Contesting a Ticket for Speeding 5 MPH Over Limit

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington

I need to know what the options are for contesting this ticket. Here is the officer's report:

I am a trooper with the Washington State Patrol and have been commissioned since April 2008. I have over 5 years of combined sworn / commissioned law enforcement experience. I've been certified and trained by the State of Washington in the use of the following speed measuring devices. The SMD has been certified for accuracy by a factory trained Washington State Patrol Technician and found to be in proper working order.

MPH Bee III Radar (SMD) R-2341 / Tag 111735 in Stationary Mode: At the beginning and end of my shift, I performed a full operational check on the above listed radar using the supplied tuning fork(s) Serial #968517, 968558 assigned to the SMD. All lights were working and an audio pitch was heard in conjunction with the visual display. I have recieved instruction in the proper use of this unit and am a qualified operator of the unit. This RADAR was operated as per my training and within the manufactures guidelines.
The defendants' vehicle speed was checked using:
Front Antenna: Toward
The defendant's vehicle was in lane #1 of 1, and appeared to be traveling in excess of the 35 mph posted speed limit. The RADAR SMD displayed a visual reading on the defendants vehicle of 47 mph. This reading matched my visual estimate of the vehicle/driver's speed. 50 IN GO FAST MODE.


Does the way that the ticket is stated as being "(40 or un" matter?
Do they need to state who the certified technician was?
Does it matter if he misspelled manufacturers as manufactures?

And any other thoughts would be very much appreciated, thank you!

Have you filed for discovery? File, and post the sworn statement, NOI, and radar certification here for us to review.

he does not say when the SMD was certified for accuracy .... is this an issue? He said he performed an operational check but does not state that it passed. The statement that he is a qualified operator appears to be more of a legal conclusion than anything. He does not note his visual measurement specifically.

Apparently he's either filed for discovery or been to the court and got the officer's statement because the information he supplied isn't given to you at the time of the ticket.

That said -- original poster, please SCAN and POST your discovery response in its entirety. Typing is nice, but it can leave things out that can be spotted by the experienced.

I have a similar question to the one above. I did go down to the courthouse and asked for the Radar Affidavit so I am going to answer the previous questions for my case:

Radar Affidavit SMD #R-2528

This affidavit incorporates by reference NOI/C #1Z0508656. Trooper Karre #723 was @ 1218 hours. Trooper Karre #723 observed the defendants vehicle SOUTH Bound at a speed which appeared to be in excess of the posted speed limit of 50 MPH.

The Speed measuring device emitted a clear, concise, high-pitched audio tone which was increasing in pitch. Trooper Karre #723 observed a visual display on the RADAR unit of 70 MPH in a posted 50 zone. At this time this vehicle was: The only vehicle in the SMD beam.

Trooper Karre #723 Contacted the driver of the vehicle.

The driver stated:
He was driving 55 mph. *Which is a lie, I stated I was driving 50 mph*. Driver immediately exited vehicle and confronted me upon being stopped. *Which I did because my fiance was sitting in the passenger seat and passing kidney stones, we were on our way to her doctor's office* Driver was argumentative from the start (with arms defensively crossed), arguing that he has the most sophisticated, expensive, top-of-the-line radar detector and it never went off. *I actually said that I had a "high-end" radar detector, actually it is an Escort Passport model 8500. I never said any of the other things he quoted.* Also, driver made it a point to stare at my gun several times throughout the contact while being confrontational. *This is not true. I was curt but not confrontational. I told him that, "I would see him in court" as I was walking away. Then he added to me as is referenced in his statement:* I offered the driver my RADAR with his speed locked in; He refused, stating "Oh, I'll see it in court."

