People v. Stone

190 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 1, 236 Cal. Rptr. 140, 1987 Cal. App. LEXIS 1544
CourtAppellate Division of the Superior Court of California
DecidedJanuary 21, 1987
DocketCrim. A. No. 22098; Crim. A. No. 22879
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 190 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 1 (People v. Stone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Stone, 190 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 1, 236 Cal. Rptr. 140, 1987 Cal. App. LEXIS 1544 (Cal. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

Opinion

BERNSTEIN, J.

Defendant Henry Stone and defendant Jane Segesman appeal from judgments of conviction of violating section 86.02, subdivision (a) of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (hereafter L.A.M.C.) (speeding in a public park). The records are contained in engrossed settled statements. For the reasons discussed below, we reverse each conviction.

Statement of the Cases and of the Facts

Defendant Henry Stone was arrested on February 18, 1984, by Officer R. W. Lupin of the Los Angeles Police Department for violating L.A.M.C. section 86.02, subdivision (a).1 Stone appeared in municipal court and was advised of his constitutional rights. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and posted bail. Trial was set for April 19, 1984. At trial, Officer Lupin testified that defendant was going 40 miles per hour in a posted 25-mile-per-hour zone. The zone was located at Griffith Park Drive and the Interstate 5 on-[Supp. 5]*Supp. 5ramp. Defendant was clocked by radar. Defendant testified that he knew the speed was 25 miles per hour but he felt that he was not going at a speed that was not safe. He did not think he should be cited but felt that the “officer did only his duty.” The court found defendant guilty as charged and sentenced him to pay a fine plus penalty assessment.

Defendant Jane Segesman was arrested on March 9, 1984, by Officer Ed Sanders of the Los Angeles Police Department for violating L.A.M.C. section 86.02, subdivision (a). On April 2, 1984, she appeared in municipal court and was advised of her constitutional rights. She pleaded not guilty and posted bail. Trial was set for June 11,1984. On the day set for trial, defendant Segesman failed to appear. Bail was forfeited. On June 13, 1984, Segesman filed a motion to vacate the forfeiture and reset the trial date. Trial was reset for July 16, 1984. On July 16, 1984, Officer Sanders testified that, using a radar gun, he clocked defendant going 40 in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. The zone was located on Griffith Park Boulevard. Defendant testified that she was not going 40. The court found her guilty as charged and sentenced her to pay a fine plus penalty assesment.

Both defendants filed timely appeals. Defendant Segesman’s hearing on this appeal was set for December 5, 1985; on that date we took her appeal under submission. On December 26, 1985, the order of submission was vacated and we consolidated these two appeals, finding that each posed the same question of law.

Grounds on Appeal

Defendant Stone cites four grounds Tor appeal: (1) the trial court’s failure to certify his proposed settled statement resulted in a denial of due process; (2) the People failed to demonstrate that the citation did not involve a speed trap; (3) the ordinance at issue here violates due process because it is not definite and certain; and (4) the trial court did not allow him to call witnesses on his own behalf. We base our decision on only the second ground.2

Discussion

The Speed Trap Provisions of the California Vehicle Code3

[Supp. 6]*Supp. 6That California has a strong mandate against speed traps cannot reasonably be doubted. Vehicle Code section 40801 prohibits a peace officer from using a speed trap to arrest a person or to secure evidence of the speed of a vehicle.4 Section 40803, subdivision (a) prohibits the introduction into evidence at trial of the speed of a vehicle if that evidence is based upon use of a speed trap.5 Section 40803, subdivision (b) provides that if radar is used to arrest a person for speeding, the People must, as part of their prima facie case, establish that the evidence and testimony which they present is not based upon a speed trap.6 Section 40804, subdivision (a) provides that a person will be incompetent as a witness if his testimony is based upon use of a speed trap.7 Section 40805 provides that a court will be without jurisdiction to convict a defendant for speeding if that court admits any evidence or testimony which was secured in violation of section 40801 or which is inadmissible under sections 40803 or 40804.8

What constitutes a “speed trap” is explained in section 40802, which provides: “A ‘speed trap’ is either of the following:

“(a) A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance.
[Supp. 7]*Supp. 7“(b) A particular section of a highway with a prima facie speed limit provided by this code or by local ordinance pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 22352, or established pursuant to Section 22354, 22357,22358, or 22358.3, which speed limit is not justified by an engineering and traffic survey conducted within five years prior to the date of the alleged violation, and where enforcement involves the use of radar or other electronic devices which measures the speed of moving objects. The provisions of this subdivision do not apply to local streets and roads.

“For purposes of this section, local streets and roads shall be defined by the latest functional usage and federal-aid system maps as submitted to the Federal Highway Administration. When these maps have not been submitted, the following definition shall be used: A local street or road primarily provides access to abutting residential property and shall meet the following three conditions:

“1. Roadway width of not more than 40 feet.
“2. Not more than one-half mile of uninterrupted length. Interruptions shall include official traffic control devices as defined in Section 445.
“3. Not more than one traffic lane in each direction.” We are concerned here with subdivision (b) of section 40802, the use of radar.

With respect to trials involving the use of radar to prove the People’s case, we held in People v. Halopoff( 1976) 60 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1 [131 Cal.Rptr. 531], that the People have the burden of proving that the defendant was not a victim of a speed trap. We said: “In the trial of cases where radar is involved, questions will inevitably come up concerning the duty of the prosecution on the one hand, or the defendant on the other, to raise the question of the applicability of the anti-speed trap legislation. We believe for the following reasons, that in such prosecutions it is incumbent upon the People, without request from the defendant, to disclose to the court and to the defendant that radar is involved and further, where such is the case, to demonstrate the existence of the engineering and traffic survey required by section 40802, subdivision (b) in order to remove the case from the sanctions of sections 40801,40803,40804 and 40805.” (Id., at Supp. 5.) Later, we specifically stated that the engineering and traffic survey has to be physically produced by the People at trial but that a certified copy of same can be produced in lieu of the original. (People v. Sterritt (1976) 65 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 6, fn.4 [135 Cal.Rptr. 522]; People v. Flaxman (1977) 74 Cal.App.3d Supp. 16 [141 Cal.Rptr. 799].)

[Supp.

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Bluebook (online)
190 Cal. App. Supp. 3d 1, 236 Cal. Rptr. 140, 1987 Cal. App. LEXIS 1544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-stone-calappdeptsuper-1987.