Hi Michael, I just went through this in California. Generally an appeal is only about something improper done by the court, you cannot introduce new evidence at an appeal. You might be able to get a new trial which seems to me to be your best alternative. You need to find an attorney with experience in this area of the law (DUI attorneys?) and find out what your chances are on appeal, OR if you can even get a new trial. Have an attorney present if you are lucky enough to get a new trial. There are "rules of evidence" that they are practiced at challenging. Nolo Press has a book, Fight Your Ticket and Win that I recommend you read. Appeals are tough unless they screwed up proceedurally. Good luck! Stevan Thomas 73 Berlina
In a message dated 1/11/2011 2:10:19 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:17:34 -0500 > From: [email protected] > > Subject: [alfa] citation issue (non-Alfa) > > Well, folks, my son was cited for "reckless driving" because the > policeman heard someone "rev an engine" at 3:40 a.m. in a convenience > store parking lot, on an overcast night with a storm blowing in > (moderate winds, gusts to 20 mph all night), then saw my son drive into > view, stop prior to entering the roadway (as per law), stop at the red > light at the adjacent intersection (as per law), and turn right while > accelerating (normal driving practice). The officer reported "aggressive > driving" from the revving of the engine (a new 1.7 liter Scion coupe, > perhaps engine noise from trying to hear it over the wind to see whether > it had indeed started?), followed by "brisk acceleration and fishtailing > around the corner 'like a rally car.'" The interesting thing is that > (if you know the Scion) it is a FWD car. Son was out at that hour > because he has a hospital emergency room support job, he was on swing > shift body clock at the time, and wanted something from the only > all-night store in town. Son went confidently to the initial court date > and was stunned when the officer reported his car as fishtailing around > the corner and reported the weather as "clear." Without preparation to > call the officer's allegations into question, the judge rubber-stamped > the (only $100) fine, but "reckless driving" is serious in its > consequences on his driving record and insurance costs. So.... he > inquired of a lawyer about representation in an appeal, and was told by > the one lawyer he asked that there was not a good prospect for reversal. > He's appealing anyway. > > Are there any references you can suggest to demonstrate that FWD cars > don't fishtail around corners on acceleration, but lose steering and > simply don't turn? Given the nature of the small town at 3:40 a.m., > there was no other traffic to be put at risk, so I'm surprised that the > officer cited for "reckless" instead of "improper" driving, but I think > what the officer observed was tire noise from my son's chronically leaky > right rear tire 2 months after he purchased the car. The tire needs > top-up every month or so an the dealer couldn't find a leak, so we're > going to simply have our local shop do a leak check and then simply > re-mount the tire to shot-gun the leak issue. But there should be some > uniform state (VA) training in performance driving that all policemen > undergo, and it should say something about driving stability issues FWD > vs. RWD which are relevant to this situation. There is a "reckless > driving" component to VA law for driving "without proper control" of the > vehicle, although all other provisions appear to deal with intimidation > or endangerment of other drivers. All suggestions welcome. But I expect > that there is some documentation of driving characteristics of FWD cars > which will call into question the officer's "interpretation" of his > observations. Smells of "revenue enhancement" to me. > > Thanks to all. Michael.... -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
