if a policeman claims you were going over the speed limit and its his word vs yours will it stand up in court?
February 8th, 2010 | by admin |A friends daughter (honest ..not me!) was pulled over and told she was doing 55 in a 30 zone when she maintains she wasnt even nearly doing that. He tried to bully her into taking a 3pt / £60 quick fine. she refused and asked to be tried by the court. she never admitted blame and refused to surrender her license. how does she stand in court? the police man had no cameras or laser eqpt.
He doesn’t need a camera or a laser, but he does need some form of corroboration, he will have had some form of device in the car, like a ‘Provida’ in which case you friend is bang to rights!
17 Responses to “if a policeman claims you were going over the speed limit and its his word vs yours will it stand up in court?”
By A on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
They will throw it out before it even makes court. How can they prosecute some one with no evidence think about it. Tell her to go to court if they make her then make a counter claim to seek compensation.
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By mattie_blower on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
I seriously doubt it. Unless there were some sort of reason they would lie. And you would need evidence of that.
For example: If the officer and you had had a falling out over an unrelated topic before this….or if you had slept with their dog……otherwise, i doubt it!
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By IBJ on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
Yes. He is a policeman innit
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By Rock Firestorm on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
What a ridiculous question. This is a guy who’s in court everyday with people saying the same excuses and other dumb ones. This is his job. What do you think? Do you think the judge is going to go "gee, I see Officer Johnson in here all the time and he’s a great cop, but for some reason I think he completely made up this particular ticket. Yes, I’m going to go with this woman I’ve never seen before. I believe her over the officer of the court."
Get a clue.
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By Ernie on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
Judges tend to believe police if you show up alone in court, especially if your friend is young. You can always contest a ticket with a firm that specializes in this area but it may end up costing you more financially. If you contest with a firm your chances are increased dramatically that you would win. One such firm in my area boasts that they have a 75% win rate when contesting tickets. Whatever you do, show up in court with your parents or gardians.
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By joe and mindy! on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
if she was going what she said and the officer clocked her at the speed he say, then maybe she needs to take the car to the garage and have the speedometer checked out. seriously, if it was off than the charge COULD be dropped
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By Kelebek on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
Officer’s word against hers, yes, they can convict on that (at least in the U.S.). I’m assuming he paced her in his car to get her speed, and over here that’s a perfectly acceptable way of catching speeders. If he was just watching and guessed her speed, though, he’s going to have a hard time getting a conviction if she presents a good argument.
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By MikeGolf on Feb 8, 2010 | Reply
She is likely to lose.
First of all: because the policeman will probably be able to show that he has been trained, tested and certified in the ability to visually determine a vehicle’s speed (not as hard as you think).
Second: he will produce a calibration certificate for the speedometer for his vehicle.
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By tac tics on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
where are these other people from? im assuming we are talking about great(and i’m using the term loosely here ) britain? you are done what you are failing to mention that there was more than one saw you… and they will testify to that, how the h.ell do you think they get up the ladder? and dont think they cant. very rarely will a judge not choose to listen to and prefer the evidence of the polis. they might try and claim they were tailing her…
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By Marcus on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
Won’t go to court, he should have arrested her and took her in for a breath and blood, if he had evidence. Single copper, no evidence?
Whack a complaint in to the Chief Constable. Trying it on in my opinion.
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By mike i on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
Judges will almost ALWAYS believe policemen.
THEY have a better word over yours, right from the start…period.
HOWEVER……i’ve talked to Chief of police before, he said SOMETIMES if a police officer has a bad reputation in court….never has his paper work straight, or has been caught stretching the truth or been telling shady stories before….the judges MAY agree with the citizen instead.
I’ve heard stories of a certain judge and a certain officer in maryland.
Everytime the officer was showing up to court to get a citizen charged with a particular traffic violation, the judge would just THROW HIM OUT of court!!!
Because apparently the cop was repeatedly proven to be an idiot and doing things WRONG….ALOT….never had paperwork straight or evidence….and was notorious for doing so….
I cant imagine a judge doing that to a cop, but its absolutely true!
haha
So judges dont always side with cops…..it just depends….every case is handled on it’s own merits.
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CJS major.
By Dion J on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
The court will believe the cops- always.
At least in the U.S.
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By oklatom on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
It isn’t just a simple word against word. The officer has a certified speedometer in his car. All he had to do was match his speed with hers and read it directly off the speedometer in his car. You don’t need cameras of lasers to prove someone was over the limit. Although most cars are equipped with dash cams which would show the relative speed if needed.
Also, police are required to show they can estimate speed within a few miles of being exact on a regular basis, so their word as to the speed you were doing would have the weight of an expert witness.
I suspect you (sorry, your friend’s daughter) will be convicted of 55 in a 30, 25 over which may be enhanced to reckless driving, and probably should have taken the 3 points and fine.
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By Steve V on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
She needs to ask for a copy of the last Speedo calibration of the police vehicle and request a copy of the vehicle daily check..that police officer is required to do before taking the vehicle onto the road.
If these are in order, it is her word against his. She will lose!!
Police officers will lie in order to obtain the conviction in court. .i know i have been their and witnessed it myself. The magistrate will always believe the officer no matter what.
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experience
By "isitme" on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
He doesn’t need a camera or a laser, but he does need some form of corroboration, he will have had some form of device in the car, like a ‘Provida’ in which case you friend is bang to rights!
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By SimonC on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
"isitme" is basically correct. Speeding charges need corroborating evidence. The word of a single officer is not enough. If there were 2 officers in the car who saw the speedo, and the speedo had been certified as accurate, that would be enough.
Otherwise some form of electronic evidence is needed, along with the evidence of the officer. EG a speed gun or a video recording with a calibrated speed measurement.
The police are not stupid. If there is nothing suitable the case will not proceed. If it does expect 4 to 6 points and a stiff fine.
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By Extra on Feb 9, 2010 | Reply
Was he on his own and on foot or in a car?
If he was on his own on foot then not a hope of getting a prosecution and it won’t even get to court probably.
If he was in a car then that is a different matter and you will probably get done because he will have "formed his opinion" and this will be "proven" or backed up by his calibrated speedometer in the car.
If you want info then go to http://www.pepipoo.com
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