Re: Officer's Sworn Statement for a Speeding Ticket is Missing Important Details
Isn't the fact that I had no way of knowing the exact SMD unit or calibration technique or accuracy enough to say that it prejudices my case? What if the officer just made up that he used 1A with tuning fork 1A or whatever, isn't the fact that he doesn't list it on his sworn statement enough to prove that he may be incorrect?
Re: Officer's Sworn Statement for a Speeding Ticket is Missing Important Details
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Brodi
what if the officer is actually there and claims to know the SMD unit number and calibration used and time and type and that it was used with the correct way with the correct tuning forks etc.. Is a court case just dead in the water if the officer is there to say he remembers everything plainly?
Washington State has a somewhat simplified system for infractions in which officers submit a sworn statement and in most cases that statement is the only discovery the defendant is entitled to receive. Officers don’t appear in court for infractions unless subpoenaed by the defendant and would be “off the clock” in any other circumstance, so would have no reason to. What you are asking is theoretically possible but very unlikely unless he/she were there for some other reason.
In your case there actually is no sworn statement so I think it’s quite likely that the prosecutor will simply withdraw the charge or the judge will throw it out.
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Brodi
Isn't the fact that I had no way of knowing the exact SMD unit or calibration technique or accuracy enough to say that it prejudices my case? What if the officer just made up that he used 1A with tuning fork 1A or whatever, isn't the fact that he doesn't list it on his sworn statement enough to prove that he may be incorrect?
Yes and yes.