Re: Do I pay up or fight this?
The prosecution can file any speed they want UNDER the speed reading the RADAR showed. If you say you were going 68 then they might file 68. If you then fight that speed there would be no evidence of the speed, so it would never hold up....but the speed they did get on RADAR would, and the charge can be amended again.<br /><br />Certification, mainetenance records, yearly verification, daily calibration checks all should be presented in court for the evidence to be admitted. Otherwise there is no foundation. <br /><br />What probably happened is the officer clocked someone. The RADAR will catch the largest fastest moving vehicle. If the officer was watching his tracking history like he is supposed to do to correctly operate the instrument there would be no question. But he probably saw you change lanes, got a wpeed reading and assumed that you were passing therefore must be the speeding vehicle. The only other way to have an accurate reading is with a laser device. They can single out a vehicle in a corwd when RADAR can not. <br /><br />If you did not sign the ticket then you might win it, but you were served a copy which is a summons so you would still be aware of the court date and still be required to appear. A fail to appear charge probably wouldn't stick though. That would be a clerical error. Courts have ruled that clerical errors do not disqualify the case. The officer not asking you to sign means nothing. I could go through a traffic stop with out saying a word if I wanted. Nothing says they have to tell you your speed, tell you why you are stopped because it is written on the ticket. We do not have to explain the ticket or request a signature. That is just a courtesy to make sure the driver fully understands what is happening. <br /><br />The out to get you defense never works here. The judge is tired of hearing it. The harassment thing is also worn out with our courts. If there is evidence to prove guilt then that is it. If not then it is tossed. <br /><br />Some areas the officers will not show up for traffic court because the court never notifies them. The court will not waste money on traffic cases so they don't tell the officer, the officer stays home the case gets thrown out, and the officer not the court is to blame.<br /><br />Someonme said if it is a poor case they will not show up.....I would hope that if it was a poor case there would be no court. But of course out of the 2 million sworn officers in this nation, a few hundred are crooked enough to ruin all of our names so that is sadly the truth. <br /><br />It might be worth your time to go to court. If you tell them your speedo was saying under the speed he wrote, that will open you to cross asking what it read. They will counter with the speedo is wrong and not a valid defense. If you say GPS showed the same speed, it might work but GPS is not recognized in court as a speed measuring device because nobody has ever came in to prove it with technical facts. The best defense is to say there is no way to get a good clock on you, you were in a crowd of vehicles. Your ticket should say if it was RADAR, moving or stationary, Laser, Vascar whatever.<br /><br />Good luck and hoping for a good outcome for you.
<br /><br />Good luck JB.<br /><br />ob, great to see you back! 
