speed cameras defense

[bowian]

Originally Posted by cool rob

But I'm saying if a human cop pulls me over, he is testifying that he "saw/witnessed" me committing a crime
I should have the right to cross examine the accuracy of what the cop is attesting to, and have a judge decide based on the evidence

The camera itself can't testify to anything, since its a machine- those tickets don't even give you an option of having a court hearing, that has to be unconstitutional by itself, right?

It looks like you can request a hearing. Scroll down to about the middle of this link:

http://www.courts.state.md.us/legalhelp/traffic.html

Here is an interesting article:

Maryland Drivers Alliance: Take Action


In the case of a speed camera, it's a matter of evidence, not testimony. Admissible evidence. You can dispute the accuracy of that evidence.

[cool rob]

Originally Posted by bowian

It looks like you can request a hearing. Scroll down to about the middle of this link:

http://www.courts.state.md.us/legalhelp/traffic.html

Here is an interesting article:

Maryland Drivers Alliance: Take Action


In the case of a speed camera, it's a matter of evidence, not testimony. Admissible evidence. You can dispute the accuracy of that evidence.

thanks for that- I found this which maybe the "get out of jail free card"

f) The law states that you need notify the court *20 days before the trial* if you want to have the "operator" appear in court. This is right after the paragraph which says that the operator is not *required* to go to court. However, if you request the operator be present and they do not send the operator, you should ask the judge to dismiss the case on that basis.

[cool rob]

Originally Posted by dkf747

The camera just records the violation. An actual Officer reviews the recording and issues the citation.

From what I have read, its more of an operator/technician than a law enforcement officer, as these cameras are owned and operate by private business, on contract by the local government-

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by cool rob

From what I have read, its more of an operator/technician than a law enforcement officer, as these cameras are owned and operate by private business, on contract by the local government-

I don't know where you read that, but I recall reading of a ticket that someone actually beat in court. It was a red light camera ticket that caught someone turning right on red. The Post article explained that it was an actual officer who reviews the evidence and issues citations. I'm not sure where to find the article now.

[Flamboyante]

Originally Posted by dkf747

I don't know where you read that, but I recall reading of a ticket that someone actually beat in court. It was a red light camera ticket that caught someone turning right on red. The Post article explained that it was an actual officer who reviews the evidence and issues citations. I'm not sure where to find the article now.

Well, that ticket shouldn't have been issued to begin with, if he was turning right. I had the exact same situation happen to me and when I requested a court hearing, I received another letter dismissing the charges. So if the citation clearly shows that the car was turning right, then it shouldn't even have made it to court.

But to the point of this thread, I don't know how you can fight a camera' speeding or red light ticket. I guess You'll really have to prove that the machine wasn't properly working at the time and that it's not your car showing on camera..idk

[tw71]

Yeah, the whole system is rigged in favor of easy revenue generation - not justice.

Honestly, that argument that you have the right to "face your accuser" in a trial is very true, but they instituted the work-around of assigning police officers to review the photos and sign off on the tickets as "witnesses" just to ensure justice is bypassed from that angle. (IMO, there's no way a cop reviewing a photograph taken well after the fact can be considered a true witness to the infraction. But our legal system seems willing to disregard that -- content that the cop signing off on the violation constitutes him or her being your accuser, not the camera.)

Not quite the same situation you're in here, but there's an interesting story of a teacher who successfully beat a ticket for running a stop sign using math skills:

Physics Buzz: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

Originally Posted by Flamboyante

Well, that ticket shouldn't have been issued to begin with, if he was turning right. I had the exact same situation happen to me and when I requested a court hearing, I received another letter dismissing the charges. So if the citation clearly shows that the car was turning right, then it shouldn't even have made it to court.

But to the point of this thread, I don't know how you can fight a camera' speeding or red light ticket. I guess You'll really have to prove that the machine wasn't properly working at the time and that it's not your car showing on camera..idk