Speeding - 22349(A) in California

My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of:CA
Hi,
I got speeding ticket for driving at 78 MPH on a 65 mph limit freeway. I had entered on the freeway and had to go only till next exit. i saw the cop car waiting on the entrance ramp i was entering. When i exited the next exit, the cop pulled me over and gave me ticket. I was totally surprised because i was traveling in lane 3 since i had to take immediate next exit and that lane was not going at such speed. i barely maintained the speed with the traffic for 1 min when i had to exit. when i politely asked the trooper how he determine my speed, his response was "Sir, please sign the citation and if you have any questions, call me in front of judge and i will answer it". I asked again, "i just want to know how you got my speed" and he said" Sir, if you dont sign now, i will cuff you and then call my supervisor and then we will have to impound your car and take you to jail". i was totally taken aback by his attitude. After signing the ticket, the officer literally just mumbled while leaving (I think), "i paced you".
i am planning to fight it by TBWD. Can someone please help me on my defense points?
- I am going to mention that i was only in lane 3 with rest of the traffic which was light.
- i entered the fwy and accelerated to match the traffic speed to merge
- If i would have slowed to 65mph, it would have impeded the traffci in that lane.
Thanks

Anyone?the senior members? please, I need to provide my TBWD by next week.

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Quoting ptrafficticket

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i am planning to fight it by TBWD. Can someone please help me on my defense points?
- I am going to mention that i was only in lane 3 with rest of the traffic which was light.
- i entered the fwy and accelerated to match the traffic speed to merge
- If i would have slowed to 65mph, it would have impeded the traffci in that lane.
Thanks

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None of that is an affirmative defense to a violation of 22349(a). You were cited for driving in excess of the maximum 65mph on a highway... The one question that you have to ask yourself is "why did the officer single you out from ALL the other traffic that was around you at the time?"

And the only answer that I can come up with is that you were possibly travelling the fastest...

keep in mind that the officer is not under any obligation to disclose the method with which he measured your speed at the time he writes the citation. You can either request that information via an informal discovery request OR you can wait until he testifies in court. Since you mentioned a TBD, and assuming you were to lose that, you can request a Trial De Novo, obtain a copy of the officer's declaration and read his testimony.

And lastly, (for future reference) yes, the officer can in fact cuff you and take you in for refusing to sign the citation... Arguing your case on the side of the road will not get you anywhere -save it for court-... And more often than not, you are bound to slip and say something that may incriminate you or be construed as an admission of guilt. So keep it to a minimum!

For the TBD I would simply just state that you are not guilty .. you will be found guilty anyway, right? Start discovery .. if pacing is a question, do a FOIA request with the police dept. asking for their written method..

*sigh* None of your arguments consistitute a defense to the VC22349(A) change. Just write "I stand by my plea of not guilty" on your statement of facts and leave it at that. Your best hope at this point is that the officer will feel bad about his attitude and let the matter go. If you lose the TBD, pick up a copy of the officer's declaration and file for trial de novo. To be honest, if the officer shows up, your goose is almost guaranteed to be cooked.

Next time though, save the attitude for later. Being polite and cooperative is not guaranteed to get you out of a ticket, but "flunking the attitude test" is a great way to turn a lousy traffic stop in a full vehicle search while you sit in cuffs by the side of the road.

Thanks for the replies.. after reading the forum and all information, i now understand that at teh stop you should keep mum so that officer forgets you. I was very polite and did not give any attitude to the officer, but i did ask twice about the method.
@HonkingAntelope: you mentioned that i should write "I stand by my plea of not guilty", but i should still provide all the details as to best of my knowledge, and then repeat the not guilty plea, is that right?

One more thing.. As a part of my defense, shall I refer the below laws in my TBD?
CVC 22400, "The Minimum Speed Law," requires that "No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic...."

Section (b) of Speed Law Violations, CVC 22351, states: "The speed of any vehicle upon a highway in excess of the prima facie speed limits...or established as authorized in this code (includes the 65mph max speed limit) is prima facie unlawful unless the defendant establishes by competent evidence that the speed in excess of said limits did not constitute a violation of the basic speed law at the time, place, and under the conditions then existing."

CVC 22350, states: "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property." My situation required me to travel above 65mph to obey the Basic Speed Law and to avoid being rear-ended by faster moving traffic

You got argumentative with him and pressed the issue after being warned not to - that constitutes bad attitude to most cops. Admittedly he does look like he was having a bad case of PMS that day.

In case of your TBD, I said

Quote:

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Just write "I stand by my plea of not guilty" on your statement of facts and leave it at that

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I didn't say write everything else you remember of top of that (and we've seen more than enough folks write incriminating testimony on themselves in the process of doing just that)

As for VC22349a and Basic Speed Law, read up on the difference between the maximum speed limits and the prima facie speed limits. Even if your own kid is dying in the backseat, you must still drive no faster than 65mph.

[rant]The CA legislature was extremely clear in its intent that no person (aside from emergency vehicle operators) is allowed to break the maximum speed under ANY circumstances. If the legislature intended any exceptions, they would have written them into the text of VC22349a or some other explanatory VC statute right then and there when the 55 was repealed. The fact that a whole host of unintended and harmful consequences arises from such a rigid law doesn't seem to concern them. Sadly, most officers would rather let a violation go rather than enforce the law as intended and hold the legislature accountable as a result.[/rant]

Thanks HonkingAntelope. So I should only write "I stand by my plea of not guilty" and nothing else. so basically if the trooper provides the judge that that i was going above 65mph (which most likely i was at about 69-71mph with the rest of the traffic in last lane), will it be upto the judge to decide ? or will i be counting on the trooper with this simple not guilty plea to let me go? I am simply trying to understand here that without any explanation what will constitute a chance to getting a dismissal. thanks again for your time..

Basically all you are betting on at this point is that the officer doesn't send in his paperwork and the verdict defaults in your favor because of that. But it is still a better chance than just pleading guilty.

If you don't really have any real evidence that you weren't speeding, there isn't much point to write anything but "I am not guilty". I have seen judges get irritated sometimes because they get so many excuses that really don't make any difference to the legality of it. But it all depends on the judge.

well, pacing needs alot to be shown to be accurate .. foia request the cops to their cert. of calibration for all records regarding their speedos...you can call and see how they do it too .. many times they dont do it right