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California Speed Trap Laws Violated By Airplane-Issued Traffic & Speeding Tickets

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Beating an Airplane-Issued Traffic & Speeding Ticket requires an expert !

In 1923, California outlawed speed traps by enacting a section in the Vehicle Code.  This section was enacted to meet the particular evil existing in 1923 of traffic enforcement officers physically marking a portion of the highway and then, while in hiding, timing every automobile as it passed through the marked area.  The only type of "speed trap" prohibited by California law has four characteristics: (1) a particular section of a highway; (2) measured as to distance; (3) with boundaries marked, designated or otherwise determined; and (4) the speed of the vehicle calculated by computing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance. 
 
The California Attorney's General Office issued an opinion in 1969 identifying that their is an inherent risk in matching speeds with the target vehicle.  In aircraft speed enforcement, a fixed wing aircraft has a pilot and an officer observer that watches the traffic.  The observer places a mark on the inside of the glass when that mark, the vehicle being tracked and a predetermined mark on the highway are aligned.  A stop watch is started.  When the car reaches a second mark the stop watch is stopped.  A calculation is made on how fast the vehicle is going.  A traffic stop is initiated on the vehicle by a ground unit, and a ticket is written for the speed estimated by the observer. 
 
  • Does this violate California's speed trap law?  I believe so.

Do Judge's routinely dismiss these airplane enforcement cases?  NO.  Most people issued traffic tickets simply post their bail and opt for traffic school, or plead guilty.  The judges in traffic court have rarely heard a well-researched and accurate points and authorities in support of airplane-enforced tickets being illegal.  Typically, traffic courts are presided over by the least-experienced judges: temporary judges or court commissioners.  Furthermore, very few attorneys regularly practice in traffic court, so few judges have much knowledge of basic traffic infractions.  The few attorneys that do practice in traffic court, do so because it is a relatively easy area of the law, and do not perform legal research.  Furthermore, who would think that anything that the state has invested so much money in aircraft, training and other resources would be illegal.  Therefore, absent sufficient evidence and concrete legal analysis, few judges are willing to determine such a large scale state action illegal.     

How can a ticket be legally issued from an airplane?  My position for the only way to legally issue a ticket from an airplane is for the airplane to pace the vehicle like an officer in a vehicle would do.  The officer would follow the vehicle trying to find a speed that keeps him the same relative distance behind the vehicle.  The inherent problems with pacing were identified in a 1969 California Attorney General's opinion.  In addition, when traveling in an airplane the speed is determined by the wind blowing over the wing.  Therefore, if the airplane is flying in a 30-mph head wind, the airplane is moving over the ground at 30 mph less than its airspeed.  The problem is that the airplane traffic enforcement units have no ability to make these measurements.  As such, pacing does not provide sufficient evidence to accurately determine a vehicle's speed. 

So, how do you beat an airplane traffic enforcement ticket?

The odds are stacked against everyone in traffic court.  The only way to beat the ticket is to offer the right evidence, know the laws and present the court with well-researched points and authorities proving to the court that airplane-issued traffic tickets are illegal speed traps under California law.  Attorney Phillip Gillet can provide you with representation that gives you the best position to beat your airplane-issued traffic ticket

How much will it cost?

Basic traffic court representation: This includes: (1) a 10-minute phone consultation with Attorney Gillet about your traffic ticket; (2) entering your not guilty pleading at the arraignment in writing(without you having to go to court), and getting a traffic trial date set; (3) representing you at your traffic ticket trial and making any motions to dismiss or settlements with the citing officer.

Bakersfield, California                        $500.00

Shafter, Delano, Lamont, California   $600.00

Taft, Mojave & Porterville, California $750.00

Tulare & Visalia, California               $1,000.00

Most other California Courts             $1,100.00

Add $250 to above prices for misdemeanor traffic offenses.

If you would like to have a full half-hour consultation with Attorney Gillet, please add $100 to the above prices. 

(c) 2007 - PHILLIP W. GILLET, JR. ATTORNEY AT LAW
1705 27th Street, Bakersfield, California 93301-2807
(661) 323-3200
 
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