CA - GPS to go against radar in speeding ticket case
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34553/113/
Windsor (CA) - The son of a former sheriff's deputy will fight against a speeding ticket he received, after noticing his GPS log disputed the alleged speeding offense.
What likely appeared to be a routine speeding citation at the time may actually create a new legal precedent in a small California city. 17-year-old Shaun Malone was pulled over for going 62 miles per hour in a 45 MPH zone, according to a ticket he received, but it just so happens his step-father, retired deputy Roger Rude, installed a GPS device that keeps a persistent log of the teen's speed.
While the boy's step-father apparently does not dispute his son was speeding, he says that according to the GPS log, when the cop pulled him over he was not within the required distance of 100 feet to accurately clock him. By the time he was within that zone, Rude says Shaun had slowed down to the correct speed limit.
"I'm not trying to get a guilty kid off. I've always had faith in our justice system. I would like to see the truth prevail and I would like Shaun to see that the system works," said the former deputy.
According to the Associated Press, some 95% of all speeding cases never wind up in court. That's clearly because it ends up being a case of a motorist's word against a police officer from that county with a radar log.
However, with the GPS log, there is actually conflicting evidence in support of the defendant. It could open up a new scenario for speeding cases across the country.
The police officer who pulled Shaun over told AP that it was unlikely to be a substantial defense, though. He mentioned the accepted reality of a delay in GPS relay of speed. "Is it a couple-second delay? A 30-second delay? Because in that time people can speed up, slow down."
