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Old 03-11-2004, 02:14 AM
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UberRoo UberRoo is offline
SVX Appeal
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Puget Sound, Washington
Posts: 843
Get the officer's report. Look for details you can use against him. Specifically, facts that don't corroborate. If the report only mentions one cell phone, and you bring in the call log for your phone, the judge will [should] dismiss it. DON'T SUGGEST THAT THE OFFICER IS A LIAR! Any judge will make a mess out of you if you try that - even lawyers avoid that at all costs. Just suggest politely that the officer was mistaken. If the officer's report indicates there were several phones, it had better indicate who's they were. If it doesn't you're off. If it does, bring the call logs and you're off.

Here's a tip that never seems to sink in for most people: The judge will only listen to facts. Whatever you say should be fact. However, the judge will privately consider other things but won't tell you about them and won't discuss them, so don't even try. The officer would probably need pretty decent eyesight to see a cell phone, and frankly, the judge knows the officer may have just guessed wrong or maybe he just wanted to stick it to you. ...but don't worry about that part - the judge will decide that part before you open you mouth and you aren't gonna change his/her mind.

A ticket like you've got, and I'm guessing how it's worded because I don't know your state's laws, must be proven by a preponderance of evidence - not beyond all reasonable doubt. That more-or-less means the burden of proof is on you. The officer's proof is that he saw a red light near your ear. (Assume he did, because the judge will believe it whether he did or not.) Your proof is your call log and a passenger that will also testify, (I presume.) Basically, that means that it's, "the officer thinks," versus, "my phone company knows."

"So, the officer saw something near my ear - kinda glowing - red maybe - looked like a phone - maybe it was me gesturing to my passenger with my hand - or maybe it was just a light in the distance. Hard to say really, but since the phone company didn't charge my minutes for the red light near my ear, it probably wasn't my phone."

Good luck.
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