Wrongfully accused of speeding - need help with defense.

[TLCommuter]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Virginia, Stafford.

Here is what happened:
I was riding my motorcycle (my primary mode of transportation) home [from my then (now wife) fiancée’s house where we were working on wedding plans] at 1:35am. It was cold (28deg F) and the roads were a little icy. As I was approaching a turn I check my speedometer to make sure I was plenty slow for the conditions, it read 35mph. I made my way around the turn, swerving slightly to avoid an iced over pothole. As I went through the turn a police officer passed me going the other direction, I thought nothing of this, as I was 10mph below the speed limit. The officer made a u-turn and followed me for about 1/4 to 1/2 mile then pulled me over. He asked me why I had been stopped. I replied that I did not know (the truth). He asked how fast I was going when he passed me, I replied 35mph. He asked what the speed limit was, (at this point I was beginning to wonder if the speed limit was actually 35 rather than 45, as I know it changes a few times along this road, rt610.) I replied that I was not sure, but that I knew it was either 35 or 45 and that I knew that it changed somewhere near where we were. He stated that he had me on radar going 60mph and asked what I thought of that. I stated that it must be a mistake because it would be impossible for me to go that fast though the turn and that I had just check my speedometer and it read 35mph. He then gave me a ticket for failure to obey a highway sign, stating that it would not give me any points. I check with the county code and found that it does actually carry 3 points so I decided to go to court. I contacted the clerk of the court to request the police radar records and was told that they would only be made available after the first hearing if the judge deemed them applicable. I thus, was forced to go to court without the records.

Here is what happened at court:
- I was called up

- I pled not guilty

- The officer told his story of the events regarding my citation, it was correct, with the exception that he stated that I said the speed limit was 35mph, when I actually said I was not sure, but that I knew it was 35mph and changed somewhere in the near vicinity to 45mph.
- I stated that due to road conditions it would have been impossible for me to have made the turn at 60mph. I stated that the RADAR unit must have given a faulty reading. The judge stated that the burden of proof (in regard to the integrity of the RADAR unit) rested upon me. I stated that I had contacted the Clerk of the Court to and requested that several RADAR related documents be delivered to me. I was denied this request. The judge acknowledged that I had the right to examine the RADAR records and instructed the officer to show them to me. I stated that, both the records on hand and the available time was insufficient, for my defense and requested a continuance. The judge denied the continuance, and immediately declared me guilty. I stated that I had not finished giving my defense and had one more motion to make (I wanted to make a motion to dismiss due to denial of a speedy trial (58days since citation) but did not have the chance. The judge stated that he did not want to hear any more from me, his mind was made up.

I went to the clerk and requested an appeal. The clerk stated that she was not surprised at the necessity of an appeal because the judge had been “cranky all week”. I inquired about requesting a subpoena for the necessary documents for my defense and she stated that I would do this at the date she gave me for my arraignment. After the hearing to set my arraignment date I spoke with the clerk about securing the necessary documents for my defense. She stated that I could either contact the sheriff's office or have subpoena issued by the court, but that I could not request the subpoena at that time and would have to come back later.

My new court date is May 2nd. What should I do now to prepare a defense?

Sorry for the long post, please offer any advise you can.

Thanks

[Froyn]

Also put in a request to check the Officer's certification to use a radar device. As stated in another post, take pictures of the area if you can (to prove conditions), and use a diagram if need be to indicate your distance from the turn to where the officer passed you. This will also give the officer an opportunity to indicate at what point he was able to identify that you were speeding.

[TLCommuter]

Thanks, I will do as you recommend. Does anyone know if I should request these items through the court or should I go directly to the sheriff's office?

thanks

[ljt99]

Originally Posted by TLCommuter

Thanks, I will do as you recommend. Does anyone know if I should request these items through the court or should I go directly to the sheriff's office?

thanks

When I had a speeding ticket and wanted records, I had to send a written request to the prosecutor's office requesting "discovery" but also had to send the "original" dated request to the clerk of court's office. From your post, it sounds like the judge is a real jerk. I'm noting a web site below that has excellent advice regarding fighting a speeding ticket. It would be worth your time to look it over, especially the sections entitled "your rights" and "discovery".
[url]http://www.worldlawdirect.com/article/903/Fighting_a_speeding_ticket.html[/url]
Good luck.