Oo.et.oO

anyone know how to find laws governing how "tailing" for speed must be done(if they exist) by state?

Oo.et.oO

they don't seem to be in the VT traffic statutes

Don@STaSIS

and pacing can be accepted at court, though I don't remember there being any mention of this procedure in any VT statute I've ever read. If you get a ticket in VT, go to kangaroo court (civil) and lose unless the officer doesn't show and you automatically win. Then if you lose, which is nearly guaranteed if the officer shows, file for an appeal and then a jury trial. The prosecutor is sure to call you shortly after the date is set. Setup an appointment and generally walk out with the ticket down to next to nothing or nothing at all, though play hardball with the prosecutor as they will offer cutting the points or the fine, but not both, so say that you want it gone or you will press for trial, be careful and play ball as they might just say OK to the trial, rare though. It's $75 to appeal and that is generally what you end up owing.

Cheers,

Oo.et.oO

already filed for the appeal. he was in front of me, in the other lane, and it was dark out..

Don@STaSIS

make an appointment with the prosecutor. If all that come up in court already the prosecutor will have it. State what happened and say you weren't speeding, you want it gone. I bet you'll walk out with nothing or 1-2 points and a small fine.

Cheers,

jlzhisname

I can never return to Vermont again....... (3) speeding tickets in (1) night.

Dr. Jekyll

Damn dude, how'd you manage that? Vermont has like 4 cops total :-p

Don@STaSIS

In some areas there are an overabundance of police in VT, but after 2:30AM they call go to sleep;-)

cashguzzler

I work as a prosecutor in MN and am studying for the VT bar exam as we speak (getting dragged to VT by my fiancee...not the worst thing that could happen).

So, I have a few thoughts for you. As you probably know, you can't take them as "legal advice" because I'm not licensed in VT and you're not my client.

Here it goes:

(1) Speeding statutes often mention radar and laser by name as authorized methods of speed detection. They usually leave out pacing because it was a generally-accepted practice well before the statute was written. Believe it or not, but once upon a time, it wasn't clear whether radar and laser were consitutionally-permissible.

(2) So, pacing or "tailing" is a legal method of speed detection. Officers engaged in pacing must either (a) follow their department's established and approved procedure for pacing or (b) convince the court that their particular pacing procedure is reliable.

(3) Most likely, the officer who pulled you over followed the Vt State Police's procedure on pacing. Or at least he testified (or will testify) in court to that effect. Perhaps he even testi-lied. It doesn't really matter.

(4) If you want to appeal, you need to find out what pacing procedure the officer used or claims to have used. This is the crux of your case. And then you'll need to show either that the cop didn't accurately follow the procedure he said he followed or that the procedure itself is flawed.

(5) Some general thoughts: (a) It's tough to win on appeal; (b) People from out-of-state almost never win; and (c) It's nearly impossible to work out a deal with the prosecutor once you've already been found responsible at a bench trial.

Good luck! Sorry you got tagged...

Dave

cashguzzler

alex, kommst du aus deutschland?