Oo.et.oO

2pts right now (points go on after first court date if you lose), just want them gone, don't care $

Blk-S4-01

It's a 1/4 mile in PA & the calibration on the cruiser needs to be every 2 or 3 months.

Oo.et.oO

they have to be within 1/4? behind? in front? same lane?

Don@STaSIS

I know who have, ahem, heavy feet. Just two weeks ago a friend walked out of the prosecutors office in Montp with $0 fine and 0 points after being convicted of doing 100mph+ on Rt89. That was really a case that should have been thrown out, officer said he tagged him and it took him so long to catch up to him that there was an exit passed and when he approached his vehicle he was doing just over the limit. The officer identified the car as a white sedan, that's descriptive, and the kangaroo court still found him guilty. He appealed for a jury trial, the day of the court date being set the prosecutor called him, they setup an appointment and a few days later the charge was gone entirely, poof! I've done this, I've also made deals to cut points in half even after my license was suspended for 10 days, which they didn't give me back (I wanted the 10 days of my life back that I couldn't legally drive, the prosecutor said he couldn't do that for me but I did get my reinstatement fee back from the judicial bureau.

Sounds like I might have some competition out there in the prosecutors pool. Are you going to be working in a specific court district?

Cheers,

Oo.et.oO

2nd. where will you be 'scuting? where should i send monthly six packs? :-D

Don@STaSIS

Nein, van = Dutch, von = German. Dutch hertitage, but born and raised in Amerika!

Don@STaSIS

Case of scotch a year, maybe two?

Blk-S4-01

I would try to get the officer on the calibrations, cruisers typically don't get calibrated to often & that is where you can win.

Also in PA we have a form that states you will pay the fine but the officer will waive the points. I forget the name of it or the #.

cashguzzler

Not certain on district assignment, but likely Chittenden (Burlington area) or Lamoille (Stowe area).

Alex, now that I think about it, I'm not too surprised to hear that people have gotten off on appeal in VT. From what I hear, the state police don't always...ahem...follow basic procedures necessary to sustain a conviction.

Here in the Twin Cities, things are a bit different. Our conviction rate is ~97%. (Scary number, eh?) But then again, maybe VT judges just have a soft spot for German auto enthusiasts.

Dave

Don@STaSIS

Oh and it's very common for the guys that that have heavy feet to appeal the first round of court. They will appeal and request a jury trial. Many prosecutors want nothing to do with these trials and will try to plead it out at all costs. Like I mention I've seen guys go in with 7 point tickets and $400 fines then walk out with the case dismissed within 10 minutes with the prosecutor. I walked in with a 7 point ticket and a suspension, walked out with 3 points and a smaller fine. I was convincted fair and square, though I was genuinely not going as swiftly as the Shelburne officer stated he had me on radar doing. Nothing I could argue would work so I argued Shelburne's speed limits are invalid based on the fact they are 10mph under the 85 percentile as stated in a speed survey for that road. The state is supposed to follow MUTCD guidelines if they accept federal highway funding, but VT law states that a board of selectman can set the limit at anything they want, disregarding speed survey. Unfortunately 2 months after I dropped my brief with the judge she ruled against me and sent a 2 page scornful judgement against me. I filed for appeal and made a deal, the prosecutor was quite intrigued by my argument, but I didn't want to have to take anymore time out of my life to argue it in court, might have been fun though

The MUTCD suggests the state should follow the 85th percent rule and that's the loop VT uses, now I gather through some legislature the state doesn't have to follow the MUTCD guidelines even though they take fed funding, but that is just something I heard so it could be way off base.

Conviction rate in kangaroo court here must be similar. Everyone loses unless the officer doesn't show, never seen anyone win any other way.

Cheers,