Speeding Citation: No radar, LAPD on HWY, Invalid Court Date

[hiiambang]

What is the name of your state? California

I'm not a lawyer, so I probably have some misconceptions about the law, but here are the facts and what I feel my argument would be:

FACTS
So, I received a speeding citation on 08/12/2007 and tried to search for it online today through the court website and couldn't find anything by the citation number or my drivers license number. It says sometimes you have to wait up to 21 days, but its been 21 and I don't see anything.

The reason I looked it up is because I looked at my citation and found that the officer put 08/11/2007 as the court date, which is impossible since that would have been the day before I received the citation.

The officer was from the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Location of Violation was at "N/B 210 FRWY E/O HUBBARD."

The maximum speed limit/safe was 65mph, speed approx. was 80mph. Vehicle Limit,
Radar, and Laser were marked as 0.

ARGUMENTS:
I haven't been able to figure out what e/o means, but I've heard that only California Highway Patrol has the right/jurisdiction to pull you over for violations on the freeway. I was pulled over by LAPD, so was the officer out of his jurisdiction?

The officer didn't use any type of equipment to determine what speed I was going. He said he had to go pretty fast to catch up to me, but decided to write me up for going 80mph. Since accuracy/calibration of equipment is required for proper speed readings, can this citation be dismissed since the speed is merely the officer's assumption?

The court date on the ticket was before the date of the citation. I didn't look because I thought it was usually about a month after the citation. Can the citation be dismissed for
this reason? Or has it possibly been dismissed since I haven't seen it on the website?


The first 2 arguments are the ones that made me feel I had the right to fight the citation. Are my points valid and can I request a trial by written declaration?
Would bringing up my third argument have merit in a written declaration? I am thinking something like "since the officer wasn't even sure of what day my court date could be, how could he be sure of how fast I was going?"

Thanks for your time.

[CourtClerk]

Originally Posted by hiiambang

What is the name of your state? California

I'm not a lawyer, so I probably have some misconceptions about the law, but here are the facts and what I feel my argument would be:

FACTS
So, I received a speeding citation on 08/12/2007 and tried to search for it online today through the court website and couldn't find anything by the citation number or my drivers license number. It says sometimes you have to wait up to 21 days, but its been 21 and I don't see anything.

They have up to 1 year to file a ticket, however, most tickets appear in the system 21 days after the citation is written.

The reason I looked it up is because I looked at my citation and found that the officer put 08/11/2007 as the court date, which is impossible since that would have been the day before I received the citation.

Common misperception: The date on the bottom of the ticket is NOT your court date, it is the date that the ticket is due to be paid, or you make a decision as to what to do with the ticket (plead not guilty, go to traffic school or pay the fine). As for the date being incorrect, the court will kick the cite back to the agency for them to correct it. An amendment will be sent to you in the mail.

The officer was from the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Location of Violation was at "N/B 210 FRWY E/O HUBBARD."

E/O = East Of

The maximum speed limit/safe was 65mph, speed approx. was 80mph. Vehicle Limit,
Radar, and Laser were marked as 0.

Is there a question there? Officers are allowed to pace you and I've seen many a ticket tried to be fought based on the officer not using radar or laser (he doesn't have to). Many of these officers are trained to be able to determine your speed by looking at you. I've seen some of the written tests some of them take, even I'm impressed by just how accurate they are.

ARGUMENTS:
I haven't been able to figure out what e/o means, but I've heard that only California Highway Patrol has the right/jurisdiction to pull you over for violations on the freeway. I was pulled over by LAPD, so was the officer out of his jurisdiction?

Probably not.

The officer didn't use any type of equipment to determine what speed I was going. He said he had to go pretty fast to catch up to me, but decided to write me up for going 80mph. Since accuracy/calibration of equipment is required for proper speed readings, can this citation be dismissed since the speed is merely the officer's assumption?

He probably paced you.

The court date on the ticket was before the date of the citation. I didn't look because I thought it was usually about a month after the citation. Can the citation be dismissed for
this reason? Or has it possibly been dismissed since I haven't seen it on the website?

See what I wrote above about the citation being amended and the date on the bottom of the ticket NOT being your court date.

The first 2 arguments are the ones that made me feel I had the right to fight the citation. Are my points valid and can I request a trial by written declaration?

You may request a TBD by posting your bail. You can do it online. LA County charges a $10 convenience fee to do this online. You can also mail your check or go to the courthouse checked on the bottom of your citation.

Would bringing up my third argument have merit in a written declaration? I am thinking something like "since the officer wasn't even sure of what day my court date could be, how could he be sure of how fast I was going?"

Thanks for your time.

Believe it or not, officers are not God and are allowed to make clerical mistakes. Just as you have probably written the wrong date on something at some point in your life, they do too. That's why we allow them to change it, because we don't expect them to be perfect.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by hiiambang

...I've heard that only California Highway Patrol has the right/jurisdiction to pull you over for violations on the freeway. I was pulled over by LAPD, so was the officer out of his jurisdiction?

Nope - you heard wrong.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by hiiambang

I haven't been able to figure out what e/o means, but I've heard that only California Highway Patrol has the right/jurisdiction to pull you over for violations on the freeway. I was pulled over by LAPD, so was the officer out of his jurisdiction?

No, he was not. CA peace officers have authority throughout the state, and primary jurisdiction over anything within their political subdivision's boundaries.

The officer didn't use any type of equipment to determine what speed I was going. He said he had to go pretty fast to catch up to me, but decided to write me up for going 80mph. Since accuracy/calibration of equipment is required for proper speed readings, can this citation be dismissed since the speed is merely the officer's assumption?

He can use visual estimation of speed, he can use the speedometer of his own vehicle, and he can use radar/lidar or other approved electronic method. All of these can be challenged. Part of the challenge to a pace or to estimation would be to seek the officer's training records in discovery (i.e. is he trained in radar - if so, he is trained in visual estimation; and you can seek the vehicle's speedometer calibration records).

The court date on the ticket was before the date of the citation. I didn't look because I thought it was usually about a month after the citation. Can the citation be dismissed for
this reason? Or has it possibly been dismissed since I haven't seen it on the website?

Don't trust website's for your information.

You can either take your chances and hope it goes away, or, you can call the court and ask about the citation. It may very well have been kicked because of the bad date. On the other hand a correction notice (probably for 9/11) may have been sent to you ... hopefully your address is current. The best bet might be to contact the court every week for a while to see if they have the citation. Who knows, you might get lucky and it might have been tossed because of the court date foul up.

Are my points valid and can I request a trial by written declaration?

They are "valid", but need to be addressed properly. And, yes, you can do a TBD.

Would bringing up my third argument have merit in a written declaration? I am thinking something like "since the officer wasn't even sure of what day my court date could be, how could he be sure of how fast I was going?"

You can try that, but it probably wouldn't hold much weight.


- Carl