Traffic Court - Speeding

I have been accused in NYS by the DMV corporation of doing 81 in a 55 (State Trooper issued this), it was done by Laser, and his other "accusation method" is visual speed measurement.  I took this to traffic violations court, where I had issued subpoenas already, where State Troopers told me I have no right to pre-trial discovery, we also tried to issue it in person at the HQ's where they said they do not hold records and it would have to be sent to Albany, and also sent it to DMV themselves.  The judge took notice and gave item numbers for each, but still found me "guilty".  While the officer made his testimony, I had said "objection your honor, there is no judicial notice to one's ability for visual speed measurement" which he stated some NYS cases without telling what they were about or anything of the like.  I have appealed the case, and I am writing down anything and everything I can to prove how the officer is wrong.  He failed to provide the laser calibration for the gun, amongst other things the certification for the gun.  The officer also looked different from what I remembered of him.  What can I do during appeal to help my case?

Not much.  Appeals are about errors of law.  Trial judges/hearing officers are there to make decisions and they have a ton of discretion.

Visual estimation is normally allowed based on an officer's training.  That is, before all these fancy gadgets, that is how officers got people for speeding in the first place.  If the charge doesn't have a scale of penalties based on your actual speed, all the state has to do is prove speed in excess of the posted limit.

Traffic infractions are normally civil events and not protected by Constitutional protections regarding criminal prosecutions, except something like due process.

If by scale, you mean a list of how far over the speed and what points/fine you get...yes...there is a scale.  What type of court would this go to next?  The one I was at was an administrative court, Traffic Violations Bureau at the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles Corporation (I call it a Corporation because by all standards, it most certainly is)

Below are the key notes I've written for court going into appeals, you tell me what you think:

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Key Notes for Court

-The officer stated in court that I had said “I know I was going a little fast” this is a lie, I urge the court to take the tapes from the Trooper’s vehicle and listen to what I say, I did not once say this.

-The officer failed to answer the subpoena, multiple parts of evidence that the subpoena asked for were not brought to court, and this is illegal.  A subpoena MUST BE ANSWERED.

-There is NO JUDICIAL NOTICE of the ability for one to use “visual speed measurement”, I was doing 55 in a 55 zone, not 81.  Your honor is also not recognized to have the ability to make that determination.

-For some reason, this officer does NOT look like the one that gave me the ticket.

-Does the officer remember what I was wearing that day?

-Does the officer remember what the weather was like that day?

-The sun was in front of and overhead at a diagonal to my vehicle, the Officer’s vision of my car would most CERTAINLY be impaired, not to mention the repercussions to the laser gun’s accuracy.

-Can the officer provide the laser calibration sheets for that laser gun that was in use for dates pertaining at and before to ensure that the laser unit was properly calibrated and not reading inaccurate numbers?  A 1mph discrepancy at 10mph can lead to a LOT at 55mph.

-Can the officer provide his exam for proficiency in using the said laser device?  If the officer is only accurate 75% of the time, that also can lead to very big discrepancies. 

-With all this said, if the officer is UNWILLING or UNABLE to provide the calibration routines for the said device, FCC License for it, Certification for the gun, and his own certification…I must motion for dismissal.  Otherwise, this would be saying that any officer at any given time can operate a non-calibrated laser gun and accuse those innocent of something they did not do, cause them loss of time, monetary loss, and stress.  The United States Court System is based upon “innocent until proven guilty” and here we have run without proper evidence and not proven my guilt.

-If this gun is not proven licensed in this court room today, then it, as an accusing device is null and void because it is not licensed to do so.  If I said I had a license to drive but could not provide one, then I, in this courts eyes would not be permitted to legally drive...this is the same with the laser gun.

-The system here is broken.  The NYS TVB gave me an address to send a subpoena, but after doing so, it became clear it needed to go to the State Troopers.  Upon bringing it there with witness, they claim they do not keep their own records and you need to send it to Albany.  Upon sending it to Albany, they violate your rights as a citizen, or try to claim they can do such, and state that you may not have pre-trial discovery.  I find this highly illegal, and more so, countermanding the idea of a trial since evidence is necessary and under New York State Law, the officer MUST prove the accused guilty, all evidence is necessary to do so. 

