Defenses to a Paced Speeding Ticket

[CAdriver916]

My question involves a speeding ticket from the state of california. I was wondering if it was possible to delay my trial even more or if not, how to beat it.

I've already delayed it once asking for a 30 day continuance, then I showed up, pled not guilty, then set a court date a month later. Well that day is next monday now.

The ticket is for 80 in a 65 on the freeway, the ticket states that it was paced and not radared, so I think I may have some leadway there. Clear day, no traffic also.

What do you guys suggest?

[Newtons_Apple]

Upon what basis are you going to beat it?

If the ticket reads "paced", it seems to me the officer is inferring that he was in your vicinity, and set his cruiser to travel at the same speed as yourself, thereby "pacing" your speed to be 80mph.

I'm uncertain what bearing a clear day or no traffic would have here. If you are saying that you believe the officer is lying when he states that he paced your car, all I can say is good luck with that.

[CAdriver916]

Upon what basis are you going to beat it?

I don't know, thats why I'm asking here.

If the ticket reads "paced", it seems to me the officer is inferring that he was in your vicinity, and set his cruiser to travel at the same speed as yourself, thereby "pacing" your speed to be 80mph.

Alright, but I was wondering if that was something I could use against him.

I'm uncertain what bearing a clear day or no traffic would have here. If you are saying that you believe the officer is lying when he states that he paced your car, all I can say is good luck with that.

I'm not going to claim anybody was lying, but was wondering if clear weather was a factor I could use.

[That Guy]

... was wondering if clear weather was a factor I could use.

Nope, you were cited for exceeding the maximum 65 mph speed limit (probably VC 22349(a)) which is applicable regardless of what the weather is like!

[CAdriver916]

ok... so are you just suggesting I just take it in the ass without a fight?

[That Guy]

ok... so are you just suggesting I just take it in the ass without a fight?

If you enjoy that sort of thing....

There is no magic wand you can wave to make it go away. if the officer shows up, then ask for traffic school as that would be your best option!

[dascione]

ok... so are you just suggesting I just take it in the ass without a fight?

Not to be harsh, but how in the hell do you get paced at 80mph? You didn't see this cop? This obviously means he was behind, in front or next to you in visible range. You pretty much deserve to be paying this ticket in full. The officer obviously caught you in the act and had time to observe it, as did his recording equipment most likely.

Your best option would be to claim that your speedometer is off and you didn't realize. However, they might ask for a calibration report from a repair shop before lowering or dismissing the citation. Either way I don't think you have any chance of getting it dismissed. If you had gone to court the first time and entered a plea agreement with the prosecutor, he may have lowered the citation to the next speeding bracket down, but now you just look stupid trying to fight it.

The only chance you will have is if the officer does not show up for court.

[CAdriver916]

Not to be harsh, but how in the hell do you get paced at 80mph? You didn't see this cop? This obviously means he was behind, in front or next to you in visible range. You pretty much deserve to be paying this ticket in full. The officer obviously caught you in the act and had time to observe it, as did his recording equipment most likely.

Your best option would be to claim that your speedometer is off and you didn't realize. However, they might ask for a calibration report from a repair shop before lowering or dismissing the citation. Either way I don't think you have any chance of getting it dismissed. If you had gone to court the first time and entered a plea agreement with the prosecutor, he may have lowered the citation to the next speeding bracket down, but now you just look stupid trying to fight it.

The only chance you will have is if the officer does not show up for court.

Well the bracket I'm in is 66-80 so I'm already in the lowest bracket. Is there any procedural/legal way I can delay the court date? I'll just try to keep delaying it as much as I can.

[adam_]

Well the bracket I'm in is 66-80 so I'm already in the lowest bracket. Is there any procedural/legal way I can delay the court date? I'll just try to keep delaying it as much as I can.

Why????? What possible logic is there to that? Hoping the officer finally will retire or die?

At some point you need to put on a case. Which means fight it. Which means verbalizing an argument as to how the officer got the speed wrong.

My guess is that you cannot do this, so best case is go to court- hope the officer doesnt show, but if he does just plead stupid and that you want traffic school (or something lame)

[DavidForthoffer]

What do you guys suggest?

Lesson for next time: Ask here as soon as you get the ticket. You have more choices if you have more time. One choice would have been to file for discovery for anything the officer might present as evidence. Another choice would have been to have your vehicle's speedometer calibrated; if it showed that when you were going 65 mph, your speedometer reads 68 mph, then if you were able to establish 12 mph of error in the officer's estimate of speed, you might get off.

Now, you could at least challenge the validity of the officer's speedometer. Ask him/her to submit evidence that his speedometer is calibrated correctly.

If he tries to submit an uncertified photocopy, object as not best evidence.
If he tries to submit a certificate without a signature, object that such documents need to be signed.
If he tries to submit a certificate prepared by a non-governmental agent such as California State Automobile Association, object that documents prepared by non-governmental agents must be authenticated by an author or custodian appearing in court for that purpose.

The officer might state he calibrated his speed according to roadside radar displays. You could ask for evidence that they were calibrated correctly. You could also point out the "triangle effect" where such radars report slower speeds than the vehicle is traveling. You could testify of inconsistent readings from such devices.

You could closely question the officer about exactly how he paced in, especially in terms of the distance between the two vehicles. For example, if he said he was 100 yards away and paced you for 10 seconds, you could question the accuracy of his distance estimate. If he were off by 20 yards, that would account for a 4 mph discrepancy. You could ask him to estimate the distance from where he stands to a far back corner of the courtroom, then measure it with a measuring tape. If he were off by 25%, you could figure the math for the implied difference in speed.

Your goal is to find discrepancies that add up to 15 mph based on the testimony of the officer. Your testimony about the speed of your vehicle is worthless, as you could no doubt discern by listening to other cases.

Good luck!