A Day in Traffic Court: Does Reasonable Doubt Exist?
I am probably jinxing myself by saying this, but what the hay, here I go: I have never been pulled over in my life. I told my LAPD Senior Lead Officer (a SLO is like a mini chief of police for a small area in a division) this secret of mine once and he gave me a very conspicuous "oh, really?" giving me the feeling the next time he sees me in my car, I am going to get the red and blue lights for going .333333 over the speed limit just so he can break my "pull-over" virginity. That said, stories from the other side like T. Alex Blum's OpEd in today's LA Times perked my ears:
Things looked up immediately when the judge (or commissioner) entered the courtroom, greeted everyone and gave a wonderfully clear and concise speech reminding everyone that this was a court of law and that we were all innocent until proved guilty and entitled to give evidence, produce witnesses and question our accusers, just like in a regular court of law anywhere in the land.
Everything sounds in order here, but then...
As we proceeded down the road of justice, however, several disturbing bumps appeared. One was when a woman in her 60s, easily imagined as someone's mother or grandmother, well dressed and articulate, took the oath. She had allegedly made an illegal right turn at a red light. Her guilt seemed obvious until she produced a set of large, professional-quality photographs clearly demonstrating that the relevant sign was totally obscured by foliage at the place where the infraction allegedly occurred.
The officer countered that there was another sign she should have seen, and without further discussion, the judge declared, as she had many times already, "the court finds that the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty as charged." I wondered how the officer knew about the second sign (could he possibly know the location of every traffic sign in Santa Monica?).
I don't know, but that sounds like pretty good "reasonable doubt" to me. Driving a car is an active mental activity and there is much input coming to you every moment. Without knowing exact details, maybe she was concentrating on being a good driver and missed the first no-turn-on-red sign because someone swooped into her lane and her eyes were diverted from the usual path. Who knows? And her fair chance to see the second sign was obscured as proven by her pictures.
According to the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which governs and guides traffic engineers on how signs are to be used, it tell us this about No Right Turn on Red:
When used, the No Right Turn on Red (R13A(CA)) sign should be placed where it will most easily be seen by the driver intending to turn. At least one should be placed overhead, or at a right-hand corner facing approaching traffic.
It cannot be easily seen if it does not follow this:
All traffic signs should be kept properly positioned, clean, and legible, and should have adequate retroreflectivity...Employees of highway, law enforcement, and other public agencies whose duties require that they travel on the roadways should be encouraged to report any damaged, deteriorated, or obscured signs at the first opportunity. Steps should be taken to see that weeds, trees, shrubbery, and construction, maintenance, and utility materials and equipment do not obscure the face of any sign.
Case closed.
Photo by kokogiak via Flickr