*bump* Can someone please give me some feedback here?

"What can I do during appeal to help my case?"

As Ford said appeals are about ERRORS in trials not new evidence.  If everything you posted was not introduced during your first trial then you will not be allowed to introduce it on appeal.  In order to win on appeal you have to show the court erred in some way in convicting you.  The odds on that are slim to none. 

"multiple parts of evidence that the subpoena asked for were not brought to court, and this is illegal."

Care to cite the law that says this?  The court does not automatically have to admit those things into evidence if they don't feel it is material to the case.  Also if you don't know the rules of evidence then likely the court ruled against you and you had no clue how to fight it. 

"The officer stated in court that I had said “I know I was going a little fast” this is a lie, I urge the court to take the tapes from the Trooper’s vehicle and listen to what I say, I did not once say this."

Not ever trooper has audio recording.  Are you assuming the tapes exist? 

"There is NO JUDICIAL NOTICE of the ability for one to use “visual speed measurement”, I was doing 55 in a 55 zone, not 81.  Your honor is also not recognized to have the ability to make that determination."

You couldn't be more wrong.  There doesn't have to be judicial notice that they officer has an ability to use visual speed measurement.  Common sense dictates if you are passing everyone else and the flow of traffic is at or around the speed limit you are speeding.  I can guarantee you the appeals court will recognize the Judge as being able to make that determination. That is why he/she is a seasoned traffic court judge.

"For some reason, this officer does NOT look like the one that gave me the ticket."

Not relevant.  If Officer Smiley; Badge number 123 wrote the ticket and the person who shows up has ID that says he is Officer Smiley; and his badge number is 123 the court does not care that YOU don't recognize him.  He is allowed to shave his moustache, grow a beard, or alter his appearance and it won't affect your speeding trial.

 "Does the officer remember what I was wearing that day?

 The court also doesn't care if you were wearing your leopard skin thong that day or if the cop remembers.  It isn't relevant to what you are charged with. 

"Does the officer remember what the weather was like that day?

Also  not relevant unless you had been in an accident.  Then the court would want to know if weather played a role in the accident.  It plays no role in speeding.

Face it:  you were hoping for an acquittal based upon a whole lot of stuff that is completely irrelevant to being charged with speeding.  If you want to continue to to tilt at this windmill go ahead but I don't see any basis for winning on appeal.

Unfortunately you didn't pay tribute to the laser gun license, the correct calibration of the gun, etc.  I asked for these things in court along with the subpoena, they were not produced.  As far is it goes now, he was using an unlicense, uncalibrated gun...that's highly illegal and the laser gun (which was the accusing unit) is null and void. 

But if you failed to raise issue of uncalibated gun at trial its likley too late now.

I did raise the issue, it was called for in Subpoena and I also asked if he brought the calibration or license for the gun, the answer was no to both.

Sorry for the long delay, as they love to take forever when you are appealing.  They are quick as all get out to send bills for registration renewal, but slow as can be for this.  I finally got the transcript and looked it over, of course as I thought the judge spoke so low in most cases a lot of his words did not make the record.  Here is what I wrote back:

To DMV Appeals board:

1.  The cop has stated on Page 6 of the transcript that I said the words "I know I was going a little fast", this is a lie, I urge the court/appeals board to review the trooper's vehicle audio recordings, if possible, and learn that this was never said.

2.  On page 7, the judge has stated that in New York state a "visual estimate" by a trained officer is sufficient in and of itself, unfortunately this is not true and this in not lawful outside an administrative court which is not bound by New York State law. The judge cited the case of the People v Olsen however in that case the State correctly notes that Estes did not object to the officer’s testimony regarding his estimate of the speed of Estes’ vehicle. Three of the twelve appellate districts of the Ohio Court of Appeals are of the view that an officer’s estimate of speed, standing alone, is insufficient to sustain a conviction meaning that it is not a concrete piece of interpretation that visual speed estimation is accurate. The officer also did not supply any evidence other than testimony of his proficiency at visual estimation of speed or his recertification process or indeed his original certification for the visual estimation of moving objects.

