Schedule a consultation with a ruthless Richmond lawyer to discuss your case. If you are stopped in Richmond, Virginia, and cited for speeding, there are a variety of defenses you can use to minimize the harm of your charge. Read on to learn more about the specific defense mechanisms you can use. One of the things your lawyer will try to do is review the officer’s radar documentation.
In some cases, it can be proven that there is interference with the device or that the officer was not properly trained to use it. If the defense can prove that there was a problem with the testing or calibration, it can address it to question the accuracy of the radar. Show that you tested the radars before, during and after shifts with a tuning fork, or show that they were calibrated six months before the attack. There are also sometimes examples of officials misusing radar equipment.
Occasionally, a radar that picks up interference or clings to the wrong object is also detected by the radar that picks up the interference and locks it in place.
These cases are not common, but very difficult to detect. LIDAR devices are known to have these problems. To challenge a radar device, a lawyer must understand what to look for when checking maintenance records and how to spot the problem before doing so.
The speed limit in the Richmond speeding case was when the officer used his vehicle and speedometer to determine the speed, usually while driving. LIDARs are considered by most courts to be very precise. However, there are some problems where direct sunlight or excessive dust or air could interfere with the laser and make it more difficult for it to cling to multiple targets at the same time. In this case, the pace leaves a little more room to defend. There are a number of ways in which speed can be used as a defense, but for it to be admissible in court, the officer must testify that his speedometer was exactly how high the speed was and how long he drove. The Speed Escalator case also leaves a loophole, as in some cases officials fail to bring their own vehicle calibration information to court. If you have documentation showing that your vehicle and the speedometers on your vehicles work correctly and are calibrated, you have a much better chance of getting a few more defense points than you would behave yourself.