What is the name of your state? North Carolina
Allow me to go through the full situation so that it's best understood...
Driving into work, there is a + shaped intersection I cross. Three sides of the + are regular highway, with the 4th being the entrance to my work parking lot. Cruising right along, I went through the traffic light (admittedly yellow) without speeding, or to the best of my knowledge, the light being red.
Being a cold morning at work (and needing to wait on the bus) I opted to wait in my car for several minutes for warmth. After approximately 4-5 minutes of sitting in my car, a member of the Cherokee PD (in Jackson Co.) approached my car, said I sped through the intersection, and wrote me a citation for going through a red light. He mentioned that he was across the street; I'm not even sure he was in his car. I believe he just eyeballed it. (The specific citation was GS 20-158(b)(2).)
Now, rumor has it, there's a law that if a cop cannot keep a visual on you then they cannot cite you (and there were several minutes which went by presumably as the cop was trying to find my car in the parking lot.)
Is this a valid defense? Simply saying "I didn't run a red light" is pretty poor if it becomes my word against his. Any other advice? Thank you!!
Allow me to go through the full situation so that it's best understood...
Driving into work, there is a + shaped intersection I cross. Three sides of the + are regular highway, with the 4th being the entrance to my work parking lot. Cruising right along, I went through the traffic light (admittedly yellow) without speeding, or to the best of my knowledge, the light being red.
Being a cold morning at work (and needing to wait on the bus) I opted to wait in my car for several minutes for warmth. After approximately 4-5 minutes of sitting in my car, a member of the Cherokee PD (in Jackson Co.) approached my car, said I sped through the intersection, and wrote me a citation for going through a red light. He mentioned that he was across the street; I'm not even sure he was in his car. I believe he just eyeballed it. (The specific citation was GS 20-158(b)(2).)
Now, rumor has it, there's a law that if a cop cannot keep a visual on you then they cannot cite you (and there were several minutes which went by presumably as the cop was trying to find my car in the parking lot.)
Is this a valid defense? Simply saying "I didn't run a red light" is pretty poor if it becomes my word against his. Any other advice? Thank you!!