Once a client hires the law firm in a matter wherein police targeted their vehicle with a radar device, our first step is to file a so called lawyer’s notice of appearance. Simultaneal, we further make a written demand for discovery in speeding cases pursuant to State v. Green, 417 Super. 190 (2010).
Thereafter, we will typically receive some discovery from the municipal prosecutor involved. Often time, however, as in the case of a DWI, the discovery provided is nowhere near complete. The firm’s lawyers will then supplement their discovery demand to the prosecutor and simultaneal draft a Holup Order for the municipal court’s approval & signature. The Order is essentially a command by the judge in regard to a timeline for the provision of proper discovery, including a future date for the case to be dismissed if the discovery is not provided.
While we usually will obtain additional discovery from the municipal prosecutor once the Holup Order is forwarded from the Court, the following discovery (pursuant to Green) will, oftentimes, not be properly provided:
- the history of the officer’s training on the speed-measuring device, i.e., the Stalker device, where he was trained, and who trained him;
- the training manuals for the speed-measuring device and its operating manuals;
- the State’s training manuals and operating manuals for the speed-measuring device;
- the officer’s logbook of tickets written on the day of the defendant’s alleged violation; and
- the repair history of the speed-measuring device used to determine the defendant’s speed for the past twelve months.
The Green Court also found that the Stalker Lidar speed-measuring device involved in that case had not been proven to be scientifically reliable and, as such, the results of its operation should not have been admitted during the municipal court proceedings and/or considered by the Law Division. The court remanded the matter to the Law Division for a plenary hearing on the scientific reliability of the Stalker Lidar utilized. Hence, it is important to also ascertain the make and model of the radar device used against the client and/or whether any Court has taken judicial notice of its accuracy or reliability in the past.
In light of our successful resolution of many “speeding” cases due to the argument that the prosecution has not met its discovery obligation, including the downgraded to traffic offenses that do not permit for the suspension of a client’s driver’s license or the imposition of costly motor vehicle points, please contact me if you or a loved one is charged with “speeding”.