Guilty Unless Proof of Innocence

I have been in a funk for nearly two months. It was long enough for the evil depressing thoughts that I was beginning to believe I had vanquished, to return. It thrust me down a hole where my motivation for activities I enjoyed no longer gave me pleasure. Ultimately, I decided to change course and now I’m in a phase of healing. In reflection, I have learned a lot about the justice system while suffering from a traumatic experience. Let me explain…

One night, as I was traveling home, I had put my car into cruise control. A practice I have adopted ever since I purchased my car with the driving function. I glanced into my rearview mirror and noticed a pair of headlights rapidly approaching me. I instinctively signaled to perform a lane change to allow the approaching driver to pass me on my right, but to my surprise, the driver behind me had lane changed and was ready to pass me on my left. I didn’t really think much of it and watched as the driver raced passed me. I began to wonder just how fast the driver was going, but what shocked me even more was watching the car quickly pull in front of me. This move really did not make any sense because we were the only two cars on the road at this particular time. “Whatever,” I thought to myself, and continued down the road. This portion of the highway was completely dark due to the fact there were no working streetlights so, Speedy was instantly engulfed by the darkness. About a half a mile later, there were bright flashing lights screaming in my rearview mirror, as a police officer was speeding up from behind me. I quickly lane changed to allow the officer to pass me, but the officer lane changed too.

“What? Is he pulling me over?” I thought to myself, so I drove to the shoulder and came to a halt with the officer stopping as well.

The officer exited his vehicle and walked over to my window. He pulled out a scanner and showed me the display screen. There read 83 MPH. He claimed I was going 83 miles per hour. I was flabbergasted because there was no way I was traveling that fast, especially if I had my car in cruise control. He asked for the usual: license, registration, and insurance, all of which I provided without argument. He issued the citation and ended with, “your court date will be on January 19th. You could be arrested for going that fast, but I am going to just issue the citation instead.”

I am no saint. Honestly, I have driven over the speed limit in the past, but I have never gone over 80. If you know where I live, you’ll know that there is no point in traveling over 80, especially with the max speed limit is 60 (yes I know, low in comparison to other areas of the country). I have never been told that I needed to appear in court, so hearing that for the first time was quite perplexing. Why would I need to appear in court for a speeding citation? In the most brutal of lessons, I found out one month later.

I was being charged for excessive speeding. What most people do not understand about excessive speeding (because most people don’t excessively speed), it is a different class of traffic crime. It is not an infraction. An infraction is what most people are charged with and given a citation with a fine. You can contest the infraction in court, if you are willing to appear to fight it. In most cases, the officer may not show up, as they are not required to appear in court. If you can convince the judge why it was a mistake on the officer’s part, you may have it dismissed (keyword: may. I don’t recommend trying though).

Excessive speeding becomes a petty misdemeanor. It is a crime and thus, if tried guilty, could result in an arrest. You will have to pay a heavier fine. Finally, because it is a crime, it will be put on your permanent record (which means, when you go to apply for a job, your employer will see it if they perform a background check on you).

Of course, in the beginning, I was gung-ho for fighting the ticket. I was innocent. The car that raced passed me was the one that was going 83. I suddenly realized why the driver quickly pulled in front of me. The driver was using me as a decoy in a dark area of the highway to avoid being spotted and chased down by the officer, who was waiting in the shadows on the side of the highway. Precisely where the car passed me, there was a bend in the road, which would have been perfect for the racer to escape unnoticed. Additionally, the racer left their lights off to become invisible. From the officer’s vantage point, it would have appeared I was the only car on the road at the time, which explains why I was chased down and pulled over.

I know, I know, I should still fight the case. As the reader, you can see I was set up for this citation, but in the court of law, it will become my word against the officer’s. I am quickly learning that would be like playing Russian Roulette with only one chamber empty. Unfortunately, without substantial evidence on my part, I feel the judge will rule in favor of the officer. The state cannot have officers who are not paying attention to the road, now can it? The citation itself is even against me stating the traffic was moderate and not light. In reality, it was light (as I said, there were only two cars at that particular point in time: me and Speedy). In other words: BANG! I lose.

However, justice law will state: the officer is supposed to provide proof beyond reasonable doubt that it was me. I am providing reasonable doubt in my case, but truthfully I am not aware of any cases that were won when it is a civilian versus an officer’s statement only. The officer has experience and a scanner and maybe video footage. I have: my integrity. Integrity is not going to be sufficient enough to win the case.

I have sat in TWO hearing. The first hearing I was alone. The judge offered to lower the charge to an infraction and pay a fine of $300, or I could contest it in court. I denied paying it because many people I talked to encouraged me to contest it. Again, they were thinking “infraction” not petty misdemeanor. The second hearing was supposed to be a pre-trial hearing. I was under the impression it would be a conference with me, my attorney, and the judge to determine if it was worth going to trial. In the state I live in, pre-trial hearing is the same as the first hearing only this time I have an attorney. The attorney encouraged me to take the infraction deal. I was puzzled by this. Wasn’t he supposed to be defending me? I told him I wanted to fight it because I was innocent. He accepted my request and set a court date with the judge. Before hanging up from the zoom meeting he reminded me about the consequences should I be tried guilty for the crime. Hey reader: do you see a common theme here?

To be honest, I don’t know if it has anything to do with where I live or if this is the case in general. It seemed to me that I was going to end up guilty regardless if I was innocent or not. Now, this is where my trauma kicks in. Driving has started to become more of a nightmare than enjoyment. Modified mufflers and police lights give me flashbacks to that night. There is a portion of the highway I cannot drive on because of this experience. I start having panic attacks as I approach that portion and break down into tears. So, I have to take an alternative route every time. Even talking about this event brings an overwhelming amount of emotions. I need to start healing from it so I can move on. This is the reason I stopped writing for a while. I was unsure what was going to happen. Would I survive from the hellish nightmare I was enduring? Or would I end up locked up for a crime I didn’t commit?

The good news is, I have a surefire method of healing: I write. I am sharing this with you so you can learn from my traumatic experience. I decided to take the state’s deal to lower it to an infraction and pay the $300. After all, it seemed even my attorney did not believe I was innocent and I do not want to start a criminal record for a crime I know I did not do. Paying for the infraction is another step for me moving on. I am also fortunate that I will be away from home this summer. I am hoping time away will add to my healing.

It is unfortunate that I had to experience how unfair our justice system is. We are all brainwashed into believing “innocent until proven guilty,” but this has shown the complete opposite. No one was willing to listen to my statement unless it was in court, fighting against a veteran police officer. Mano e mano in a verbal arena. The ant versus the elephant. Do you honestly think I am going to be able to win? As a final reminder to all my readers: there is a difference in traffic crimes. If you are given a citation for an infraction: you can try to contest it (good luck), but if it is a petty misdemeanor: take the state’s deal (if it is offered) and have it lowered unless you have visual proof of your innocence (i.e. dash-cam).