Speak Up! - View Question #660

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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
21 thru 21 of 21 comments
On 02/19/04
joe from Othe said:
what if the cop points the radar at the wrong car?
21 thru 21 of 21 comments



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