Beat Your Ticket? Good luck.

I recently won a speeding ticket trial. Ironically, I got the decision around the same time I was explaining to a prospective client why it is nearly impossible to beat a speeding ticket case. This guy was telling me the typical story; He wasn't doing 88, hew was doing 81. There is no way the cop could have seen him over the hill. The car next to him was moving faster. There was a mistake in the paperwork. The cop was a jerk. Etc.

To all those who think they can beat their ticket listen up: Your story means nothing to the Court. The cop's story means everything. A lawyer I used to work with used to interrupt a client mid story and say "I understand what your are saying, but what is the cop going to say?"

Keep in mind, to beat your ticket you have to try your case and speeding ticket trials are easy for a prosecutor to win, at least in New York. Basically, they have to show one of two things; that the officer visually estimated the speed, or there was a reading from a radar or LIDAR (laser) device that was in working order at the time of the reading. Believe me, cops are generally prepared for trial and have done it a million times.

Back to my trial; I didn't fight the case because I had a good case. I fought the case because I couldn't get a good enough deal for my client and I had nothing to lose by fighting. How did I win? The cop testified that he did not do a visual estimate. He also testified that he used a LIDAR device to measure my client's speed. However, when asked if he had any documents showing the LIDAR had been recently calibrated, he answered no.

The prosecution argued that there is no case law saying a LIDAR device, (unlike a radar device), requires documentation that it has been recently tested for its reading to be admissible at trial. I argued that a LIDAR device is a machine like a radar gun, or breath testing device, or any other scientific instrument, which all require some proof of working order for their readings to be admissible at trial. In this case, the judge agreed with me and dismissed the case.