Legal Question in Traffic Law in Wisconsin

Unequal Application of the Law - Traffic Law

Unfortunately, the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution does not require all violators to be prosecuted in order for any of them to be prosecuted. However, if a defendant who is complaining "why me and not the other guy" can show that he was signaled out for some illegal reason (for example, due to race), an equal protection violation can be proven and the charges dismissed. Otherwise, police and prosecutors are allowed to exercise "prosecutorial discretion," meaning that they can pass over some violators based upon case loads, practical inability to catch every violator such as when only one speeder can be clocked within a "pack" of vehicles or the flagrance of the violation. However, changing the subject slightlly, in a situation with a large group of speeding vehicles, defenses are sometimes available due to the inability of some police speed measurement to distinguish between vehicles. That is to say, the officer's radar gun simply says that some car was going 80 miles per hour, but not which car. An experienced traffic lawyer can sometimes then obtain an acquittal. My comments in this online forum are not intended as legal advices: you need to consult with your own lawyer.

Unequal Application of the Law - Traffic Law

Unfortunately, the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution does not require that all violators be prosecuted in order for any of them to be prosecuted. However, if a defendant who is complaining "why me and not the other guy?" can show that he was singled out for some illegal reason (for example, due to race), an equal protection violation might require the charges to dismissed. Otherwise, police and prosecutors are allowed to exercise "prosecutorial discretion," meaning that they can pass over some violators for practical reasons. Those can include case loads or the practical inability to catch every violator. One example would be when only one speeder can be clocked within a "pack" of vehicles because only one squad car is available to stop one violator from the larger group.

Changing the subject slightlly, in a situation with a large group of speeding vehicles, defenses other than equal protection are sometimes available due to the inability of some police speed measurement to distinguish between vehicles. That is to say, the officer's radar gun simply says that some car was going 80 miles per hour, but not which car wwithin the group. An experienced traffic lawyer can then sometimes obtain an acquittal due to the government's inability yo prove which vehicle was guilty. My comments in this online forum are not intended as legal advice: you still need to consult with your own lawyer.