My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Oregon
I was traveling for the holidays on an interstate through Oregon using the waze app for navigation. The waze app notified me that there was a police officer about 1 mile ahead so I slowed from 75 to about 67-68 (speed limit was 65) in the left lane. I saw the officer on the shoulder facing the same direction as traffic and continued past him. He pulled out a few cars behind me and pulled me over. He stated I was going 86 and asked why I was going so fast. I said I don't believe I was going that fast. He asked how fast was I going which I replied somewhere between 65 and 70. He said you do realize I clocked while you were passing people in the fast lane and I replied ok. He proceeded to cite me for 86 in a 65 for a $435 violation.
I used to be military police so I am somewhat familiar with some radar systems. He was using radar and because he was facing forward, I imagine he was using the rear facing radar that is usually external on the car. I think he read the radar at 86 and when I was the first car in the left lane assumed it was me and understandably believes that I was the vehicle going 86. Either the radar picked up a different vehicle, the radar device malfunctioned, or my speedometer is off by over 15 mph.
I live four hours from the court and would like to avoid having to drive to appear but as I am fairly certain I am innocent I do not really want to just pay the fine. If I was going to fight it in court I would look for any obvious reason to dismiss the case but if it came to cross examination I would try to prove that as per ORS 810.420 I don't think the officer could say he actually observed the speed measuring device recording the speed of my vehicle because I was in a group of at least 5 vehicles and since he was facing the opposite direction he would not be able to confirm that my vehicle was the one driving 21 mph over the limit. I understand this is super weak and probably has a low chance of winning but as Oregon offers a trial by affidavit I would like to at least try to do that.
Finally my questions:
1. Does this defense have any chance with a trial by affidavit?
2. Do I get to do discovery as I would with an in-person trial?
3. My wife was in the car and was as surprised I was at how fast he thought I was going, can I submit her testimony as affidavit? Are passenger testimonies worth anything in traffic court for speeding violations?
I think the best answer to this is going to be just pay the fine and throw it up to bad luck but it is just tough to swallow because I am so sure that there was a mistake somewhere.
Thank you in advance for your time and advice.
I was traveling for the holidays on an interstate through Oregon using the waze app for navigation. The waze app notified me that there was a police officer about 1 mile ahead so I slowed from 75 to about 67-68 (speed limit was 65) in the left lane. I saw the officer on the shoulder facing the same direction as traffic and continued past him. He pulled out a few cars behind me and pulled me over. He stated I was going 86 and asked why I was going so fast. I said I don't believe I was going that fast. He asked how fast was I going which I replied somewhere between 65 and 70. He said you do realize I clocked while you were passing people in the fast lane and I replied ok. He proceeded to cite me for 86 in a 65 for a $435 violation.
I used to be military police so I am somewhat familiar with some radar systems. He was using radar and because he was facing forward, I imagine he was using the rear facing radar that is usually external on the car. I think he read the radar at 86 and when I was the first car in the left lane assumed it was me and understandably believes that I was the vehicle going 86. Either the radar picked up a different vehicle, the radar device malfunctioned, or my speedometer is off by over 15 mph.
I live four hours from the court and would like to avoid having to drive to appear but as I am fairly certain I am innocent I do not really want to just pay the fine. If I was going to fight it in court I would look for any obvious reason to dismiss the case but if it came to cross examination I would try to prove that as per ORS 810.420 I don't think the officer could say he actually observed the speed measuring device recording the speed of my vehicle because I was in a group of at least 5 vehicles and since he was facing the opposite direction he would not be able to confirm that my vehicle was the one driving 21 mph over the limit. I understand this is super weak and probably has a low chance of winning but as Oregon offers a trial by affidavit I would like to at least try to do that.
Finally my questions:
1. Does this defense have any chance with a trial by affidavit?
2. Do I get to do discovery as I would with an in-person trial?
3. My wife was in the car and was as surprised I was at how fast he thought I was going, can I submit her testimony as affidavit? Are passenger testimonies worth anything in traffic court for speeding violations?
I think the best answer to this is going to be just pay the fine and throw it up to bad luck but it is just tough to swallow because I am so sure that there was a mistake somewhere.
Thank you in advance for your time and advice.
Speeding Tickets: Oregon Speeding Ticket Defense
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