Looking for some help. I live 3 hours away and I refuse to pay the fine. I was told I was clocked doing 87 in a 70mph zone. My gps and Speedo said differently. I was driving the speed limit, minding my own business with precious cargo in my vehicle when I got lit up. I was told by the officer issuing citation that his captain (not on scene) had clocked me with his laser. I know for a fact this was incorrect, so I asked for a calibration check. He refused and told me that lasers don't need to be calibrated. I'm at a loss. I've gotten a could speeding tickets in the past but paid them off because I did what I was accused of. This is different, as I was going the speed limit in this case. Im pretty sure he pegged a car that was at the front of the group of cars near me. I'm thinking I'll probably have to lawyer up with it being a super speeder qualified citation. Any advice?
You will probably have to show up to fight it. Get tape of the radio communications, calibration reports for the captains laser, and the certifications/permits to use speed detection equipment. If they both don't show up in court some judges will throw it out. Wasn't there a case of one city doing this whole one cop radars another wrights the ticket. They both get the over time in court. While in fact cop number 2 is across the city issuing another ticket where cop number 3 was the one with radar.
Get as many calibration reports as you can. If one was bad you could use it to say it was wrong when they got you.
This. There is no requirement under Georgia law to "calibrate" a LASER device. There is a simple test that is run when powered on, but I can pretty much tell you that you will be 100% unsuccessful challenging on any calibration grounds. Nonetheless, there are LOTS of technicalities that could help you out...and if you truly would like this to go away (with zero points and no super speeder issues), it would behoove you to contact an attorney.
As GM404 stated, LIDAR systems self calibrate when turned on. Very few states require them to be recalibrated from time to time. GA is not a state that requires recalibration like they do for radar guns.
alnen, Hiring a traffic attorney may cost as much as the fine. Assuming you can even find one that will fight a minor speeding ticket. I had a nearly identical situation as yours several years ago. I contacted a traffic attorney that worked the county my ticket was issued in. He told me that it wasn't worth hiring him. He said all he would do is contact the county solicitor and maybe could get the fine reduced by $200. He said he would charge me $200 to do this! I thought about fighting it in court myself, but like you, I lived 3 hours away from this county and didn't have the time nor the money to travel there to fight it in court. I also knew that I would most likely lose and still have to pay the fine, on top of my travel expenses. I ended up writing a letter to the county solicitor myself and politely asked for a reduction in the fine. I didn't discuss my guilt or innocence. Just asked for a reduction in the fine. I also included a copy of my MVR that showed I had a clean driving record. About a week later, I got a form letter from the solicitor's office indicating they had dropped the fine by $200. At that point I felt like I had a small victory and paid the remaining fine. You may want to try going a similar route.
Pay your road use tax. Consider it a small fee for your enlightenment. You now understand that police will lie for money. They will also throw grenades on toddler's faces for money. And you are totally helpless to prevent either. Act accordingly.
Super Speeder fine is an additional 200.00 over and above the speeding ticket, some place the total could be 500.00 with all the fees some counties/cities tack on, not to mention a hit on your car insurance rate. .
Exactly my concerns. I can't afford this right now. But if this sum of money is gone, I would rather it go to a lawyer than to this corrupt city.
Hire a lawyer, preferably one who is local or well known in that judicial circuit. Expect to pay between $200 to $500 for his/her services to get the ticket reduced to a no points local ordinance type violation and not have to pay the extra $200 to the state for superspeeder. The local government/mafia just want their money. It's not cheap but it beats the heck out of paying an extra couple thousand in insurance premiums for the next five years. If you want a more just outcome you either need to pray for a miracle or pay more. Paying more will yield a slightly more reliable chance of a good outcome in this case.
It's been a few years so I don't know if every detail is correct but my son got a ticket for doing over 90 on I16 somewhere near Statesboro. I called the county DA (I think or solicitor or whoever) and asked how much the fine would be- it was around 300. I asked if there was any way he could write down the speed he was going and he said sure no problem but the fine remains the same. End result was he paid the 300 but got no points and no super speeder- I believe it was 78 that he wrote it down to.
I have found this to be the case in much small town law, including DUI. i.e. We will record anything you want in the computer, as long as we get our "protection" money. I am a big believer that all traffic fines, including all ancillary fees (such as court costs), should be remitted to the state where they will be distributed proportionally based on population. Or pass a state law requiring that all fines be paid only with community service hours, which may be served in your home jurisdiction. Law enforcement in this state would change dramatically if we took the profit motive away.
I just heard yesterday that the legislature "fixed" a fee scheme that was inadvertently deleted when DeKalb County shifted the traffic court away from the recorder's court. Now...the $35 "admin fee" has been added BACK in to ALL citations and it will result in, "an additional $3 million dollars of added REVENUE to the county annually."