What a speed trap might look like
A few weeks ago, my car was photographed by a photo-speed enforcement Cylon on the outskirts of DC. I think it was a Cylon; it is ambiguous as to just what mechanism was used to capture this. The citation doesn’t say. It could have been a cop. Or a camera-only. If it was a cop, it’s the laziest of lazy cops since clearly my car was never pulled over. It may have been a stationary trap. It may not have been. Not a lot of info until I request it from the Metro Police. Of course, they gave me a nice diagram to explain how radar works (how kind).
However, now that I’ve graduated from law school and I’m unemployed and waiting for my bar results, I’m going to say they’ve picked a fight with the wrong unemployed maybe-lawyer. My instinct here is to raise a due process claim first on two grounds:
Lazy police work
By not pulling the car over, I have no idea where this infraction occurred in order to make a proper defense. I’ve researched the location they claim the car was clocked, .7 miles south of Exit 1, Southbound on Route 295 outside Washington DC. Using Google Maps, I’ve noticed that there is no Exit 1 Southbound:
What the area in Maryland may look like
Had the driver of this car been pulled over, they may actually know where the infraction occurred. However, it is unclear what “Exit 1″ means. There is no Exit 1 on the Southbound lanes. Only Northbound. There is a Southbound exit “1B” and “1C” that exist at the terminus of the highway. There cannot be anything .7 miles south of that. The highway doesn’t exist. This brings me to my next point:
Lack of notice
What lazy government enforcement may look like
Not only was there no notice that speed was enforced via camera, but the citation merely lists violation code “T120″ as the law violated. That is not nearly enough to know what law was broken. A quick Google search indicates that it is a penalty for going 15 mph over. No actual law is listed (I’m looking to see if it is is a sustained speed or any statutory structure to know just what function was prohibited). Not on the ticket, again, lack of notice, Lack of due process.
That’s what I’ve got so far. I stand on principle alone here. This will be an ongoing saga, without a doubt, and I will post my actions here in the hopes that someone who cares about this (the cameras, not my $150 fine) will help beta test my strategy as I go.
I wrote most of this post before going for an angry run at the gym. My blood is still boiling at what I think is an Orwellian method of extortion on behalf of the government against the people. These cameras serve no safety purpose, nor do they deter any acts or omissions. I’m sure this rant has some legal holes and is overblown to say the least, but I’m sticking up. I’m standing my ground. I’m fighting this. And I’m going to win.
