Need help fighting first speeding ticket in NY

[Ricardoro]

What is the name of your state? New York

On Saturday February 10 at around 5pm, I was issued a speeding ticket in the Garden State Parkway South in NY. The ticket was issued by a State Trooper and it states that I was going 77 on a 65 limit. The ticket was issued for the following reason:

- In violation of: NYS V and T Law
- Section Sub Section: 1180D
- Description: Speed in Zone


I was going on the left lane and there was a dark green/blue SUV tail gating me trying to pass me. On the right side of the road, there was a dark sedan (probably a Camry) that had just passed me from behind me and it was about 5 to 10 yards in front on the right lane. It is then that the Camry slowed drastically and I reacted similarly as a reflex move and I could see the Police vehicle around the curve under a bridge probably tagging the vehicles (about 30 to 50 yards in front of us. I was positively sure that the radar had tagged the Camry since it was the vehicle that was going faster to pass me and it was in the front and I was 5 to 10 yards behind.

After I passed the police vehicle, I slowed down and crossed lines to the right and I kept a 55 mph speed. The police vehicle seemed to have gone another vehicle and I did not pay attention and kept going at 55 mph. The I saw the police vehicle coming slowly next to me on the left and signalled me with his hand to pull over. The police was never behind me it with the lights. The police then stopped in front of me and not behind me and I did not understand his maneuver of never being behind my car. Then, I realized that the dark SUV that was tail-gating me had stopped behind me. The dark Camry that probably triggered the Radar was gone and I was given a ticket as well the dark SUV that was behind me.

I have a clean license and this is my first moving violation since almost 20 years of driving in NY and NJ.

Also, reviewing the ticket I noticed that there are errors such as:

1 – Plate number is missing 1 digit (the last digit)– I know parking tickets are dismissed by an error. Does that rule apply for moving violations too? The ticket is actually an 8 ½ by 11 fax paper and it is very clear the officer forgot to write the digit.

2 – Spelled “Lexs”, it should be “Lexus” – this is very minor but wanted to list all errors being big or small.

3 – The color was written as “White” and it is “Silver”. – this is also minor.

Questions:

I am very sure that I am innocent and I was not speeding or at least not 77. The Camry that was passing me was going a lot faster than me to pass me and it was in front. I am a very careful driver and I even took a defensive course without having the need to. I am going to fight this ticket but I would like to ask you some questions and advice to build my defense. I really appreciate in advance all your help and time reading this.

How can I defend myself for this injustice?

Does the police reading of Radar/Laser gun take pictures of objects it tagged? If so, this could help me tremendously by showing the Camry.

Can it be possible that the Radar/Laser gun can pick up many cars’ speed at the same time? If the gun only picks up the car first car it tags, then the Camry is the one that triggered it. If the gun cannot pick many objects and it has to tag one at a time, then how was the officer able to tag me, the dark SUV and the Camry so quickly? The Camry was in between my car the police car almost the whole time. Let me try to draw it.

I tried attaching the drawing of the scene but I cannot do it, so I saved a photo of graph in the following link:
[url]http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cool_rick28/album?.dir=59a3re2[/url]

Please check the drawing since it explains what happened. please give me feedback in editing the graph since I am planning to take it to court.

Do I have a defense to win the case. I strongly believe in justice and I will try to fight it to win the case? Am I dreaming here in a perfect world? Do I have to settle with the most advangeous outcome for all which is to pay the fines with no point? If so, how possible with my driving history?

Do I need a lawyer or should I go by myself?

I apologize for the long writing and the too many questions but the more I find our the better for me. Sorry for sounding selfish…

Thank you very much for your help…

[BelizeBreeze]

The facts speak for themselves. You were speeding. You got caught.

the errors on the ticket are irrelevant.

[Ricardoro]

This is america and everyone has their opinion and i respect yours.

Another question that i have is if I go to trial at the time quoted in the ticket, when is the latest time that I can make the call to ask to postpone the trial and ask for an attorney to represent me?

thanks

[racer72]

Another question that i have is if I go to trial at the time quoted in the ticket,

The time and date on the ticket if for a preliminary hearing. You will enter a plea and a court date will be set.

when is the latest time that I can make the call to ask to postpone the trial

Ask at the court when you appear for the hearing.

ask for an attorney to represent me?

Ask who for an attorney to represent you? Very few if any courts supply public defenders for traffic cases. If you need an attorney you will have to hire one yourself. Doing so as soon as possible is best, waiting till the last minute will likely get you a pissed off attorney that won't have the time to give you proper representation.

[BelizeBreeze]

Originally Posted by Ricardoro

This is america and everyone has their opinion and i respect yours.

Another question that i have is if I go to trial at the time quoted in the ticket, when is the latest time that I can make the call to ask to postpone the trial and ask for an attorney to represent me?

thanks

You ask for the postponement immediately upon the preliminary hearing. Once you have passed this stage and have not secured the services of an attorney, the judge is going to be pissed.

and no, your jurisdiction does not allow for court appointed attorney for a misdemeanor. You need to hire your own.

