Your Charlotte Speeding Ticket Could Be Dismissed
Your Charlotte speeding ticket could be dismissed, thanks to a problem with CMPD’s speed gun certifications.
City officials announced Thursday that the certification techniques for 170 speed detection devices failed to meet state standards. The problem includes radar guns and LIDAR units. According to state law, all radar/LIDAR equipment must be certified for results to be admitted in court.
What should you do if you have a speeding violation pending in Charlotte? The District Attorney’s office released a statement saying you should NOT pay for the ticket online.
“If you have been charged with a speeding citation in Mecklenburg County, you or your attorney should appear in court on your court date to discuss available options,” the statement read. “You should not pay for your speeding citation online to resolve the citation.”
So it sounds like the situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Here’s more from the District Attorney’s office statement: “We anticipate that we will be able to proceed on many of these cases in the absence of corroborative equipment-based evidence, but in other instances, cases may ultimately be dismissed. The DA as they appear in court‘s office will review cases that arose pending speeding cases from traffic stops whatever action is appropriate.”
The city’s plan to deal with the radar/LIDAR certification issues apparently does not take into account the cases that have already bee settled in court. Defense attorney George Laughrun told WSOC-TV the radar gun problem may give people a reason to re-open old cases, especially if a more serious conviction resulted from a speeding stop.
“He’s already paid his money,” Laughrum said. “His insurance has gone up. He’s done his community service. It’s still on his record. You can’t ever get a DWI expunged so it may be worth it for people who got a DWI, the basis for the stop, to try and reopen that case to see if they get some relief from the courts.”