3.  State Trooper [name removed] did NOT provide the subpoenaed evidence in the courtroom that was asked for, this was the laser calibration chart, as shown on page 8.  Are we to allow any officer to make any frivolous accusation and then allow him to get away with not having something as simple as a laser calibration routine printout?  Law specifies this MUST be shown otherwise the laser gun can be highly inaccurate. As a citizen to be proven guilty this is NECESSARY evidence.

4.  On page 9, Officer [name removed] also did not have the NECESSARY FCC License for the laser unit in question, this is mandatory and non-negotiable.  To operate a Laser Unit the laser unit MUST BE Licensed.  Failure to provide the license is failure to show evidence, again, necessary to prove his case which I for this and the previous counts find frivolous and unlawful conviction.

5.  On page 9, [name removed] denied a motion to suppress the laser reading due to lack of evidence, again, there was no evidence shown in court.  Entry of this data is unlawful.

6.  Page 10 you will see how I have sent out numerous subpoenas, doing countless hours of work to navigate your broken system of justice to try and ask for SIMPLE pieces of evidence because I know I was wrongfully accused, while I had copies of every sent letter, the letters themselves and signature upon receipts, the Judge decided to "enter" this simple and ignore it, I ask for this evidence to be brought back up and reconsidered in the appeals court.  I have done everything to prove my case here, I ask for FAIR trial, not a court that simply convicts upon only the WORD of an officer.

7. I refuse to be tried in Statuary Law Court, my name is not *edited out all captials* it is *edited out, name with only first letter of each capital, the correct way a name is written*

Am I to believe I can become an officer of the law and then convict people of speeding, then take them to TVB Administrative court and have them convicted with NO evidence other than a simple printout made by my vehicle?  What is the point of the court then?  I find this faulted and on these grounds, request my appeal.

I edited your last post because site rules prohibit the use of individual names in your post. I've included a quick guide to our site rules for your review.

http://community.lawye...

Thanks,

Sharon

ChilinMIchael:

Am I to believe I can become an officer of the law and then convict people of speeding, then take them to TVB Administrative court and have them convicted with NO evidence other than a simple printout made by my vehicle?  What is the point of the court then?  I find this faulted and on these grounds, request my appeal

The officer never convicted you of anything.  That's the courts job.  The officer cited you and you went to court where the court found you guilty.  The officer provided testimony which the court believed and the judge in the case rendered a verdict.  That's exactly what court is for.

ChilinMIchael:

I refuse to be tried in Statuary Law Court, my name is not *edited out all captials* it is *edited out, name with only first letter of each capital, the correct way a name is written

Seriously?  Every legal I've ever seen is written this way.  SMITH, JOHN DOE is John D. Smith and to even argue this is kind of silly.

ChilinMIchael:

doing countless hours of work to navigate your broken system of justice

To call the system "broken" while writting your apeal is probably not the smartest thing to do.

You really need to research the facts about your "straw man" and your name being in all capitals, it's done from your birth certificate on.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6967949/The-Legalities-of-AllCapitalLetters-Names-your-drivers-license-

http://www.cyberclass.net/strawman.htm

...that's just two links.  Remember, we live in a world where if you say one thing wrong you can lose a case, you think that there's no chance your name in all capitals means something different?  Think again.

Never have you said that you weren't, actually, exceeding the speed limit.

If I was actually speeding...do you really think i'd spend all this time and money sending out subpoenas, paying for appeals, etc.  Your posts in both my topics are utterly useless.  I'm looking for proper legal advice from a lawyer that can state laws and codes, and understands.  Not stupid comments.  I think I could find better help on a car mechanic forum for christ sake...

*edit: The only one here that's been helpful is Ford, who has lawyer under his name.  Thank you sir.