CT Speeding/Excess of 60

[ddiesel2006]

What is the name of your state? CT

I was issued a summons for speeding in excess of 60mph on a town road (I was supposedly clocked at 61 in a 35).

My appearance date is Dec. 6th, 2006, but I leave to go back to college on Dec. 2nd, an 8 hour away drive.

Whats my best bet? Can I get the appearance postponed until when I'm back home for christmas?

 

[JETX]

Whats my best bet?

Your best 'bet' is to follow the laws.

Can I get the appearance postponed until when I'm back home for christmas?

Hmmmm.... seems like a pretty good question to ASK THE COURT!!!!

 

[lwpat]

I think CT has this deal where if you pay the ticket it does not go on your record so no points and no insurance increase. Given your age that is probably your best option if it is available. Call the clerk of court and ask. Same for the continuance.

 

[ddiesel2006]

well, it was issued as a summons so i would HAVE to appear, there's no option for me to just pay it. do you think if i were to go in and talk to a prosecutor before the appear date, i could plead a no contest and be all set?

 

[cepe10]

CT sloppy in the speed measurements...

You may want to challenge the calibration...apparently CT has very incompentant LEO's with regard to presenting admissable evidence...

Connecticut Police Radar and Laser Guns Under Investigation
Radar and laser speed detection devices are under investigation in Connecticut after a review finds units in Southbury improperly calibrated.

Connecticut State PoliceConnecticut's Public Safety Commissioner has called for an audit of all devices used to ticket motorists for speeding in the state. A routine check performed in March uncovered evidence that the state police were using improperly calibrated speed detection equipment in Southbury. Several radar and laser had not been properly calibrated in more than two years. In at least one case, a device had never been calibrated. The guns themselves were not properly signed out when used.

A radar or laser gun can give a false reading by as much as 5 or 10 MPH if it falls out of calibration, causing motorists to receive tickets for offenses that they did not commit. Judges will dismiss a speeding case if the measuring device is found to have an expired calibration certificate.

The police in Southbury had issued 6800 tickets last year. Although state law prohibits quotas, troopers are expected to issue at least thirty tickets according to a May 18 memo obtained by the Hartford Courant. Officials refuse to refund tickets resulting from the uncalibrated radar and laser guns if they have already been paid.

 

[cepe10]

General Statutes § 14-219c provides: ‘‘A prima facie presumption of accuracy
sufficient to support a conviction under section 14-219 will be accorded
to a radar, speed monitoring laser, vascar device or any other speed monitoring
device approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety only upon testimony
by a competent police officer that: (1) The police officer operating
the radar, laser, vascar device or other device has adequate training and
experience in its operation; (2) the radar, laser, vascar device or other device
was in proper working condition at the time of the arrest, established by
proof that suggested methods of testing the proper functioning of the device
were followed; (3) the radar, laser, vascar device or other device was used
in an area where road conditions provide a minimum possibility of distortion;
(4) if moving radar was used, the speed of the patrol car was verified; and
(5) the radar, laser, vascar device or other device was expertly tested within
a reasonable time following the arrest, and such testing was done by means
which do not rely on the internal calibrations of such radar, laser, vascar
device or other device.’’

good reason to object to invalid testimony and evidence with improper foundation:
http://www.jud.state.ct.us/EXTERNAL/supapp/Cases/AROap/70ap385.pdf

 

[The Occultist]

Cepe, reread the OP's question: he's asking for a way to not have to go to his court date because he has to go back to school, and your responses do not help with that.

OP, as has already been suggested, contact the clerk of the court and direct your questions there.