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Hello,

In January I was caught going 110 in an 80 zone. I filed for disclosure and just received it today. My trial is set for August 14th, 2014. In the disclosure I Noticed that the officer only mentions the time he tested the laser in the morning but there is no mention of when he tested it after he used it to catch me. Do I have a case with this fact alone? I've seen some posts where this has gone either way for a defendant using this as his/her defense. Does anyone have any recent experience with this type of situation? Link to disclosure found here:

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Here is my recollection of the event:

On January 3rd at around 3pm I was travelling east bound on Taunton Rd approaching Brock Rd going approximately 95km/hour. On the right side of me was a White Camry. The weather was -30 with wind chill and cars were very dirty on account of the salt and mud from the snowfall that hit the day before and the previous ice storm that hit on December 21st.

I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a vehicle pull out from a side road but did not see that it was an officer as the car was sitting back and not approaching behind me.

Both my vehicle and the white Camry were travelling at approximately the same speed however the White Camry slowed down to turn right at Brock Rd. whereas I continued forward. Somewhere between when the vehicle pulled out from the side road to where the White Camry turned right, I allegedly sped up to 110km/hour at which point the police officer pulled up behind me and flashed his lights.

I pulled over and he approached the vehicle and stood behind my shoulder and immediately stated "I pulled you over for doing 110 in an 80 zone. License, registration and insurance please." I immediately provided all that was requested. The officer returned my insurance form and went back to the vehicle. 5 mins later he returned to my vehicle and provided me with my license, registration and ticket and informed me to look closer at option 2 in order to "see what goes on behind the curtain." He then walked to his vehicle, pulled a u-turn and drove off in the opposite direction.

The officer did not ask me any questions, he was only interested in getting my information and writing a ticket.

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I have an image of the weather report indicating that there was snow the night before.

In his notes he makes no mention of the weather or other vehicles traveling on the road with me. Can I use this during cross-examination to basically test his recollection of the weather? Sometimes its hard to notice the difference between silver and white when they are both covered in salt.

What questions would you suggest I use during cross-examination to discredit his testimony?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

4Bidden wrote:On January 3rd at around 3pm I was travelling east bound on Taunton Rd approaching Brock Rd going approximately 95km/hour.

Speeding is an absolute liability offense. You're already admitting guilt within the first sentence of your explanation.

4Bidden wrote:I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a vehicle pull out from a side road but did not see that it was an officer as the car was sitting back and not approaching behind me.

Both my vehicle and the white Camry were travelling at approximately the same speed however the White Camry slowed down to turn right at Brock Rd. whereas I continued forward. Somewhere between when the vehicle pulled out from the side road to where the White Camry turned right, I allegedly sped up to 110km/hour at which point the police officer pulled up behind me and flashed his lights.

Incorrect. The officer was sitting on Concession Road 4 watching Eastbound Traffic. Your speed was calculated 234 metres before you hit Concession Road 4 and passed him. By the time the officer pulled out, he had already calculated your speed and was in pursuit.

4Bidden wrote:The officer did not ask me any questions, he was only interested in getting my information and writing a ticket.

Correct. Unless the question is "are you in need of emergency assistance?" and the answer is yes, there is no reason to conduct a fantasy trial on the side of the road. It's probably best for you and your case in the long run. You don't want to talk too much anyways. Had you told the officer "..but I was only going 95", you would have been guilty before a trial even took place.

4Bidden wrote:In his notes he makes no mention of the weather or other vehicles traveling on the road with me. Can I use this during cross-examination to basically test his recollection of the weather? Sometimes its hard to notice the difference between silver and white when they are both covered in salt.

Officer points out in his notes that he never lost sight of your vehicle and makes note of your position in the passing lane.

It's going to be an uphill battle for you. Maybe someone else can chime in and help out.

What about the fact that nothing was written in his disclosure about the retesting of his device and the time?

I know this won't help but over the last 3 years my record went from clean to dirty with 3 speeding tickets including the one above.

Wondering whether I should take a plea or try to fight given the above.

*EDIT* man, i got a ticket in the exact area, officer caught me in the exact spot where you got nailed. in your disclosure, were the notes the officers handwritten notes or were they typed?

djohn780 wrote:*EDIT* man, i got a ticket in the exact area, officer caught me in the exact spot where you got nailed. in your disclosure, were the notes the officers handwritten notes or were they typed?

The notes were typed.