The driver was instructed to read his/her copy of the infraction, then choose his/her options and respond to the court in 15 days. *Actually Trooper Karre told me that I could send the ticket in with a check or money order to the court within 15 days. If I needed other payment options I needed to contact the within that amount of time but no instructions on what to do if I wanted to appear in court.*

The BEE III MPH Speed Measuring Device (R-2528, Tuning Forks 282534 and 283046) was properly operated on the above date in the: Moving Front. The callibration of the above Speed Measuring Device was checked at the beginning and end of Trooper Karre's shift, and the unit was found to be in proper working order. The calibration was checked by use of the internal test, and externally by us of the tuning forks.

The Speed Measuring Device is certified biannially *Trooper Karre's spelling?* by WSP Technicians.

Trooper Karre #723, operating the Speed Measuring Device, has received instructions in proper operation of the BEE III MPH RADAR unit.

It only has his certification of penalty of perjury and his signature with the date of 9/29/2011.

OK, so here is the circumstance. I was driving a lifted '92 Jeep cherokee and my tires are about 23.98% larger. I use 25% for my calculation of speed so that I am usually driving slightly under the speed limit. I was showing 40 mph on my speedometer which should indicate that I was traveling slightly less than 50 mph, ie. 25% of 40= 10 added to my speedo reading should give me 50 mph. I was the only person on the road however Trooper Karre was traveling around a heavily wooded area on a rural road. There was no clear line of sight to me at all. He was travelling around 10 or 15 mph when he came around the corner, I saw him and immediately checked my speed. I was travelling at the speed limit so there was no need for me to slow down. Trooper Karre came to a stop in the road and began to back up into an immediate driveway on his side of the road and waited for me to pass. He then pulled out and followed behind me immediately turning on his lights. I pulled over right away and exited the vehicle with my driver's license (out of state) in hand. He told me he had hit me with RADAR travelling at 70 MPH. I let him know I was only travelling 50 MPH, he then told me he had me on RADAR. He asked me for my registration and proof of insurance which I walked over to the passenger side of the car and my fiance handed it to me through the door. I walked back to where he was standing behind my car and handed the documents to him. He then told me to wait in my car while he checked me out. I won't rehash the rest of our conversation as I stated it above.

Here are my questions:

1) He never had a clear line of sight on me until he came around the corner which is surrounded on both sides by massive amounts of vegetation, brush and large trees and a hill on his side of the road. How long does he need to observe someone driving before he could decide if I was speeding?

2) My RADAR detector never went off. The only way I can assume that is possible would be if he was using the "POP" mode. As I understand it there is a section in the MPH BEE III manual that disclaims law enforcement officers from using this mode because it only turns on for .67 miliseconds and in doing so doesn't comply with FCC, the joint International Association of Chiefs of Police or NIST guidelines for "tracking a vehicle speed." As I said my detector never alerted me to any RADAR band at all. Can I ask that the owner's manual and the notes from the company be submitted in the court as evidence? How can I get a copy of the owner's manual? Couldn't find it on the internet.

3) My fiance was a witness to the statements made by both me and the officer. Would her testimony about the inaccuracy of statements made by Trooper Karre in the report mean anything in court?

Hello 93rdcurrent,

Please file for discovery, using directions here http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89115

Please scan and post, and we may be able to help.

Here is what I was given when I went to the courthouse and requested a contested hearing. I didn't sign the document as I don't understand my "constitutional rights" in regards to traffic violations... ;->


http://www.flickr.com/photos/93rdcur...in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93rdcur...in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93rdcur...in/photostream

Quote:

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Quoting 93rdcurrent

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Reason: Having issues transferring the images from flickr

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There, fixed that for you :-)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6223/...77c876cd_b.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6019/...36667384_b.jpg

The missing page is just the trooper's name/signature, I believe.

Yeah, that's all it was. Thanks for posting it. Don't know what my issue was.

Quote:

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Quoting 93rdcurrent

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Yeah, that's all it was. Thanks for posting it. Don't know what my issue was.

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Embedding images requires the direct link for the image; the links you had went to the Flickr photostream pages. Digging up the direct links is a bit of a pain. I recommend imageshack in the future for posting such images as they give you the direct link upfront.