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Question: If a cop pulls me over for speeding, what are my rights? Can I ask for a print out of the radar gun? What else am I entitled to in this situation?

Answer: First, an officer has to have reasonable suspicion that you have done something wrong in order to pull you over. That suspicion was that you were speeding and he obviously got that from either a radar or from pacing you. Your question leads me to believe that you were caught by radar.

While you can ask for a print out of the radar gun, you won't get it. You can also ask to look at the radar, but the officer is not obligated to show you it. It's essentially the officer's word against your word. You would be entitled to fight the ticket in court and hold the officer to his/her burden in proving beyond a reasonable doubt that you were speeding. If you can offer evidence that you were not speeding or you can show that the officer's radar was flawed somehow, then you will win.

How do you show that the radar obtained an inaccurate reading? What was the weather like? Was it day or not? Was the radar gun calibrated before the officer's shift and after it? Was it working properly when it was calibrated? All of those things matter when determining whether the radar gave an accurate reading.


Comments
11 thru 15 of 21 comments
On 06/17/04
Matt Brooksher from KS said:
I got pulled over for going 32 in a 20.. First of all, I WAS NOT SPEEDING.. there was a cop 1 block behind me so I was already paranoid and making sure i was going the speed limit by the time i passed this other cop a mile down the road... I asked to see his radar, he said it wouldnt do any good cuz he just cleared it and then handed me a ticket without having me even sign it.. do I have any options here? Thanx!
On 06/04/04
Tom from CO said:
I was stopped on the side of the road w/ my girl. A cop pulles up and noticed my tags were expired on a public street (less than 3 months) When I told him Its paid just had to send smog cert. in (done) waiting for tags in mail. He asked for my lic. and ran me for warants (Did he have Prob. Cause?) A warrant came up 26,000. For a 1997 Driving on Suspended. I Bonded out of jail and go to court July 1st. I have been ran by police 20+ times since 97 nothing came up before. Warrant had same name as me, diferent Year of birth and Dif. Address. Same DL#. I do not remember ever getting tic. HELP
On 04/24/04
karl hess from AZ said:
I got pulled over for speeding, but when the officer gave me my ticket he put the wrong address on the ticket. Is there anyway to void it. Please answer soon. Thank you. E-mail me at [email protected] or give me a call at 602-619-1128
On 04/19/04
Orb from TX said:
Do I just ask the judge or officer for this Demand for Discovery and Production of Evidence? Wil they have this evidence? What exactly is this Evidence?
On 04/19/04
Jones from TX said:
If you are given a ticket for speeding by an officer that is hidden on someone's driveway can you argue that that was not where the traffic survey was taken.
11 thru 15 of 21 comments



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