Texas troopers lying about motorcycle speeds?

thanks for another good tip.

Phil Scott

 

If that's your position...don't bother putting a stamp on it. Just go
and pay the fine and get ready to suffer the benefits of living in a
state that now has a "point" system and enjoys playing games with your
drivers license.

 

Of course, if you go in firing all cylinders on asking for

No problemo. Remember that ALL their cylinders cost them thousands of
dollars each. You quickly get them to the point where the income they
seek isn't worth the effort and expense they have to use to get it.

--

Mark Johnson, Fort Worth, Texas; IBA #?; CM #1; DoD #2021
2003 FJR1300 "E²"

http://www.bikes-n-spikes.org

 

Perfect example of several things:

1. Most traffic court judges are really prosecuting atorneys that don't
know how to be judges. I too was "cross examined" by such a judge when
the city's atourney moved to dismiss the case after he and I had a
conversation before court started (defective equipment with a receipt of
repair).

2. Request a record of the trial. It costs a couple of buck but can come
in handy a few ways. A) The actual record. B) The judge is less
fast-and-loose when there's a record. C) It can be used to overturn a
ruling cases like you describe.

3. Remember their bottom line is revenue. If you make it too costly for
them they will give up and dismiss the case. For every $100 you spend
defending, they spend thousands in administrative overhead, judges
salaries, court clerks, recorders, etc.

 

"Checks in the Mail".. This trooper "lied" when he charged you with the
offense.. He will lie in court and under oath.. When he lies, he discredits
his value as a witness against you.. Take his ass to court and expose him as
a LIAR.. Chances are that you will finally pay the fine that is assessed..
That will make more of an impact than all the letters of complaint ..
Department of Public Safety receives many letters every day.. Most are
ignored and discarded.. We all agree that our traffic enforcement is mainly
a tool devised to enhance revenue for cities and municipalities over the
state.. With all due respect for every professional LEO, who takes his oath
seriously and performs his work conscientiously, there are those among them
who are bullies and have no respect for the citizens who ultimately are
paying their salaries..Those are the ones who must be exposed and are not
respected by their fellow LEO's.. Even though the judge, justice or
magistrate rules against you, in assesssing a penalty in your appearance, it
is noted that there is a weakness in his system that must be addressed..
Small compensation after being mistreated on the side of the road, but, it
is compensation and must be considered..All that being said, I hope that I
never find myself in the position of "the checks in the mail".. Good luck..
I wish you well..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

Clearly you overlooked by (sp?) at the beginning of the thread. Anyone
talking with the court clerk, requesting the forms needed to accomplish
"a, b, c" will be given the forms they request. Some will be SUBPEONAS
and some will be the equivalent forms needed to solicity official
records for court cases.

FOIA isn't used to acquire the documents but it is the regulations that
prevents them from withholding them when requested. Using FOIA to get
records (as someone recommended) is not effective because of the long
response time allowed using that path (IIRC 30 days). Also, a FOIA can
be redacted of all it's useful information. A court demand for records
(which is what we're taling about) won't allow for redacting in these
cases as the info isn't classified.

 

Why?

It's not like they're spending their own money.

 

UPDATE (2.1.2004): In my frustration and haste, it completely slipped
my mind that in Texas, one cannot have a ticket dismissed with
defensive driving if it is for more than 25 miles over the posted
speed limit. Therefore, I may or may not send this letter at all, and
am currently re-assessing my options, which are few. At this point,
fighting the ticket would be more than a hopeless cause. I think I'm
just going to have to suck it up and pay the full fine. Although I
need to go back though and see what the statutes currently say about
taking the defensive driving course solely for the purposes of
reducing the fine.

This trooper's supervisor still needs to know what he's possibly up
to, however. I'm conflicted. What do you all think?

Cheers,

Tim Kreitz
2003 ZX7R
2000 ZX6R
DoD #2184
http://www.timkreitz.com

 

I think that if you try to fight it you will only go before the
Justice of the Peace in that precinct.
you can check the structure of Tx. courts here for future refferance
but we are not here to argue the structure of courts or anything for
that matter just trying to help this guy out
http://www.courts.state.tx.us/publicinfo/crt_stru.htm

 

It would seem that you are the "doofus." It would also seem that
you've never taken an MSF course.

