[Lucky225]

Went to court yesterday for "Careless and Prohibited" driving. Here' thetranscript as best as I can remember.

DA: "The prosecution calls Officer Tony Saylors to the stand"

Tony(while reading from the back of his citation): "On April 12th, 2006 at about 4:30 PM..."

ME: Objection your honor, the witness is clearly reading from a writing, and he has not laid the proper foundation for the use of a writing. He has not testified as to whether he needs to refer to his notes to refresh his recollection. In any event, I have the right to inspect any writing the witness will use and I ask the court to instruct the witness to show me the writing while he lays the proper foundation.

Judge: Does he need this writing to refresh his recollection?

Prosecution: Yes, your honor

Judge: Officer Saylor, please show mr. morgan what your notes, and lay the proper foundation for the use of them.

Tony(after reading the notes in it's entirety during my objection, while the judge and DA were talking): Your honor I won't need my notes, I'll continue to testify with out them.

Tony: As I was leaving Riverside cafe, I saw a green S-10 driving at a high rate of speed northbound on highway 67 N, which I visually estimated to be about 50 miles per hour. I proceeded to follow this vehicle northbound on highway 67 N. He turned on Geniva Street, and spun his tires as he was making the turn. Genevia is a 20 mile per hour street, and I visually estimated him at driving about 30 miles per hour on this street. I continued to follow him across Genevia where Genevia turns into Dalton, and he then turned again to enter his residence and spun his tires on the gravel.

DA: What happened when you got to his residence?

Tony: He got out of his vehicle, and went up his steps and was attempting to enter his residence. I called him down from his steps to talk to me.

DA: How did the conversation go?

Tony: Well, I told him I was concerned because I saw him speeding back there and that he had spun his tires coming around the intersection. And he told me I have no evidence of that as I didn't clock him on radar.

DA: You then issued him a citation for Careless and Prohibited driving?

Tony: Correct

DA: No further questions, pass the witness

Judge: CROSS

ME: Isn't it true there was an abudance of gravel at the location where the alleged violation occured?

Tony: I don't know about an abudance.

Me: There was a fair amount of gravel on the road wasn't there?

Tony: Yes.

Me: Isn't it true that a person driving of reasonable judgement over that amount of gravel in the street may spin his tires if he was unaware of the gravel on the road?

Tony: Well, I didn't spin my tires.

Me: I didn't ask if you spun your tires, I asked if a person driving with reasonabe judgement over that amount of gravel in the street might spin his tires if he was unaware there was gravel there.

Tony: It's possible.

ME: Would you consider such a person to be careless?

Tony: Yes

me: Where were you located when you first saw my vehicle?

Tony: Riverside Cafe, I was just coming out of it and heading northbound, you were in front of me.

me: In which lane were you traveling?

Tony: There's only one lane there

Me: Is there any reason you decided to follow me?

Tony: Yes.

Me: And what might that reason be?

Tony: I visually estimated you to be going about 20 miles over the speed limit.

Me: Isn't it true that you followed me all the way to my residence, some 1 and a half miles away?

Tony: I don't know if that's the distance, but yes.

Me: Isn't it true that you never once turned your lights or siren on to stop me, but instead asked to talk to me as I was attempting to enter my residence?

Tony: Yes.

Me: So you've testified that you saw me speeding, and spinning my tires around intersections, yet you never made any attempt to pull me over, but instead followed me to my residence. Is there any reason you decided to let me drive in such a manner, endangering life and property, when you could have easily pulled me over to stop me from endangering the safety of others?

Tony: I was just observing you.

Me: Officer, on my citation here, you check that I was not wearing my seat belt, How could you possibly have any knowledge of whether or not I was wearing my seatbelt if you never pulled me over to inspect for such a violation?

DA: Objection, your honor, this has no relevance to the charge, and is simply not an element that needs to be proved or disproved.

Judge: What's your reason for asking about the seatbelt?

ME: Your honor, in the state of arkansas there is a $10 fine reduction for drivers who wear their seat belt. I am a law-abiding citizen, and I always wear my seat belt.

Judge: objection overruled, I'm going to allow it as this will determine punishment in a sentencing.

Tony: Well, I had no idea weather or not you were wearing your seat belt since I couldn't aproach your vehicle to inspect.

Me: That's my question, why did you mark I wasn't, if you simply didn't know either way?

Tony: I had no evidence you were wearing it.

Me: Do you consider yourself to have fairly well developed powers of observation and memory for details concerning weather and road conditions?

Tony: I don't understand the question, if he's asking if I remember the weather that day, I don't.

Me: That wasn't the question, but I'll move on, I think you've pretty much answered that question. Was there any other traffic on the road when you began to follow me?

Tony: I don't know, I wasn't paying attention.

me: Officer, is this your signature on this citation?

Tony: Yes.

me: The location on this citation says Oak Street, is that where you're alleging this violation took place?

Tony: Yes, you spun your tires at Oak & Dunn.

Me: When you began following me were heading northbound on Highway 67 N correct?

Tony: Yes

me: You then turned left on Geniva Drive over there by the community center and continued following me across Marr Street where Geniva turns into E Dalton, Correct?

Tony: Yes

Me: Officer, you're aware that you're sworn in under testimony and that perjury is a crime?

Tony: Yes

Me: Officer, after you began following me straight on E. Dalton you turned right on dunn and continued to follow me into my apartments correct?

Tony: Yes

Me: So given the route we took to get to my residence, how could I have possibly spun my tires on Oak Street?

Judge: I'm not going to take the location into account, that's just to give general area where you were stopped.

Me: Your honor, this is an element of the case, he has just testified to me spinning my tires at that location, which is impossible for me to do if I was never at that location.

Judge: I don't find the location relevant.

Me: No further questions

DA: Your honor, I'd like to amend this charge to a lesser charge of Careless and Inattentive driving.

Judge: Do you have any objections to that Mr. Morgan?

Me: No objections, but I still maintain my plea of not guilty to either charge.

Judge: Anything further, do you wish to testify or call any witnesses?

Me: No your honor, I do have closing arguments though.

Judge: We'll get to that in a second, anything further prosecuter?

DA: No your honor.

Judge: Closing

Me: The defendant maintains he did not commit the alleged offense, and never lost controll of the vehicle or drove in a manner that was careless or prohibited, or inattentive. The prosecution has failed to prove it's allegation. The officer followed me for over a mile and a half to my residence an made no attempt to pull me over or make a traffic stop in any way, and was intent on writing me a citation before an offense had even occurred. The officer testifies that the alleged violation occured on a street that wasn't even traveled by the defendant at the time of the alleged violation. The officer further testifies that the reason he was following me was speeding, however he followed me for over a mile, I find it hard to believe that an officer would allow a person to drive in such a manner, endangering the safety of persons and property, and I believe the officer had no probable cause to follow me, and the stop in it's self was illegal. Defendant deserves the benefit where reasonable doubt has been presented and a verdict of not guilty should be entered.

Judge: Okay, I'm going to have to find you guilty in this instance. The officer did testify you spun your tires on Geniva Drive while he was following you, and that's enough evidence for me. There was however no testimony as to weather or not a seat belt was in use, and there is reasonable doubt as to weather or not you were. I will therefore give you a $10 fine reduction, assuming you were wearing your seat belt. The fine with court costs is $120.