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Teen tries GPS defense to fight speeding ticket


By L.A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, July 12, 2008 at 3:41 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 12, 2008 at 5:17 a.m.

What started out as a simple disputed speeding ticket has blossomed into a full-scale trial in Sonoma County Superior Court, costing both sides thousands of dollars.

A year ago July 4, Windsor teenager Shaun Malone, now 18, received a ticket on Lakeville Highway after a Petaluma police officer using radar said he clocked the teen's 2000 Toyota Celica GTS going 62 mph in a 45 mph zone.

But Malone's family contends that a GPS system they installed in his car to monitor his driving habits proves he was driving 45 mph at virtually the same time and place the officer said he clocked him speeding.

A trial began with testimony in Traffic Court on Friday morning before Commissioner Carla Bonilla.

Malone is appealing a ruling by another commissioner that he was guilty of speeding, a trial that was conducted all on paper.

The unprecedented GPS challenge to radar could change the way Sonoma County authorities enforce speed laws. The case also has attracted national attention for its potential to set a precedent for challenges relying on GPS, which is becoming common in vehicles as a mapping or tracking device.

The nonjury trial that began Friday has elevated the dispute to another level -- legally and financially -- for both Malone's family and the city of Petaluma.

A GPS expert the city retained has been called to testify twice, at $5,000 per appearance, and is scheduled to return Oct. 3 when the trial resumes.

The city also is paying for the time of a police sergeant and three other officers who attended the trial's opening day Friday. In addition, the city traffic engineer and computer mapping expert both testified Friday.

For the trial, the city has prepared an audio-video experiment to show the road in question and how the officer used his radar gun to determine Malone's speed.

City officials said the costs to prevail may prevent future expenses to fight similar battles.

As for Malone, his family has hired a well-known criminal defense attorney, Andy Martinez, to argue the case. And they have their own GPS expert to back up their accounts of its accuracy.

For them the issue has become far bigger than the $190 ticket and any insurance increase Malone would incur as a result of the infraction.

"There are definite principles involved here," said his stepfather, Roger Rude, a retired Sonoma County sheriff's lieutenant. "The big issue is Shaun wasn't speeding." Legally, the case is a juvenile matter, but Malone has allowed his parents to comment publicly.

Rude has used the issue to encourage more parents to closely monitor their teenagers while they're inexperienced drivers and most at risk of being in collisions. He and his wife, Karen Kahn, installed the GPS in Malone's car to be kept abreast of his driving behavior and encourage him to drive safely.

According to court testimony Friday, Malone's GPS system sends out a data signal every 30 seconds that reports the car's speed, location and the time. It is designed to send an e-mail alert to Malone's parents if he ever hits 70 mph.

Another subject surfaced Friday that may become an issue at trial this fall. Rude contends that the stretch of Lakeville Highway on which Malone received the ticket is an illegal speed trap, which would invalidate any ticket.

Petaluma's traffic engineer testified under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Michael Li about the different speed limits on the road and motorists' typical speeds on the stretch in question.

Bonilla is expected to issue a ruling after hearing additional testimony in October, including from both sides' experts.

or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.


Comments

  1. defshiznit says...
    July 12, 2008 11:02:55 am

    RE: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080712/NEWS/807120355

    This is outrageous! This is a huge waste of taxpayer money and its bogging the court system down. Roger Rude knows that handheld RADAR has long been established in the courts as highly accurate. California POST standards mandate 40 hours of training in order to operate it. A satellite orbiting 80 miles in the atmosphere is not going to give you an accurate speed. Come on Rude, make the kid take responsibility and have him pay his ticket and his own insurance. You're embarrassing yourselves.

  2. hanoverfist says...
    July 12, 2008 11:06:13 am

    KaptainKona, I mean Roger Rude, is a tool. Not only is this issue a joke, but he's using it to promote a GPS tracking website. Wonder how much he got paid for the advertisement?

  3. The Big Dog says...
    July 12, 2008 11:20:05 am

    Actually the network of satellites that give us GPS are at 22500 miles altitude.

    I am a certified traffic radar operator. What is challengeable is the veracity of the operator. If the officer picked up a different vehicle, which can happen with radar, and the evidence of the GPS is found technically sound, then justice would dictate that the citation should be dismissed.

    Mr. Rude's endorsement of the service is a little suspect, ulterior motives and all, but how about we let the court decide based on all the facts in evidence? That is what we are paying them for, after all.

  4. bbadinov says...
    July 12, 2008 11:22:23 am

    It is a speedtrap as described in the CVC. There are many conditions that can cause a radar to not provide correct readings, I'm not saying that this is one, but it is can be fooled, but the GPS is extremely accurate, and depending on the setup can and may prove to win this case. If you have one of the GPS that does show the speed, you yourself can see the accuracy and the speed at which it is able to calculate the minute change in speed. Try it before you spout off that it cannot register the speed accurately.

  5. btrflykizzs says...
    July 12, 2008 11:52:25 am

    All legal aspects aside........I'm wondering how this young man feels being tethered to his parents computer. I doubt that he would speed considering what might happen when he got home. They care about him, true, but trust has a lot to do with how a boy that age performs. I'm on his side.

  6. ifuc1killit says...
    July 12, 2008 11:57:49 am

    Daddy has money let him spend it on his little poor basta rd kid.

  7. e988o says...
    July 12, 2008 12:08:58 pm

    $5,000.00 per each appearance for a GPS "expert"??? Holy $h-t!!!!!! Where do I apply?????

    On another note - I hope the kid wins. Everyone knows the vehicle code is primarily a money maker for all levels of government. Public safety is just an excuse to legitimize it.

  8. carina_miyo says...
    July 12, 2008 1:29:16 pm

    I'm glad he is fighting the ticket. You don't know who the cop checks radar on before he decides to pull YOU over. Got a ticket in the same speed trap area of Lakeville Rd but had no way to fight against the radar. I didn't have my GPS with me that day or I would have used it too.

  9. ray_mathews43 says...
    July 12, 2008 2:50:17 pm

    bbad, you need to re-read your vehicle code. Lakeville HWY is not a "speed trap" as defined in the code. You also need to recheck GPS accuracy for CIVILIAN use. You have been watching too many movies or reading too many Tom Clancy books.

    As to Rude's GPS. It takes an instant reading every 30 seconds. How accurate can that be against radar that takes many readings a second. I hope your not Andy Martinez. If you are, your case is lost.

  10. arenasjuancarlos says...
    July 12, 2008 3:36:18 pm

    the citi of petaluma is willing to spend 100000 dollars to 140 bucks what a bunch of idiots all they have to do is admit this cop was on some ego trip and was wrong