What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
A few weeks ago I was cited for "Failure to Stop at Designated Point - Stop Sign". The officer said I stopped when making a left turn at the curb cut instead of the stop line.
At the time of the citation, I told him he wrote the wrong address block on the ticket, but he said he was right, I was wrong, and filed the ticket as is. In hindsight, I don't know why I complained....
I read the city ordinances that said: "Director of _____ shall supervise the erection and maintenance of stop signs or yield signs as specified by the city council and maintain an inventory of such signs."
I e-mailed him and found out he never maintained such a list and he forwarded me to a different department that he said did. Of course, they didn't.
This is another part of city code:
"An inventory of all traffic control signs installed shall be maintained by the city. The inventory shall show the location of each sign, date of installation, and other pertinent information applicable to each sign. Future installations, removals, or maintenance of the traffic control devices shall be entered in the inventory as they occur."
In the meantime, I noticed the same city code said the City Council may "by ordinance designate any street intersection as a stop intersection and designate the streets upon which vehicles shall stop before entering such intersections." So I e-mailed the city secretary asking when the ordinance was passed and if I could get the minutes/agenda of said council meeting.
I was surprised when she responded with an ordinance for a location about 1400 feet way on a different but intersecting street. I obtained a copy of the ordinance and it said that the stop sign should be located at the intersection of "XYZ Blvd and a Office Park Entrance" NNN feet away from the intersection of ABC and XYZ Blvds". However, the stop sign is actually located NNN feet in a different direction from the intersection of ABC Road and an Office Park Entrance NNN feet from the intersection of XYZ Blvd". The map attached to the ordinance shows the current sign location, but the street names obviously don't match the wording of the ordinance. The ordinance was read twice by the Mayor on video tape with the opposite street names and it was documented in the minutes that the street names were not the same as where the sign is posted today. The location specified in the ordinance has never had a stop sign.
My case revolves around this this part of Texas State Code:
Title 7, Subtitle C, Chapter 544:
Sec. 544.004. COMPLIANCE WITH TRAFFIC-CONTROL DEVICE.
(a) The operator of a vehicle or streetcar shall comply with an applicable official traffic-control device placed as provided by this subtitle unless the person is:
(1) otherwise directed by a traffic or police officer; or
(2) operating an authorized emergency vehicle and is subject to exceptions under this subtitle.
(b) A provision of this subtitle requiring an official traffic-control device may not be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation the device is not in proper position and sufficiently legible to an ordinarily observant person. A provision of this subtitle that does not require an official traffic-control device is effective regardless of whether a device is in place..
City code has a similar passage as the one above.
At this point, I have let the city know that the ordinance contained an error and received confirmation they will rectify it this month. I got that via e-mail, plus it is in the posted council agenda and specifies they are repealing the old ordinance (same ordinance number as the one the secretary e-mailed me) and passing the new one with the correct street names. This will all happen before my pre-trail conference with the prosecutter.
I have several e-mail chains from the city showing that at the time and place of the alleged violation this sign was not listed in an official sign inventory as none apparently existed at the time, plus confirmation that no ordinance dictated the location for the alleged stop sign violation. Plus e-mail chains documenting the sign in question is not in the block cited by the officer - backed up by official city engineering documents dating back to 2006.
My questions are, how strong is my case? Should I subpoena the folks I exchanged e-mailed with and visited in person with the city? If I lose, will I have to pay for the staff costs of those I subpoena? Is this something the city prosecutter would likely fight or want to dismiss?
A few weeks ago I was cited for "Failure to Stop at Designated Point - Stop Sign". The officer said I stopped when making a left turn at the curb cut instead of the stop line.
At the time of the citation, I told him he wrote the wrong address block on the ticket, but he said he was right, I was wrong, and filed the ticket as is. In hindsight, I don't know why I complained....
I read the city ordinances that said: "Director of _____ shall supervise the erection and maintenance of stop signs or yield signs as specified by the city council and maintain an inventory of such signs."
I e-mailed him and found out he never maintained such a list and he forwarded me to a different department that he said did. Of course, they didn't.
This is another part of city code:
"An inventory of all traffic control signs installed shall be maintained by the city. The inventory shall show the location of each sign, date of installation, and other pertinent information applicable to each sign. Future installations, removals, or maintenance of the traffic control devices shall be entered in the inventory as they occur."
In the meantime, I noticed the same city code said the City Council may "by ordinance designate any street intersection as a stop intersection and designate the streets upon which vehicles shall stop before entering such intersections." So I e-mailed the city secretary asking when the ordinance was passed and if I could get the minutes/agenda of said council meeting.
I was surprised when she responded with an ordinance for a location about 1400 feet way on a different but intersecting street. I obtained a copy of the ordinance and it said that the stop sign should be located at the intersection of "XYZ Blvd and a Office Park Entrance" NNN feet away from the intersection of ABC and XYZ Blvds". However, the stop sign is actually located NNN feet in a different direction from the intersection of ABC Road and an Office Park Entrance NNN feet from the intersection of XYZ Blvd". The map attached to the ordinance shows the current sign location, but the street names obviously don't match the wording of the ordinance. The ordinance was read twice by the Mayor on video tape with the opposite street names and it was documented in the minutes that the street names were not the same as where the sign is posted today. The location specified in the ordinance has never had a stop sign.
My case revolves around this this part of Texas State Code:
Title 7, Subtitle C, Chapter 544:
Sec. 544.004. COMPLIANCE WITH TRAFFIC-CONTROL DEVICE.
(a) The operator of a vehicle or streetcar shall comply with an applicable official traffic-control device placed as provided by this subtitle unless the person is:
(1) otherwise directed by a traffic or police officer; or
(2) operating an authorized emergency vehicle and is subject to exceptions under this subtitle.
(b) A provision of this subtitle requiring an official traffic-control device may not be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation the device is not in proper position and sufficiently legible to an ordinarily observant person. A provision of this subtitle that does not require an official traffic-control device is effective regardless of whether a device is in place..
City code has a similar passage as the one above.
At this point, I have let the city know that the ordinance contained an error and received confirmation they will rectify it this month. I got that via e-mail, plus it is in the posted council agenda and specifies they are repealing the old ordinance (same ordinance number as the one the secretary e-mailed me) and passing the new one with the correct street names. This will all happen before my pre-trail conference with the prosecutter.
I have several e-mail chains from the city showing that at the time and place of the alleged violation this sign was not listed in an official sign inventory as none apparently existed at the time, plus confirmation that no ordinance dictated the location for the alleged stop sign violation. Plus e-mail chains documenting the sign in question is not in the block cited by the officer - backed up by official city engineering documents dating back to 2006.
My questions are, how strong is my case? Should I subpoena the folks I exchanged e-mailed with and visited in person with the city? If I lose, will I have to pay for the staff costs of those I subpoena? Is this something the city prosecutter would likely fight or want to dismiss?