Can Judge fined you guily when Cop did not show?

[Odie]

What is the name of your state? Iowa

So here is my question:
I was ticketed by an over-achiever young DNR officer for speeding with my boat- which is completely incorrect.

I went to court on the date indicated on the ticket, He did not show. Should it not have been thrown out?

The Judge said she wanted to hear his side of the story and re-scheduled the hearing for October.

1) the officer was a summer intern- so most likely will not be in the area come October. Found out he was being over picky about writing tickets ( the issue really relatest to distances between boats, law says you must be going less then 5MPH when within 100 feet of another boat going less then 5MPH, he said I was maybe 80 feet and I know I could have been only doing 10MPH max)

He has since stopped writing tickets except for serious offencies.

I had expected the case to be thrown out, as the officer was not present ( as is the case for all other violations of this nature).

So, if he does not show up ( even if he does, how will he recall the conditions around the event, its my word against his. ) can the judge find me guilty?

Can I ask for a new Judge ( I think this one was biased, with a comment that she made)

Does anyone know where I can look up the law that states the officer must be present or the case is dropped. ( so I can cite that next time and ask for it to be dismissed).

ThanksWhat is the name of your state?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? Iowa

So here is my question:
I was ticketed by an over-achiever young DNR officer for speeding with my boat- which is completely incorrect.

I went to court on the date indicated on the ticket, He did not show. Should it not have been thrown out?

The Judge said she wanted to hear his side of the story and re-scheduled the hearing for October.

1) the officer was a summer intern- so most likely will not be in the area come October. Found out he was being over picky about writing tickets ( the issue really relatest to distances between boats, law says you must be going less then 5MPH when within 100 feet of another boat going less then 5MPH, he said I was maybe 80 feet and I know I could have been only doing 10MPH max)

He has since stopped writing tickets except for serious offencies.

I had expected the case to be thrown out, as the officer was not present ( as is the case for all other violations of this nature).

So, if he does not show up ( even if he does, how will he recall the conditions around the event, its my word against his. ) can the judge find me guilty?

Can I ask for a new Judge ( I think this one was biased, with a comment that she made)

Does anyone know where I can look up the law that states the officer must be present or the case is dropped. ( so I can cite that next time and ask for it to be dismissed).

ThanksWhat is the name of your state?

**A: no, the judge can not fined you.

 

[moburkes]

The judge will simply reschedule the court date.

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: So, if he does not show up ( even if he does, how will he recall the conditions around the event, its my word against his. ) can the judge find me guilty?

A: Yes, if the evidence is good enough; no, if not.


Q: Can I ask for a new Judge ( I think this one was biased, with a comment that she made)

A: Yes.


Q: Does anyone know where I can look up the law that states the officer must be present or the case is dropped. ( so I can cite that next time and ask for it to be dismissed).

A: I know of no such law, but visit your local law library and research it.

 

[GulfBreeze]

The judge will simply reschedule the court date.

never have seen that....if their witness doesnt show up, it gets dismissed....period.

 

[moburkes]

never have seen that....if their witness doesnt show up, it gets dismissed....period.

OP gave an example in the original post:

I went to court on the date indicated on the ticket, He did not show. Should it not have been thrown out?

The Judge said she wanted to hear his side of the story and re-scheduled the hearing for October.

 

[GulfBreeze]

OP gave an example in the original post:

I will tell you from my own experience....The judge will dismiss it if the cop isnt there. If they don't show up, the case has no proof and why would the judge reschedule it? What would you suppose the judge would do if the other person didnt show up?lol

No cop, no witness. What case would they have? NONE

maybe in your STATE that is what they do, but not in AZ, FL, VA, TX and AL

 

[GulfBreeze]

Did you miss the part where the original poster stated they were from Iowa?

oops, my bad....I forgot Iowa wasnt one of our 50 states. Laws may be different there, but I am sure that simple issues like traffic tickets are not dragged on for several hearing just to give the other side more chances. They are aware of the court date and if they are like the states mentioned, the COPS have this date as a court date and are required to show up. If they don't, the judges dismiss them. But you are right, Iowa may still be lost in the dinosaur days....lol

 

[dcatz]

I will tell you from my own experience

Meaning relevancy is limited to your experience.

Without knowing the reason for the no-show, this is all pretty academic.

Vacation = highly probable dismissal. Emergency roll-out = highly probable continuance.

Intangible factors:
How egregious the violation appeared on the citation.
Conduct of the defendant (surprisingly, judges can get ticked off and “punish” by giving The People a second bite. It’s within the bench officer’s discretion, and will stand up to a challenge on appeal.)

As to “my word against his”, most officers make notations of discussions had at the time. Anything unfavorable or an implied admission will get in as an “admission against self-interest”. (Besides, it's in and the case moving on before the defendant thinks about whether he could/should object.)

More and more, officers are carrying pocket recorders for the same reason.

Worse than that, a trained officer can recite the elements of the charged violation and the observations and circumstances leading to the citation as if playing a record. Few, if any, defendants are as competent.

 

[GulfBreeze]

actually, what happens here in my county is...you have a certain time to request a trial date for your ticket. the court then sets a date and usually subpoenas the cop as the witness for the state. he is required to show up. if he doesn't for some reason, they dismiss it.

now, in AZ, pima county, they have a bulk date on the ticket. you show up with lots of others and they go down the line. if your cop isn't there (usually on a date he works) but could be on his day off, he might even go on vacation or leave...thus not there and they dismiss it.

is this the case everywhere nope. am i concern about the laws and procedures of every court in the USA? nope...

 

[dcatz]

is this the case everywhere nope. am i concern about the laws and procedures of every court in the USA? nope...

We would all agree that the prosecution has the burden of proving its case.

If the OP in Iowa was able to extrapolate more and benefit further from the anecdotes about other states, the insights were surely rewarding.

 

[Odie]

Thanks all for your replies;

I will be going back on the new date. But if he does not show up, what should I do? prepare the case, and indicate that what was written on the ticket was wrong? or just ask for it to be dismissed?

The funny thing was that the issue relates to boating: The law stated that you must be 100feet from a stopped boat to go faster then 5MPH. I said I was, he said I was only 80 feet! wonder how he can judge distance of that accuracy for across the river ( 1000 feet or so.)

So I was written as speeding ( doing 10mph) and he said that he has to give me a ticket.

I doubt that he will show up.

 

[seniorjudge]

...
wonder how he can judge distance of that accuracy for across the river ( 1000 feet or so.)
....

He is an expert witness trained in such things.

That's what the prosecution will say.

By the way, judges live by the motto, "You can't get reversed for giving a continuance!"

 

[Zigner]

am i concern about the laws and procedures of every court in the USA? nope...

Whether you are concerned or not really means nothing - UNTIL you start giving misleading (at best) advice.

 

[marbol]

Thanks all for your replies;

I will be going back on the new date. But if he does not show up, what should I do? prepare the case, and indicate that what was written on the ticket was wrong? or just ask for it to be dismissed?

Well, In your state there may be a little something about being given the right to confront and cross examine your accuser in court. If he doesn't show up, and the case goes ahead, remind the judge that it's your right to confront and cross-examine your accuser. If that person isn't there, it's usually case dismissed. At least here in Texas it is. Your state might be in the dinosaur days as some people have guessed. In that case, you can say your name is Barney Rubble.