In Maryland you can plead three things. Guilty, Guilty with an explanation and not guilty. A not guilty plea is not as painstaking as some on here make it seem. What happens is when the defendant (you, the speeder) pleads not guilty, the cop comes over, gets sworn in and then gives a detailed accont of what happened that day. The judge asks you if you have anything to add, then the judge usually makes his decision, usually he will find you guilty. It’s just as fast as pleading guilty with an explanation.
When I plead guilty with an explanation, the judge usually reduces the fine and lowers it from two points to one point on my license, sometimes no points, but the fine is higher.
You’re more than likely screwed, because that day the cop more than likely pulled over a few people and needs to be on court or his whole day that day will be wasted.
That’s why they write these things down. He’s got your drivers license info, a description of the vehicle and how fast you were going all written down in at least one place.
After all these months? Wow, last time I showed up in court for a speeding ticket, the judge rescheduled all of the not-guilties for later that day. Did you have anything to do with that scheduling as part of a tactical maneuver, or is that just the way it is?
A sorely missing plea is not-guilty with an explanation, I think. If you plead not-guilty, you have to wait for a new hearing, have the cop testify, and waste everyone’s time. If you have a story for the judge and he’s willing to accept it and let you off, why make you plead guilty, first? Especially in the case of speeding where you may not be guilty despite violating the posted speed (in zones where the speed limit is statutory and non-absolute).
If your jurisdiction’s speed law is defined as a “reasonable speed for the road conditions, but not to exceed a certain maximum speed” then you might get away with arguing your speed was reasonably safe for the conditions, despite the posted speed limit (i.e., only a few MPH over the posted limit with clear conditions and no traffic). I have heard of people getting their hands on traffic engineering studies to show the engineers have determined a “safe” speed for a section of road that was higher than the posted limit. I don’t know if it worked.
As far as continuances go, I have heard some courts know when each officer makes all his/her appearances and will reschedule matters for the next day that officer is scheduled to appear in court.
Do the officer’s notes have to be fully disclosed? Can you demand a copy prior to the hearing? This not in reference specifically, but the the OP in general. I would guess that if the witness (the cop) is referring to written notes, you (the accused) have a right to that evidence, right? Here’s where I’m going: if the extent of the notes that danceswithcats is representative of what the officer has, then there’s no basis for the officer claiming you were driving at an unsafe speed (in a prima facie area, that is [if you get busted for 50 in a 25, you deserve it].)
I see. The notebook was the only one that was in real doubt, because I don’t know it’s legal status. Is it “just” a notebook? Personal notes? Traceable documentation? Can the officer write embarrassing diary entries? I guess what I call a notebook isn’t really quite the same for an officer of the law, where “notebook” is (I’m guessing) something quite specific with an intended purpose, and discoverable.
But not as much as they love it when a defendant starts babbling about the CIA, Israel, and 9/11. I heard a guy do this about 2 months ago. Somehow “the Jews” were at fault for that guys traffic ticket. :rolleyes:
Maybe he should have pled insanity.
The D.A. can object to something you’ve asked for in Discovery. It’ll be up to the judge to decide if you get it or not.
The status on notebooks differs from department to department. Some departments issue them to officers and they remain property of the department. When the notebook is filled up it get’s turned in and kept in storage.
Others have officers supply their own. Notebooks aren’t personal diaries. There shouldn’t anything in there except job related notes.
As PK says this is part of discovery. However the rules of getting discovery are different depending on where you live. For instance in my court you just can’t go up to the records window and say, “I’m some schmuck who got a speeding ticket. Give copies of all the records for my case and the radar unit.” They will send you packing. You either need a lawyer to ask for discovery or be recoginzed as acting as your own lawyer. Not a big deal, just a matter of submitting a letter to the judge. If you don’t get discovery before the trail you still have the right to examine the records and notes at the time of the trial. My notes would do you no good. I write them in my own shorthand.
A couple of other things for the OP. It might be a good idea if you can find someone who has been through a similar situation in the specific court you will have to go to. Maybe still in the audience sometime before your court date. Each court is run very differently. Some of the advise given here would not work in my court. Hoping the officer doesn’t show? No good. You either make a deal with the prosecutor or it will be rescheduled. If I was giving advice to a family member I would not necessarily tell them to get a lawyer for a traffic ticket. For tickets lawyers come in and ask for the same deals that I would have given the guy anyway. If someone were coming into my court I would say to plead not guilty. Come to court on your day and see what kind of deal the prosecutor will give you. If you don’t like the deal or feel uncomfortable about the process then ask for a continuance so you can seek legal counsel. That is in my court. Things might be different where you are.
Just about everytime I have seen someone go to trial they think they have found a flaw in the case and go into Perry Mason mode.
“Officer could you look at the ticket? You forgot to sign it!”
“You’re right I forgot to sign it”
“AhHA” looking around waiting for the judge to bang the gavel and dismiss.
Judge:“Did you write the ticket?” “Yes” “Ok Mr Smith you got anything else?”
You can just see the guy deflate when it doesn’t work the way he planned.
Or the guy who thought that bringing in a repair bill for his broken speedometer would get him out of a ticket. Or the guy who argued against me because he was in a line of four cars.
“How do you know it was me that was speeding?”
“I first visually observed the vehicles travelling at a high rate of speed then verified using the radar. All four cars where in a line travelling at the same speed, maintaining spacing between the vehicles.”
“So why did you pull me over?”
“Because I couldn’t pull everyone over.”
“Why did you pick me?”
“Because you were first. I always go for the first vehicle.”
“Why?”
“Because I always go for the first vehicle.”
He had not other argument and was lost when it didn’t work he was better off taking the plea for no points.
This was not that his speedometer was giving a false reading. It wasn’t working at all. His excuse was that he had no speedometer so how could he be responsible for speeding.
My notepad contains names, addresses DOBs etc. I have never maintained a notebook. We have to write our reports when the calls occur. All the information goes into the report, none in a notebook. Works much better that way. Except of course notes on the backs of tickets. The information should only be in one place so lawyers can’t pick it apart due to typos.
A lot depends on the state. In MA, a ticket is a civil offense, and the prosecution does not have to prove much of anything. However, if the officer does not show up, case dismissed. I’ve had that happen.
In NH, the prosecution has to prove each point of the officer’s story beyond a reasonable doubt and there is the “traffic school” option, especially if you’re a first-time offender and the speeding was not way over the limit.
That’s almost as brilliant as the client I once had who wanted me to argue that he didn’t understand that the police flares blocking off an exit ramp (which he ignored) because he was returning from a GI procedure and was still under the influence of the medications he’d been given during the procedure.
Along the same lines, one of my high school girlfriends got pulled over for speeding in the suburbs. Her brilliant idea was to pop a contact out of her eye and tell the officer she was speeding because she wanted to get home quickly to put the contact into solution. :smack: Guess what? The officer let her off.
Are you phoning them in from the scene? I know that’s what Milwaukee does.
The department I was on had us dictate reports on micro cassettes. Clerical staff would type them up within 48 hours. We also kept a notebook, which we had to turn in when full, had an activity log in squad cars we had to make an entry into every 15 minutes whether we did anything or not, and had a shift log that each officer had to fill out giving a brief synopsis of his shift. :rolleyes:
Since retiring from there I took a part-time position with another agency. We type our own reports using templates on the computer. I keep my own notepad. No more notebook/squad logs (except milage).
And only the shift commander fills out a shift log.
