Failure to yeild

[top_stealthman]

What is the name of your state? Georgia
I received a ticket from an officer for failure to yeild. He claims that I was ALMOST in an accident. I requested a jury trial in state court hoping that I would be more likely to get a fair shake that way. Does anyone know what I should expect to have happen since I don't have an attorney representing me? I tried to get a court appointed but didn't qualify. Does anyone know how I can get a copy of the video from the police cruiser. I got the ticket from a Cobb county officer back in July of 2003.

 

[dequeendistress]

You may not need a copy of the video, it may very well show up in court with the officer.

 

[top_stealthman]

I would like to see it before it ends up in court though. I think that the officer said something that may help build my case.

 

[lwpat]

If Georgia allows discovery at the traffic court level you can file a motion for discovery. It must be in the proper format, served on the prosecutor properly, and also in a timely fashion (at least 30 days before your court date is typical).

If GA does not allow discovery you can file a Freedom of Information Act request.

Be prepared for them to act like they do not know what either of these are.

Did the officer see the incident? If not then he cannot testify except for any statements that you made. An actual witness would have to testify.

 

[top_stealthman]

lwpat,

according to the officer, he was behind the car in question. the reason that i want a copy of the video is that when i was stopped the officer said that he almost hit the car from behind when the driver stepped on his brake. i could not see the officer behind the car (actually it was a suburban). in court i don't know how the officer or the d.a. can prove that i failed to yeild to the suburban. it seems like the case will boil down to the officer's opinion against mine.

 

[JETX]

"Does anyone know what I should expect to have happen since I don't have an attorney representing me?"
*** Yep. Since you are 'pro se' (without legal counsel), you will be expected to have sufficient legal experience to comply with the rules of the court. You will also be expected to follow the rules of evidence and law.

"I tried to get a court appointed but didn't qualify."
*** Attorney representation is not provided for traffic court.

"Does anyone know how I can get a copy of the video from the police cruiser."
*** You could subpoena it.

"I got the ticket from a Cobb county officer back in July of 2003."
*** And you haven't gone to trial YET?? Seems strange.

"it seems like the case will boil down to the officer's opinion against mine."
*** And that is often sufficient enough to provide a conviction. Doesn't sound like you are going to be very happy at the end of this.

And finally, something is missing in your post. What was the FULL citation for?? Simply, you have to have failed to yield to something (another vehicle, right of way, to emergency vehicle, etc.). There is no such statute as 'failed to yield to almost accident'.
The applicable GA traffic code (PDF) can be found at:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/GaCode/Title40.pdf

 

[lwpat]

"it seems like the case will boil down to the officer's opinion against mine."

And who do you thing the judge will believe?

I agree with JETX and it does seem strange that you still have not gone to court.

 

[top_stealthman]

Did you two miss the fact that I am going to a jury trial? It won't be up to a judge to determine the outcome of this case. There will be a 6 member jury. The fact is that the officer gave me a ticket for failure to yeild. He claims that a suburban almost ran into me. He also said when he stopped me that he almost hit the suburban when that driver stepped on his brake. If you have been driving for any length of time, then you must have run accross one of those drivers out there who will break for a car a half mile away. The fact of matter is that the suburban driver is the only witness. The officer is the only person that was behind the suburban where the license plate is. For that matter, the officer is the only person who got close enough to the suburban in order to get a tag number. I wasn't almost in an accident. I definitely wasn't in an accident. Noone honked their horn. The only person who admittingly was almost in an accident is the officer who was obviously following the suburban too closely.

As for the length of time since my ticket. Do you have any idea how many hoops Cobb county makes you jump through to get a jury trial? I have had to appear in traffic court two times and state court two times. Basically, they have given me four chances to plead guilty. I haven't even had a chance to talk to a state court judge yet (in two visits!!). They try to break you spirit.

 

[jjtricket]

After the failure to yield on the citation, is there a GA code reference number of any kind?

 

[top_stealthman]

This is exactly what the ticket says:
Offense Failure to Yeild
In Violation of Code Section 40-6-71 of State Law
REMARKS Left Turn SIL, Suburban LN-1, Almost S-41

Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

 

[JETX]

Okay, according to the GA statute you reference (§40-6-71) you were charged with attempting to make a left turn and not yielding to a car coming toward you. The applicable GA statute reads:
"The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right of way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard."

Nothing in your post says ANYTHING about your making a turn in front of an oncoming vehicle.

In any case, now that you know EXACTLY what you are charged with..... how are you going to defend against the officers (and witness?) statements??

 

[top_stealthman]

If I can get a copy of the police video where the officer admitts that he almost hit the suburban, then I thought I might either go for the fact that he wouldn't have been able to see me from behind the suburban since he was so close to it or that he gave me a ticket as a reaction to the fact that he was almost in an accident. Otherwise, I am going to tell the truth about what happened and that I wasn't almost in an accident. I thought I would point out that the officer is the only person who could contact the driver of the suburban (the only other witness to the incident). I am 99.99999% certain that the state will not have that driver in court. It will be up to the jury to decide if the officer's story is proof enough to convict. Innocent until proven guilty, you know.

 

[hexeliebe]

Top_S, do what Jet told you to do and subpoena the tape.

IF you were turning left in front of the Suburban and it clearly shows on the tape, then it will also show how close the officer was and the proximity of your vehicle to the suburban.

Otherwise, don't waste your time.

 

[biglaz]

I would like to see it before it ends up in court though. I think that the officer said something that may help build my case.

Do you know the incident was recorded on the video recorder? From my experience LEOs don't drive around with the camera on all the time, it only switches on with the emergency lighting. The only thing that would be on the video is the traffic stop after the fact, which may or may not include audio, depending on the technology.

 

[top_stealthman]

Biglaz is correct. I spoke with a Cobb county police officer last year about this case and he said that the video recorder doesn't start running until the blue lights come on. They do have audio here in GA too. It's all just a bunch of bull----. I've had to appear in court four times already and each time my options were to plead the case out or come back another time. I really am starting to feel drained about the whole thing.