the violation (can't testify as to speeds, directions, actual drivers, etc.).

However, assuming that this is a 'demonstration of speed' ticket (for racing), the situation is a little different. All the officer has to testify to is that he saw the vehicle(s) in what appeared to his experienced eye to be racing (race starter, smoking tires, excessive speed, side-by-side, etc.) and he really doesn't have to testify as to the specifics.

In my experience, you are probably going to get 'the hammer' since he only has to offer that in his opinion, you were in a 'demonstration of speed'.

Halket, I based my answer on a front page story in todays local newspaper concerning police departments using photo tickets and the whether a police officer must witness a traffic offense in order to write a citation. The story said that in most states traffic citations are valid even if the police officer does not witness the violation. Examples given include DUI cases where the drivers is behind the wheel of a non-moving vehicle and speed traps where the officer that writes the citation was not the officer that observed the violation. And we have seen many posts right here on this board where folks have been issued citations based upon information given to officers by other citizens. And as we know, in traffic court your are guilty unless you can prove innocence. And in my state the citing officer does not even have to appear in court where the citation amount is less than $450.

With all due respect, I base mine on four years as a patrol officer (back in the late 60's). Though a long time ago, the basic premise is the same.

However, your example is based on photo identification. That, and the fact that most state laws had to be modified to allow them, is why an officer doesn't have to actually witness those violations. And as you have noted, there are some cases (like being DUI while sitting behind the wheel in a public roadway) where the evidence is sufficient to at least issue the citation. Now, whether that citation would hold up in court is another matter.

I also remember back when Arizona and New Mexico used airplanes and helicopters to 'clock' speeding vehicles out on the open highway. The officer in the aircraft would radio a ground unit who would stop the vehicle and issue a citation. This worked fine until someone took the initiative and challenged the validity of the ticket and it was thrown out due to it being a "heresay violation". Then the state police came up with the idea of writing the badge number and name of the officer in the aircraft as the citing officer and the ground unit as 'backup'. That worked for a while until someone challenged its validity and they were tossed. Note: the state still uses aircraft to monitor speeds.... if you get a ticket, make sure that the citing officer is the same one as gave you the ticket!!

An officer has to witness the violation (or have allowed proof as photo or Vascar) in order to issue a ticket.

i got the ticket on the sunday ... yesterday that just past and my court date is tomorrow... tuesday so i didn't wait till the last minute but ..... the officer did not even see my car period. he didn't even know i was there at all until the girl had said she was speeding because she was "racing" me. which is total bull so i dunno thanks for the help