late for court

[jvrenova]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania I had a hearing today about a red light ticket. The officer was 25 minutes late. I was told if I was 15 minutes late I would be found guilty. The magestrate did nothing about it. Should it have been dismissed.

 

[Bravo8]

No, it should not have been dismissed. The Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure state that the absence of the issuing officer shall not be the sole reason for a dismissal. Granted, most Magistrates will in fact dismiss the ticket if the officer does not show up, and I'm not sure what the Legislature was thinking when they enacted that rule. What is the Judge supposed to do when there exists no one to testify on the Commonwealth's behalf?

Anyway, is it possible that the officer notified the court that he was running a little behind?