Hello. I was ticketed yesterday by a state trooper for passing in a no passing zone. He did not witness this but was using the phoned in testimony of another motorist. Oregon has a little-know law (ORS 153.058) that allows citizens to initiate citations, including traffic violations. I know this is screwy but please follow. I was issued a $285 ticket and a date to come to court to enter my plea. Or of course I could just pay the ticket. Nowhere on the ticket did it mention a third party and the officer said that he was going to go back and get the complainant to sign a affidavit with his side of the story.
I was and am very upset that I could get a citation solely on the word of someone else. I did not pass in a no passing zone and in fact the ticket gives the wrong location where I did in fact pass. Only a mile off but still this makes a big difference. I have returned to the scene and took pictures of the area that I did pass in to document in case I have to go to trial. According to the statute, the court has to serve me a summons prior to my plea with the complainants name and address and his/her description of what happened. Nowhere on the citation did I receive was there any reference to a third party.
I would like some advice on how I should handle this. I do plan to fight the ticket even if it means travelling 100 miles each direction as I was on the job and the ticket was given far from my home. I am wary of this court as my first and only ticket was given in this jurisdiction. I pleaded "no contest" and provided the judge with GPS data (it was a speeding ticket) and letters from my supervisor noting my excellent driving record. The judge did not even mention this info in his letter, just said that the check that I sent was applied to the ticket. So basically I feel that I will not get a fair shake and also the complainant is from the same county so he/she will likely get the benefit of the doubt more than I will (it is a small town).
The little info that I could find on the statue regarding citizen initiated citations involved citizens submitting the info to the courts without the help of the police, that is to say that a officer was never called to the scene initially and that they took it upon themselves to get the ball rolling. So I am wondering if I will even get a copy of the affidavit which I am entitled to under state law.
Thanks for any advice. Sorry if my post was long
I was and am very upset that I could get a citation solely on the word of someone else. I did not pass in a no passing zone and in fact the ticket gives the wrong location where I did in fact pass. Only a mile off but still this makes a big difference. I have returned to the scene and took pictures of the area that I did pass in to document in case I have to go to trial. According to the statute, the court has to serve me a summons prior to my plea with the complainants name and address and his/her description of what happened. Nowhere on the citation did I receive was there any reference to a third party.
I would like some advice on how I should handle this. I do plan to fight the ticket even if it means travelling 100 miles each direction as I was on the job and the ticket was given far from my home. I am wary of this court as my first and only ticket was given in this jurisdiction. I pleaded "no contest" and provided the judge with GPS data (it was a speeding ticket) and letters from my supervisor noting my excellent driving record. The judge did not even mention this info in his letter, just said that the check that I sent was applied to the ticket. So basically I feel that I will not get a fair shake and also the complainant is from the same county so he/she will likely get the benefit of the doubt more than I will (it is a small town).
The little info that I could find on the statue regarding citizen initiated citations involved citizens submitting the info to the courts without the help of the police, that is to say that a officer was never called to the scene initially and that they took it upon themselves to get the ball rolling. So I am wondering if I will even get a copy of the affidavit which I am entitled to under state law.
Thanks for any advice. Sorry if my post was long
