Over ten years ago, I got ticketed for running a red light in NYC. I went back and timed the light at 2.5 seconds, went to traffic court. The judge asked the policeman if he had checked the light. Yessir, 5 seconds, sir. Guilty.
The citizen is assumed to be lying.
It just occurred to me that a cell phone would serve as evidence that the light is fast, if you could calibrate it down to tenths of a second.
“The citizen is assumed to be lying.”
Yes, I’ve run into the same phenomenon. If a police officer gives testimony that contradicts a citizen’s, then the police officer’s testimony is given more weight. In minor cases, it’s easier, if the cop screwed up, or doesn’t have the evidence, to just lie on the stand. The judge takes the cop’s word for it, the case is wrapped up in one sitting, and they don’t expect anyone to waste time and money going back and contesting minor things like traffic citations or misdemeanors.
“The citizen is assumed to be lying.”
I received a parking ticket outside a restaurant in Newark about 20 minutes after I had put an hour’s worth of quarters into a meter (the time was written on the ticket). I described it to a friend (retired cop), and he said this was routine; they assumed you couldn’t miss a day of work to go to court (and probably lose anyway, since it couldn’t be proven).
I haven’t parked at a restaurant in Newark since then, and that was over 10 years ago. I hope it was worth it for North Zimbabwe; what a toilet. Social media must make it much easier to boycott towns that have these ticketing blitzes as municipal fundraisers.
You'll find plenty of "Law and Order" Republicans here on FR that will defend that practice.