Legal Question in Traffic Law in Minnesota

Plead ''not guilty'' to a speeding ticket. HELP!

I plead ''not guilty'' for a speeding ticket I received and have been vigorously searching how I should defend myself without appearing foolish. I am not claiming the officer lied but am suggesting he may have radared a different vehicle. I only came to this conclusion because he claimed I was going 71 in a 55. I was looking at the spedometer as he approached and I was under 63. I told the officer my view and he said to plea bargain with the prosecuter. Plea bargaining was unsuccessful. I called a lawyer for advice and his exact words were, ''I would rather defend an aggravated rape case than a speeding ticket!'' Please advise me on this matter as I have only been referred to the statutes which do not apply to my specific case. Thanks in advance.


Asked on 8/10/03, 1:17 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
David Kelly-952-544-6356 Kelly Law Office

Re: Plead ''not guilty'' to a speeding ticket. HELP!

I successfully defended a speed in Anoka County last year. I did a lot of research in advance about the radar machine, how it works, and how the evidence of the radar is to be introduced in court. I caught the Fridley prosecutor leaving out one of the required steps and got a finding of not guilty from the judge.

Frankly, I was surprised. I had started with a motion to get the charge dismissed because the speed limit sign was 8 inches too short. When the judge said no to that (and I thought I had the city cold on that one, the sign violated serveral regulations), I told my client I was out of ideas and she might as well plead guilty. My client said no, let's try it, so we did and won.

It was just a fluke that the city was not following all the steps to calibrate their machines properly. The cop used a tuning fork to calibrate the radar, but nobody calibrated the fork itself - and I had them.

I would be glad to consult with you - my consult fee is $150. You need to request that the city provide you with the police report, the logs that go with the radar machine, and the records of when, where and how the officer was trained to use the radar. Bring that to me and I could tell you what I think.

I'm at 952-544-6356

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Answered on 8/11/03, 11:10 am
Ronald Lundquist Law Offices of Ronald Lundquist

Re: Plead ''not guilty'' to a speeding ticket. HELP!

If you plead not guilty there will be a trial and the state will have to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It basically comes down to your word against the officer's and the odds are not good for you. To make it more than your word against the officer's you need witnesses or other evidence, or you need to undermine the officer's credibility.

You said plea bargaining did not work - this is unusual - often prosecutors will plead down such an offense to something that won't get reported to the insurance company - or will let you plead to speeding but less then 10 mph over the limit. I hope this helps and good luck.

Ronald J. Lundquist

Telephone: 651-210-3105

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Answered on 8/10/03, 5:53 pm


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