I originally posted this on an older thread, but getting only one response, have decided to start a new thread. Professional opinions will be greatly appreciated.
We were driving home on a rural but busy highway (US 285, through South Park, for those familiar w/ Colorado). Typical Sunday driving conditions - I passed a few RVs & trucks, and got passed by a few sedans (we were in a van). All of a sudden, there's a county patrol car behind me w/ lights flashing. I take the next pullout & am informed that someone has accused me of careless driving - says I cut in too quick while passing & followed too close before that. The officer issues a ticket/summons.
I'm shocked: Several years before, someone pulled out directly in front of me from a service yard at the entrance to a tunnel on a busy interstate; if there hadn't been a lucky break in the left lane traffic, I'd have creamed them for sure - in the tunnel. I got make & license number & called the police once out of the tunnel. Unlike the person who accused me & got a visit from an obliging officer, I had to drive to a police station to fill out a report, and the desk officer apologetically informed me that since there were no other witnesses, there wasn't much he could do. I told him I understood - not in a million years would I expect that they'd issue a summons based just on my say-so. I just thought if they saw the vehicle they might stop it & inform the driver about what she almost caused.
So I'm a little irritated that my choices are to pay the rather stiff fine & take 2 points on my license, or to make a 180 mile round trip, but I choose the latter & appear in court this morning, only to find that it's only an arraignment, and I still have another court date (this, after pleading not guilty). But I did ask the Judge to dismiss the charge: Since it rested soley on the uncorroborated accusation of one individual - no witnesses, no one else complained about my driving - I naively thought that that put it well within Reasonable Doubt, if not frivolous. The Judge seemed a little amused, and informed me that the courts regard an unsupported accusation as sufficient reason to hold a trial (I resisted the urge to ask the Judge if he would feel that way if I hung around until quitting time, and then issued a Citizen's Complaint if he failed to come to a complete stop before exiting the courthouse parking lot).
Am I the only one that thinks this is nuts? That anyone who gets pissed at you on the road, for any reason, can swear out a complaint & have you dragged into court? Would I be foolish to tell the Judge at my next appearance that my position has not changed - that it's a he said/he said situation, and that, de-facto, there's reasonable doubt? I thought this was a foundational legal concept.
Lastly (really!): I just learned that my accuser is from out of state, so there's a good chance he won't show. In that case, should the case be dismissed? I do have the right to confront my accuser, right?
Thanks much,
PJ in Colorado
We were driving home on a rural but busy highway (US 285, through South Park, for those familiar w/ Colorado). Typical Sunday driving conditions - I passed a few RVs & trucks, and got passed by a few sedans (we were in a van). All of a sudden, there's a county patrol car behind me w/ lights flashing. I take the next pullout & am informed that someone has accused me of careless driving - says I cut in too quick while passing & followed too close before that. The officer issues a ticket/summons.
I'm shocked: Several years before, someone pulled out directly in front of me from a service yard at the entrance to a tunnel on a busy interstate; if there hadn't been a lucky break in the left lane traffic, I'd have creamed them for sure - in the tunnel. I got make & license number & called the police once out of the tunnel. Unlike the person who accused me & got a visit from an obliging officer, I had to drive to a police station to fill out a report, and the desk officer apologetically informed me that since there were no other witnesses, there wasn't much he could do. I told him I understood - not in a million years would I expect that they'd issue a summons based just on my say-so. I just thought if they saw the vehicle they might stop it & inform the driver about what she almost caused.
So I'm a little irritated that my choices are to pay the rather stiff fine & take 2 points on my license, or to make a 180 mile round trip, but I choose the latter & appear in court this morning, only to find that it's only an arraignment, and I still have another court date (this, after pleading not guilty). But I did ask the Judge to dismiss the charge: Since it rested soley on the uncorroborated accusation of one individual - no witnesses, no one else complained about my driving - I naively thought that that put it well within Reasonable Doubt, if not frivolous. The Judge seemed a little amused, and informed me that the courts regard an unsupported accusation as sufficient reason to hold a trial (I resisted the urge to ask the Judge if he would feel that way if I hung around until quitting time, and then issued a Citizen's Complaint if he failed to come to a complete stop before exiting the courthouse parking lot).
Am I the only one that thinks this is nuts? That anyone who gets pissed at you on the road, for any reason, can swear out a complaint & have you dragged into court? Would I be foolish to tell the Judge at my next appearance that my position has not changed - that it's a he said/he said situation, and that, de-facto, there's reasonable doubt? I thought this was a foundational legal concept.
Lastly (really!): I just learned that my accuser is from out of state, so there's a good chance he won't show. In that case, should the case be dismissed? I do have the right to confront my accuser, right?
Thanks much,
PJ in Colorado
