Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 11:55:33 -0700
From: carlos@THERIVER.COM ("Carlos A. Alvarez")
Subject: Re: Police Illegalities
To: AZRKBA@asu.edu
At 09:49 AM 7/18/00, Dennis said something to the effect of:
>My initial feeling is that this is no different than any other evidence
>obtained illegally, thus
>inadmissible.
Nice try, but you won't get anywhere with that one. The courts will
consistently rule that the police can violate traffic laws
themselves. See, 99% of traffic laws are not safety-related. As long as
they don't do something unsafe, they can ignore the laws.
I think a better bet would be to fight it on the grounds that your speed
was not unsafe. Did he write you for statutory speed, or "reasonable &
prudent, 28-701"? (Scary, I know that statute without looking it
up...) If the latter, he has to prove in court that it was unsafe. If the
former, there is a supreme court decision that I've always wanted to try on
a speeding ticket. It says that a law that restricts the citizens' rights
must have a "clear and obvious" connection to the public safety. That
could turn statutory speed into having to prove it was unsafe also.
--
Carlos Alvarez, Tucson, AZ, USA, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
http://www.neta.com/~carlos
"KEVORKIAN FOR WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN!"