The Case Law Speeding Tickets That Can Help You Win
Think you have to be a lawyer to quote case law speeding tickets in court? That's not the case when fighting speeding tickets. Case law speeding tickets can be very helpful if you know the right cases. Below are some of the most important examples of case law speeding tickets.
One of the most humorous case law speeding tickets cases is the State of Florida v. Aquilera (1979). In this case law speeding tickets case, radar was shown to be inaccurate after a house was clocked at 28 miles per hour (mph) and a palm tree was clocked at 86 mph! The court ruled that radar speed measuring devices had not met the test of reasonable scientific certainty. This case law speeding tickets verdict also states that radar devices have not been established as accurate beyond a reasonable doubt.
A similar case law speeding tickets example is the United States v. Fields (1982). It was ruled that it was impossible to determine if the motorist was traveling at 43 mph, or if the radar device was measuring the speed of the fan at the sewage pumping station next to the officer's car. Also in this case law speeding tickets case, the court found that the officer was not qualified to operate the radar machine because he didn't know the requirements for correctly operating the unit.
The case law speeding tickets example in the State of Minnesota v. Gerdes (1971) set forth the conditions that must be met for proving the accuracy of a radar unit. These requirements include adequate officer training on the machine, explanation by the officer of how the machine was set up and operated, proof that there was minimum distortion from outside sources, and verification that the unit was accurately calibrated. Since frequently all of these conditions are not met, this case law speeding tickets verdict can be extremely helpful for fighting your speeding ticket.
Some case law speeding tickets examples deal with specific radar equipment, such as the State of Delaware v. Edwards (1980) and the State of Ohio v. Oberhaus (1983). In both these cases, the K-55 radar unit was found to only be acceptable when used in the stationary mode. If your speeding ticket involves this equipment, this may be the only case law speeding tickets case you need.
Before using any case law speeding tickets examples in your trial, first do some research. Make sure that the ruling has not been modified or overturned. Also, state court rulings are only binding on the lower courts in those states. If you plan to use case law speeding tickets verdicts from another state to beat your speeding ticket, be prepared with a copy of the decision for the court.
