“136 On 401 - Disclosure Received - Looking For Advice”

Here is a summary of my ticket and the disclosure information I received. Any input would be appreciated.

Speed Laser - Laser Atlanta I have the serial number and that it was self tested before and after and that it passed

Scene - visibility was good, clear, dawn, dry, paved, medium traffic, sunny 16 degrees, 100 km posted

All true

Offence - he was stationary on the right shoulder, I was in L1; length was 3 seconds, 136/137/136; locked on 136 @ 309.78 m, lone target - only vehicle in L1

Discrepancies - I was not the only car but the first of 3. I had someone tailgating so I moved over to middle lane but then was the only one pulled over.

Driver - aware of limit - yes; aware of speed - crossed out; reason - none; shown radar - yes - comments - never lost sight

Discrepancies - He did not confirm I was aware of limit; He did not show me the radar and there is an error in the number of occupants

Location - it also states where I was clocked and then stopped

Thanks in advance,

fastmomma wrote:

Discrepancies - I was not the only car but the first of 3. I had someone tailgating so I moved over to middle lane but then was the only one pulled over.

Lidar is target specific, meaning only one target, one reading at a time, however is pinpoint accurate. The lidar beam is 90cm (3ft) wide at the distance given.

He did not show me the radar

4) Should I verify the distance is consistent with what he listed?

Minor discrepancies like number of occupants or whether you were asked if you were aware of the speed limit are not really relevant to your defence, since they are not facts in issue to the charge of speeding. You could poke at them during your cross examination but the officer will likely give evidence consistent with what was in his notes and there's no advantage for you to go after these issues hard, because, as I said, they're not elements of the offence. At best you might get the officer to admit that he made a mistake, with say the number of occupants in the vehicle, but that doesn't mean he has been discredited and the JP will not accept the rest of his evidence. Also, the JP will not appreciate it if you waste time questioning the officer about things that are not directly related to the offence.

Does it say anything in the notes about an alignment check?

If the officer is required to do one prior to the shift the he should have a note about it too. At 300 meters a small alignment issue makes a big difference.

Will the JP be annoyed if I ask for the manual in court? I did not ask for it specifically and court date is next week.

The disclosure doesn't specify that the radar was tested before and after setup to the manufactures specifications, including the testing times.

Speeding ticket trials are won on legal technicalities properly presented to the court. If you do not know the legal technicalities, or how to properly present them to the court you need someone who does.

If you represent yourself your chance of winning against the police officer and the prosecutor is very low.