Fighting the system like a doomed modern day Robin Hood

When I was a kid, my brother Erik and I watched The Dukes of Hazzard. It was our favorite show. The theme song of the show was sung by the narrator, Waylon Jennings. Erik and I used to race around with our cars singing the song lyrics, usually the one that goes "Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born." But Erik and I usually threw in a couple of extra R's into the word "born" to try and get the southern drawl just right. One thing about the song that irritated me was that I didn't understand some of the lyrics or misheard them. But I'll get to that in a minute. . .

A few weeks ago I got a speeding ticket. 44 MPH in a 30. The ticket said to appear in court or there was a number that I could call if I just wanted to pay the fine. Well, I didn't think I was going that fast, and having been in a police car for a few ride-alongs with Sandy's brother Mike, I thought that instead of just paying the ticket ($120) I should maybe try to fight it. At least it would give me a civics lesson and let me spend some time with the dregs of society down at Rochester City Hall. So I showed up in court on the appointed day and pleaded "Not Guilty." That plea started my adventure.

This post will be the story of how I fought my ticket and won, or lost, and what I did and learned along the way.

May 26, 2005

After working for IBM for 7 years, I was promoted to Staff Software Engineer. Previously I was just a Software Engineer. No one told me what this really means, but I think it is an acknowledgement that others in the support center look to me as an expert in my field of expertise, which is iSeries printing. The important point is that they let me go home an hour early and gave me a cake. (Two other people in my group were promoted as well, so it was a group cake.) I headed home but saw that the traffic on highway 52 was completely stopped. So instead of getting in line, I decided to take a shortcut.

I drove around the back of IBM and through some backstreets and onto Valleyhigh Road. Other cars were on the street with me, and there was traffic moving in the opposite direction as well. It wasn't heavy traffic, but I was not the only guy on the road. After a stoplight, I took off and was driving along and saw a police officer on the right side of the road. He was stopped between two parked cars. Kind of hidden, but I could see him. I slowed down a bit and as I passed him, watched him slowly pull out in my rearview mirror. He followed me for a block or so, and then turned on his lights. I turned on my hazard lights and pulled off onto a road that was not very busy. I turned off the car, rolled down my window, and put my hands up on the top of the steering wheel in plain site. Then he walked up to the car.

HIM: "Do you know why I pulled you over?"
ME: "I have no idea."
HIM: "Do you know what the speed limit is on that road back there?"
ME: "No, I probably drive on that road about once a year."
HIM: "Do you know how fast you were going?"
ME: I either said "I have no idea," or "I don't think I was speeding." (I didn't say anything incriminating because I know better than to do that. All they need to hear is that you were going 31 in a 30 and they can just write you a ticket because you just admitted you were speeding. You never want to admit that you were breaking the law to a police officer. It's always a dumb move.)

He told me that he had clocked me going 47 in a 30 and I told him that I didn't think I had been going that fast. Then the officer took my license and asked for proof of insurance. I showed him my card which I keep in its little red plastic package and he waved it off and walked back to his car. A few minutes later he returned with a ticket. He told me that he had clocked me going 47 in a 30, but he was going to write it for 44. I asked him if I could get a warning and he said "Not for 14 over. Maybe for 10." So at least I know that it's fairly safe to drive 10 over in Rochester. Thanks officer.

The officer walked away but when I looked at the ticket, it didn't have any fine on it. So I put my hand out the car window in a "Pardon me can I ask a question" kind of gesture, but he didn't respond. So I got out slowly, smiled and waved at him, and walked back to his car. He looked a little annoyed. I asked him what I was supposed to do with this piece of paper. "Where is the fine?" I asked him. He told me it was a summons for a court appearance, but if I wanted to just pay the fine I should call the phone number listed and it would tell me what to do.

I went back to my car and drove home. Slowly. I told Sandy the good (promotion) and bad (ticket) news. I called the number and was told that the fine was $120 for between 11 and 14 MPH over the limit. I decided that because this fine seemed very high, and because I didn't think I was speeding, at least by as much as the officer said I was.

First Court Date

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June 28, 2005

I drove Sandy and the kids to City Hall and got a copy of the ticket. A copy of a speeding ticket will show the part I received (the offense and information about me, where I was stopped, my license number, and the police officer's name, etc...), and the part of the ticket which I did not receive -- the back. The back of the ticket shows the officer's notes about the incident. This is where the officer should write about what type of radar was used, where he was sitting, if there was other traffic, if he tested the radar before and after he stopped me, etc. This is the part of the ticket that I would use to plan my defense, as anything not on that part of the ticket should not be admissable in court as evidence.

PROSECUTOR: Office Jones, what method of acquisition did you use to determine the speed of the vehicle?

OFFICER: I used laser radar.

ME: The traffic ticket does not specify what type of radar was used, or if any was used at all. The defense motions for dismissal as the prosecution will be unable to prove that laser radar was used at the time of the arrest.

Of course, never having been to court before, and thinking I might not win, I made a comment to Sandy that my blog entry for this whole fiasco should be "Fighting the system like a doomed modern day Robin Hood." Like I was doomed to pay the $120. However, I did some research and those are not the correct lyrics for that song. Maybe I am not doomed after all.

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Theme From "the Dukes Of Hazzard" (good Ol' Boys)
by Waylon Jennings


Just two good ole boys,
Never meaning no harm.
Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law
Since the day they was born.

Straightenin' the curves,
Flattenin' the hills.
Someday the mountain might get 'em but the law never will.

Makin' their wayyyyyy, the only way they know how.
Well, that's just a little bit more than the law will allow.

Just two good ole boys,
Wouldn't change if they could.
Fightin' the system like two modern day Robin Hoods. [Yee-haw]

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November 4, 2005

My final court date.