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Re: Hidden cameras to catch speeders
SPierre (spierre@aol.com) wrote:
: Also, it is specious to argue that "You are being accused and convicted by
: a machine and there is nothing you can do about it." All avenues
: available to you had the violation been detected by an officer are still
: available; you can contest the citation and appear before a judge or
: magistate, etc. Theoretically, you could appeal the conviction all the
: way to the Supreme Court if you had a valid avenue of appeal. The fact
: that the evidence is strong and makes it hard to contest a citation does
: not mean that you are being denied your constitutional rights, and
: certianly does not constitute a "tool of oppression" (at least among the
: non-paranoid).
Our Constitution gives the accused in a criminal proceeding the absolute
right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him [and] to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor." In other
words, in this great country of ours someone accused of a crime cannot be
convicted without being given the opportunity to confront his accuser and
to force his accuser to testify to facts which may be in his favor. This
has nothing to do with your opportunity to appear before a judge or
magistrate or the Supreme Court; they are not your accusers.
That's why, no matter how dead-to-rights a cop had you when he stopped
you, the case will be thrown out summarily if he doesn't show up in
court; a conviction without that opportunity to confront would be a
direct violation of the Sixth Amendment.
To say that when the evidence against you has been collected entirely by
mechanical means, with no human being involved, "all avenues available to
you had the violation been detected by an officer are still available" is
truly specious. Can you cross-examine a camera? Can a machine be
required to answer your questions truthfully, under oath? Can an
electronic device be held in contempt of court, or prosecuted for perjury?
--
Eric Landau, APL Solutions, Inc. (elandau@cais.com)
"Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger." -- Abbie Hoffman
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