Nowhere in the curriculum do we teach traffic law, nor do we ever
instruct students that they should always obey the speed limit. Doing
so could get them killed. The course is intended to teach proper
operation and mental street strategies for the purposes of
successfully managing risk.

Nice try, though.

Like almost ever other American, I break the speed limit practically
every day to one degree or another. Which is more proof-positive that
going faster than the posted speed limit is rarely dangerous, usually
never causing a problem until it is combined with either poor driver
skill or operator inattention.

I encourage you to take the class. Judging by your comments here, I
can only assume that it will work wonders for you.

Cheers,

Tim Kreitz
2003 ZX7R
2000 ZX6R
DoD #2184
http://www.timkreitz.com

 

Agreed. Some judges will listen to your reasonable arguments, while
others will not. Having a lawyer represent you greatly increases your
chances of being listened to.

One ticket I got, the only measurement of my speed was a visual
estimate by the cop as he stood talking with somebody in a driveway.
He admitted that in court. There were several reasons why the ticket
should have been thrown out, but I was told buy the judge that I would
be found in contempt if I tried to pursue them. Guilty!

In the state of New Hampshire the ultimate speeding limit is
"reasonable and prudent for existing conditions". When I got a ticket
for speeding through an area that has a ridiculously low limit I hired
a lawyer. I told him that I had in fact been doing 56 in a 35, and
what I wanted to use as a defense.

I admitted to doing 56 in court, and we proceeded to show that it was
reasonable. We used the officers own testimony to show that
visibility was perfect and that there wasn't another car in sight, so
traffic was light. We showed that the reason for the 35 limit was
that several businesses had been on that stretch, but that they no
longer existed. We used the fact that I had a competition licence to
show that I was aware of my vehicle's limitations, and the fact that I
had my son with me to show that I was not likely to be acting
recklessly. The judge took the case under advisement, and I received
a letter a few days later that the charges had been dropped. I don't
think that would have happen without a lawyer.

Bruce

 

That's EXACTLY how I want my tax dollars spent.

 

Clearly you haven't seen Vice-Presient Cheney on the stand.

-- Larry

 

LMAO... where'd that one come from.. Hell.. no one has been able to get that
sleazy bag of corruption on any stand that I am aware of.. Good one..

Your friend in Irving
Bill Walker

 

More good advice.... thanks again.

Phil Scott

 

So what? You can't be any more guilty than if you just pay the ticket.
If the real aim of speeding tickets is revenue, you have won simply by
costing the system more in fighting the ticket than they got in issuing
it.

When I got a speeding ticket and fought it, I lost but it cost the
system far more than my $200 to keep the ticket on my record. And you
know what? There have been times after that fight where I thought I was
going to get stopped and ticketed for some pointless reason, but I was
let go with a warning (if I was stopped at all). Does the cop's
computer come up with "disputes citations; advise warning"? Maybe not,
but if the intent is revenue, maybe so.

 

This is all true. When I fought my ticket, I didn't even bother to
request equipment records. The best approach is to allow that the
equipment is fine but the officer is in error.

Always fight it, though. Additional court costs are trivial, and even
without a lawyer you at least have *some* chance of not being found
guilty. Whatever the outcome, you will have established you are not
some drone who will roll over in the name of revenue.

 

And it starts (or continues) a sequence of events that can lead to
repercussions once a trend is recognized in the way that specific LEO
operates.

--

Mark Johnson, Fort Worth, Texas; IBA #?; CM #1; DoD #2021
2003 FJR1300 "E²"

http://www.bikes-n-spikes.org

 

worst case, no lo contendre with the advanced agreement that they will
extend deferred adjudication (no tickets for 90 days and it drops off
your record completely).

--

Mark Johnson, Fort Worth, Texas; IBA #?; CM #1; DoD #2021
2003 FJR1300 "E²"

http://www.bikes-n-spikes.org

 

JOP was whom my original case in Jeff Davis County went to (that I
appealed and got D.A. from the next higher - District - court).

--

Mark Johnson, Fort Worth, Texas; IBA #?; CM #1; DoD #2021
2003 FJR1300 "E²"

http://www.bikes-n-spikes.org