Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2003 7:06 am
Well, today was the day.
I decided not to pay a guy in a suit $350 to plea bargain on my behalf. Instead, I trimmed my beard, cleaned myself up real good, and put on a tie. I got there half an hour early, hoping to catch the trooper before the hearing began (and also secretly hoping he wouldn't show).
He got there a couple minutes before the hearing and greeted me friendlily. I shook his hand and asked if we could talk for a moment. He said sure, so I asked if we might come to some kind of agreement, and told him I might be willing to plead guilty to a lesser charge. He said he couldn't. He wasn't unfriendly about it or anything... he just couldn't.
Oh well.
So when the hearing began, I questioned him about the radar gun used. We established that it would continuously display measured speed, and then when the trigger was pressed, would lock that speed on one display and continue to display realtime speed on the other.
I then asked him if I was the only person he cited at the time. He explained that he had pulled me and the car ahead of me over, and reminded me that I had admitted we had been traveling together.
The courtroom had a whiteboard and markers, so I started to draw the situation, asking him for as much input as possible. I drew the median, with his car parked there, and our two cars. I drew the radar beam. I let him guess at all the distances and lengths. Then we worked the math out, and determined that my car was in the beam for around a fifth of a second.
I made a motion for dismissal, asserting that it would not have been possible for the trooper to accurately measure my speed by radar as claimed on the citation. The judge said that he agreed my speed was not measured by radar, but pointed out that the court had found the other driver (my girlfriend) guilty of speeding 82 in a 65, and that the trooper's testimony included noting that we were driving together and that he had observed me speeding. He found me guilty of going 75 in a 65.
Ah well... I guess dismissal was too much to hope for. At least Virginia doesn't call 75 reckless driving. If only it had been 74, though... that would have put it in a lower bracket. Oh well.
Thanks for all the help and advice, guys... And thanks, Matt, for your hospitality this evening.
I decided not to pay a guy in a suit $350 to plea bargain on my behalf. Instead, I trimmed my beard, cleaned myself up real good, and put on a tie. I got there half an hour early, hoping to catch the trooper before the hearing began (and also secretly hoping he wouldn't show).
He got there a couple minutes before the hearing and greeted me friendlily. I shook his hand and asked if we could talk for a moment. He said sure, so I asked if we might come to some kind of agreement, and told him I might be willing to plead guilty to a lesser charge. He said he couldn't. He wasn't unfriendly about it or anything... he just couldn't.
Oh well.
So when the hearing began, I questioned him about the radar gun used. We established that it would continuously display measured speed, and then when the trigger was pressed, would lock that speed on one display and continue to display realtime speed on the other.
I then asked him if I was the only person he cited at the time. He explained that he had pulled me and the car ahead of me over, and reminded me that I had admitted we had been traveling together.
The courtroom had a whiteboard and markers, so I started to draw the situation, asking him for as much input as possible. I drew the median, with his car parked there, and our two cars. I drew the radar beam. I let him guess at all the distances and lengths. Then we worked the math out, and determined that my car was in the beam for around a fifth of a second.
I made a motion for dismissal, asserting that it would not have been possible for the trooper to accurately measure my speed by radar as claimed on the citation. The judge said that he agreed my speed was not measured by radar, but pointed out that the court had found the other driver (my girlfriend) guilty of speeding 82 in a 65, and that the trooper's testimony included noting that we were driving together and that he had observed me speeding. He found me guilty of going 75 in a 65.
Ah well... I guess dismissal was too much to hope for. At least Virginia doesn't call 75 reckless driving. If only it had been 74, though... that would have put it in a lower bracket. Oh well.
Thanks for all the help and advice, guys... And thanks, Matt, for your hospitality this evening.
