Last minute comments wanted from you Law types re: my plan my trial plan! Thanks!!
So I've got a ticket for running a stop sign coming up here soon. Actually tomorrow morning, so this is pretty last minute. I just finished up with preparing my defence, so tell me what you guys think. Thanks!
A. Cross Examination Questions
1. At which street or intersection did you start to follow the Uhaul?
2. Please describe the path taken by the Uhaul from when you started following it to when you stopped it.
3. Where did you stop the Uhaul?
4. How fast did the Uhaul turn through the intersection?
Did you know that it is impossible for a 7000lb, 19foot long Uhaul to take a sharp 90° corner at such a high speed?
You do now.
5. At what distance did you follow the Uhaul?
B. Defence
• Testify myself:
o I was driving a Uhaul to help a friend move. As shown on Exhibit A, I was driving northbound on 111th Street, coasting at approximately 15km/h. I was coasting slowly because I was lost, it was dark out, and the roads were quite slippery due to a recent rainfall. I came upon the intersection at 90th Avenue and braked briefly. Due to the road conditions and the extreme heaviness of the vehicle, anything less than a complete stop would have surely resulted in an accident. As such, I came to a complete stop, and then proceeded to make a safe turn westbound through the intersection into the Hub Mall parking lot. After another 30 seconds, a campus security car pulled up behind me and turned on its emergency lights. The officer told me that he had been following me since 112th Street and that I turned through the corner at 40km/h without stopping.
• Your honour, I’d like to show you __5__ instances where the officer has made glaring errors in his observations. The citation, which was issued based upon these flawed observations, is as such, cast into reasonable doubt.
1. The officer said that he started followed me from Q1_________ when in fact he told me on March 27th, 2004 that he started following me from 112th St.
2. The officer contradicted himself by saying that the vehicle turned eastbound at the intersection (in his notes), when in fact a westbound turn is required to reach the HUB mall parking lot.
3. The officer followed the Uhaul from a distance of Q5________, which is too far to accurately judge vehicle speed or whether it is stopped or not. For example, in the officer’s notes, Constable Herchak first noted that the Uhaul had “slowed momentarily,” then contradicted that by saying that the Uhaul took the turn “without any attempt to stop or slow,” then again contradicted that statement by saying that the Uhaul turned at 40km/h from a cruising speeding of 50km/h. These conflicting statements show that the officer’s distance from the Uhaul made it difficult for the officer to accurately assess the Uhaul’s movements.
4. There is no way that any vehicle is capable of making such a sharp 90° corner at 40km/h as proposed by Constable Herchak. Exhibit B shows a small red sports car turning westbound at the same intersection at approximately 10km/h during daytime. It is hard to even imagine a 7000lb, 19 foot long Uhaul, as shown in Exhibit C, turning at 40km/h at all, especially with limited visibility and slippery roads, as shown by Exhibit D.
5. That night, I was also wrongfully issued a ticket by Constable Herchak for not having insurance due to him not properly reading the terms and conditions of the rental agreement. This ticket was later voided. Because one of the two tickets that Constable Herchak issued me that night has already been proven invalid, who is to say that this ticket is undoubtedly valid?
C. Argument
Your honour, I have shown you __5__ instances where the officer’s observations have been shown to be flawed. The officer could not accurately recall the details of the incident, the officer demonstrated that he was too far to accurately assess the vehicle’s movements, the officer made claims of turning speeds that are impossible, and the officer had already written me one other invalid ticket that night.
It is clear that when an issued ticket is based upon such flawed observations, that the ticket itself is flawed, or at the very least, can be cast into reasonable doubt.
Quote
treasures n eerything.
Originally Posted by Disoblige
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