Raising the digit at speeding fine
Zooms out of court
A Porirua lawyer may have set a legal precedent with far-reaching consequences after getting a $35 speeding ticket thrown out by a court.
In front of justices of the peace at Porirua District Court last Wednesday, barrister and solicitor Chris Ellis argued his way out of the ticket, while never debating whether he was in fact speeding on State Highway 1 through Plimmerton.
His submission was based on technicalities, including a claim that police manipulated evidence because they zoomed in on a photo of his number plate to read it.
He argued that the law required ‘‘an image’’’ to show sufficient evidence of an offence. Neither of the two images provided by police showed enough evidence individually.
Ellis said his was a genuine complaint.
‘‘A device goes off on the side of the road, and the next thing that happens is that a document is being offered to a judge by someone who has no idea how it was produced.
‘‘And if the judge accepts it as evidence, the burden of proof is instantly reversed.’’
Ellis saw this as a problem that would grow as electronic surveillance widened ‘‘and we have legal provisions that images as gospel’’.
He has challenged about 15 of his own tickets in the past 20 years. About half his challenges were thrown out.
An experienced Wellington lawyer who regularly deals with
treat
digital traffic issues said police were likely to appeal ‘‘because of its potential for far-reaching consequences’’ for ‘‘ significant’’ numbers of people in a similar situation.
Queried, a police spokesperson said, ‘‘Police are currently con- sidering the decision and have nothing to add at this stage’’.
Auckland barrister Anton Heyns, also an experienced traffic lawyer, said the case would be unlikely to create a precedent, as it was in front of justices of the peace, who did not tend to set precedents.
A Ministry of Transport spokeswoman said district courts did not set a binding precedent on other district court cases. ‘‘They may, however, be persuasive.’’
It did not see any immediate need to consider a law change.
Automobile Association motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon said it appeared Ellis was in fact speeding and he had not disputed that.
But the case raised a legal loophole that might need to be closed. ‘‘They [the laws] need to be doing the job they should be doing.’’
Most motorists would simply acknowledge they were speeding and pay the ticket rather than taking it to court, he said.
He did not know how often police needed to zoom in to check number plates.