[seniorjudge]

Since when do speeding tickets have preliminary hearings?

[AlanShore]

New York State Trooper Speeding ticket is tough because they have dropped a plea bargaining policy. If you want to contest it in court, you must hire a lawyer for trial. Though this will most likely cost you more money then paying it (+ insuranc, though on a first ticket wont cost you too much). Trial isnt cheap.

[racer72]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

Since when do speeding tickets have preliminary hearings?

I assumed that was the standard, that is how it is done in my state. The time and date on the ticket is for a preliminary hearing and you have some options at these hearings.
1. Plead not guilty and get a trial date.
2. Prove the citation is defective and have the magistrate dismiss the charge.
3. Depending on your driving record, you and the attending prosecutor ask for deferred prosecution.
4. Plead guilty and ask for a payment plan to pay off the ticket.
5. This is also the time to ask for any subpoena's.

Each person gets about 2 minutes and depending on the crowd, it is just like a cattle call. There is usually one fairly experienced and 3 or 4 rookies prosecutors to handle the paperwork. If anyone doesn't show, which happens quite often, an FTA warrant is issued. From what I have seen, only about 1/3 of those at the hearing will have a trial date set, the others will be settled at this time.

[seniorjudge]

racer, what you are describing is an appearance.

A preliminary hearing is a probable cause hearing in a felony.

[camdenle]

It sounds like it was a moving reading so it was radar not lidar. The operator can not tell which object triggers the radar - it has a very wide beam. That is why tracking history is required.

see the highway safety deskbook. [url]http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/PEOPLE/INJURY/enforce/DESKBK.html#SMD[/url]

"One disadvantage of radar units is that, unless the operators have been properly trained, the wrong motorist can be cited for speeding. Radar has a wide beam combined with a range of three-fourths of a mile or more. Because the devices are not target-specific, but rely on the operator for accuracy, they are more difficult to use in congested traffic areas."

Based upon what you have described the officer did not have proper tracking histories of the vehicles he attempted to make measurements on.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by camdenle

It sounds like it was a moving reading so it was radar not lidar. The operator can not tell which object triggers the radar - it has a very wide beam. That is why tracking history is required.

see the highway safety deskbook. [url]http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/PEOPLE/INJURY/enforce/DESKBK.html#SMD[/url]

"One disadvantage of radar units is that, unless the operators have been properly trained, the wrong motorist can be cited for speeding. Radar has a wide beam combined with a range of three-fourths of a mile or more. Because the devices are not target-specific, but rely on the operator for accuracy, they are more difficult to use in congested traffic areas."

Based upon what you have described the officer did not have proper tracking histories of the vehicles he attempted to make measurements on.

In the entire post, what makes you think it was a "moving reading?" OP was clear (in his post and his diagram) that the police vehicle was stopped... Or, am I just misunderstanding your post?

[Zigner]

OP - If it was a 65 zone, why did you slow to 55?

[camdenle]

Based upon what you have posted here is the element the officer did not meet and did not follow his training to the IACP NHTSA standards...

Radar Case

In order for the officer to make a speeding case he needs to establish the following:

* Jurisdiction
* Date and time of the offence
* Roadway on which the offence occurred
* Posted Speed
* Identify the vehicle and the operator
* Tracking History
* Radar Reading



Tracking

The most important part of a radar case is a tracking history. The radar unit will display a number, and that's all. It doesn't tell the officer which vehicle it is, or if there's even a vehicle there. The officer has to track the vehicle to make sure that his observations match what the radar is showing him. Otherwise, the officer might stop the wrong vehicle or a common radar error might give an incorrect speed. In some jurisdictions, the officer has to visually estimate the violator's speed within 5 miles per hour.

The radar beam is a cone. It doesn't pick out individual vehicles. It can't even pick out individual lanes. The radar shows a speed based on three factors:

* Reflectivity
* Position
* Speed

This is generally referred to as biggest, closest, fastest. The radar usually picks up target that is the largest in its view. Therefore, it might pick up a motorcycle that was very close to it before a tractor-trailer a mile down the road. Many times the radar will display different speeds of different vehicles that are close together. The officer has to determine if he's getting a good reading, and if so which vehicles' speed is being displayed.

[You Are Guilty]

Ah, here we go again...

Originally Posted by camdenle

Based upon what you have posted here is the element the officer did not meet and did not follow his training to the IACP NHTSA standards...
...
The officer has to determine if he's getting a good reading, and if so which vehicles' speed is being displayed.

Care to guess how that's done in NYS? (I'll give you one clue - it has to do with one of the prerequisites of being radar certified.)

[seniorjudge]

I hate those ads on television claiming that there are "secret" programs that the credit card companies do not want you to know about.

Also, those ads (mostly done by lawyers) claiming that there are "secret" ways to protect your assets from Medicare/Medicaid.

No wonder people think there is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo that lawyers and judges won't tell the ordinary layman!

It's our (lawyers and judges) own fault!

We are afraid of making the law understandable!!!