Legal Question in Traffic Law in Maryland

Re: Laser Judicial Notice In Maryland

See David Ellis Goldstein v. State of Maryland, 339 Md. 563; 664 A.2d 375; 1995. Here the defendant sought review of his conviction for speeding by challenging the admissibility of readings from a device that used lasers to measure the speed of motor vehicles. The court affirmed the conviction. The court found that although the legislature had not specifically permitted the use of lasers to measure the speed of vehicles, this was not evidence that the legislature intended to disallow the use of lasers. The court found that the legislature might simply have intended to let the admissibility of laser speed measurements be determined in judicial proceedings, as is ordinarily the case with scientific evidence. The court found that with respect to laser technology, there was no dispute. The defense had effectively conceded that the use of lasers to measure speed was generally accepted within the relevant scientific community. Thus, there was no need to inquire into this matter as a predicate to the admissibility of the laser readings. The court held that laser speed measurements were admissible into evidence in judicial proceedings in Maryland. The court found that the use of lasers to measure speed is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community.

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