California - Exhibition of Speed

[missamyrae]

What is the name of your state? California

Hi - here's my question...

A couple weeks ago my friend was out on a back road racing another friend. As they started the second race a CHP helicopter went up and saw them, followed my friend home and soon after the cops showed up. He received a ticket for Exhibition of Speed - I'm not sure if his ticket said CA VC Section 23109(a) OR CA VC Section 23109(c). He has no prior speeding tickets, this is the first (and only) time he's raced, the only real "trouble" he's been in is in the past week he had his old car towed after it recieved 3 tickets for parking for 72 hours +. He was in a 45mph zone and the cop wrote 70+ as his speed. He also got hit for having no proof of insurance, although his car is insured. The one thing that confused me about the ticket is - the CHP officer in the air is the one who saw the violation, however on the ticket the issuing officer did not mark that he did not witness the crime.

The girl he was racing admitted to the officer she was racing, but was just given a ticket for aiding or abetting racing.

Any advice on how he should proceed when he goes to court? Does he have a chance to have the violation changed?

[FlyingRon]

He might be able to get forgiveness on the failure to show insurance if he shows he did have insurance at his court date. That matters little, the racing charge is SERIOUS.

There's no requirement that the arresting officer be the one who witnessed the crime. He'll need to be there to testify in court on the charges though.

If nobody is injured and he has no priors it can be a day to 90 days in jail and/or fines between $355 and 1000.

[JIMinCA]

You mean the guy was in his house and the cops came and gave him a ticket? How do they know he was driving? The helo pilot will be the one who has to testify... how can he say who was driving?

Bottom line is... the guy probably spilled his guts when the cops came to the door. If he would have shut his mouth, they would not have been able to make a case.

I am sure he can still beat it. First, I'd do a discovery request and see if the helo pilot intends to show up in court. If not, things are looking good.

He needs to contest this and be smart about how he is doing it.

I'd be interested to know how the pilot got his speed. Was it by timing him between two points or just estimating? Your friend needs to provide a lot of details if he wants help.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by JIMinCA

I'd be interested to know how the pilot got his speed. Was it by timing him between two points or just estimating? Your friend needs to provide a lot of details if he wants help.

Excessive speed is not a required element of the offense. Since was not cited for speeding, this would not be too important.

- Carl

[JIMinCA]

Originally Posted by CdwJava

Excessive speed is not a required element of the offense. Since was not cited for speeding, this would not be too important.

- Carl

Maybe not, but it might. If he can show that a speed trap was used in the process, then no evidence of speed at all can be used as per 40803:

40803. (a) No evidence as to the speed of a vehicle upon a highway
shall be admitted in any court upon the trial of any person in any
prosecution under this code upon a charge involving the speed of a
vehicle when the evidence is based upon or obtained from or by the
maintenance or use of a speedtrap.

It is an interesting exercise and could prove to be an interesting defense. If a speed trap was used as defined by the VC, then the prosecution could use NO evidence as to speed. So, it would be quite a challenge for the prosecution to prove that a "speed contest" (as per 23109) was held if no evidence of speed were admissable.

It may not be the defense he wants to go with, but it is certainly worth looking at.

[lwpat]

What part of Carl's post did you not understand? Oh excuse me, you didn't understand any of it. My bad.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by JIMinCA

Maybe not, but it might. If he can show that a speed trap was used in the process, then no evidence of speed at all can be used as per 40803:

I've posted this before, but it applies here too:

Many moons ago, I was pulled over for "exhibition of speed" while driving my 1974 PINTO. It was a manual transmission and, being an inexperienced teen, I chirped the tires. I was driving exactly ZERO miles per hour when I chirped them, yet the "exhibition of speed" was an appropriate stop.

(if anyone cares, I was polite and respectful to the officer. He saw that the situation for what it was so I didn't actually receive a citation).

[JIMinCA]

Originally Posted by Zigner

I've posted this before, but it applies here too:

Many moons ago, I was pulled over for "exhibition of speed" while driving my 1974 PINTO. It was a manual transmission and, being an inexperienced teen, I chirped the tires. I was driving exactly ZERO miles per hour when I chirped them, yet the "exhibition of speed" was an appropriate stop.

(if anyone cares, I was polite and respectful to the officer. He saw that the situation for what it was so I didn't actually receive a citation).

Wow... exhibition of speed driving a 1974 Pinto. That is an oxymoron if I ever saw one!!!

[The Occultist]

Jim, you are giving poor advice based on a distinct lack of knowledge towards the law, AND the OP's situation, and you are also exhibiting a very low level of reading comprehension. Carl stated that excessive speed is not necessary to be convicted of exhibition of speed, and you retaliated that if the speed was not admissible in court that the charges couldn't hold up. Obviously you are incapable of connecting the dots here.

[JIMinCA]

Originally Posted by The Occultist

Jim, you are giving poor advice based on a distinct lack of knowledge towards the law, AND the OP's situation, and you are also exhibiting a very low level of reading comprehension. Carl stated that excessive speed is not necessary to be convicted of exhibition of speed, and you retaliated that if the speed was not admissible in court that the charges couldn't hold up. Obviously you are incapable of connecting the dots here.

1. I have a pretty good track record with the Vehicle code. I have participated in about 15 ticket defenses with a 100% win rate. What's your record?
3. I don't offer lectures to people who come here for help (like you do).
4. I don't hijack people's threads to bash other posters (like you do).
5. My post is for the benefit of the OP. It really is none of your business. Your derogatory comments are just indicative of the fact that you have some kind of inferiority complex that makes you want to degrade others so that you might feel superior.
6. I have read many of Carl's posts. I respect his inputs as he has a good bit of knowlege and experience. However, being a cop, he also comes with a certain bias. I think that my comments offer a good contrast to his. All of which is really none of your business (see number 5.

To the OP... I am really sorry that you are the victim of a thread hijacker. If you would like to PM me directly, I would be more than happy to share my experiences with you in the absence of busy bodies with short-man syndrome.