Legal Question in Traffic Law in Kansas

radar as proof

Is radar considered evidence of proof and is it ever disputed? If one officer

has only radar, can that be contested? If there are no other witnesses for the

prosecution or defense, doesn't the case become he said vs. he said? How can

a city prove its case with only one officer who used radar? Doesn't the

concept of innocent until proven guilty apply? Wouldn't the officer be biased

or at least not a disinterested party? There is no objective third party in such

a case. I am accused of speeding but the officer was at least 600-800 ft. from

my vehicle. He took the radar reading facing uphill as I came down a narrow,

tree-lined suburban street with many powerlines overhead. He could have

gotten a reading from a vehicle behind me or made other errors. He was not

following and had no speedometer reference. He did not show me the radar

reading. Is radar equipment regularly calibrated? What are my chances in

court?


Asked on 7/20/04, 12:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brian Leininger Leininger Law Office

Re: radar as proof

In almost all speeding cases the only evidence is the officer's testimony and the radar reading. The officer will testify that he is trained to visually estimate a vehicle's speed, that his radar unit is certified and calibrated, and you were the driver of the vehicle he measured. Judges almost always find a defendant guilty based on this. There are defenses, but the attorney's fees and possibly expert witness fees end up being 5, 10 or 20 times the amount of the fine, and there's no guarantee of success, so most people don't go this route. Most courts will amend speeding tickets to keep them off your record, usually for about twice the original fine. If you want to discuss this further or want to look into amending your ticket, contact me.

Brian Leininger

8000 Foster St.

Overland Park, KS 66204

913-648-7070

[email protected]

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Answered on 7/20/04, 4:37 pm


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