[bottoj]

Some of you may know that I am trying to fight my two tickets in court, speed greater than reasonable and marked lanes violation.

Here is a letter I just sent to my attorney:

Hello Cookie Monster,

I was doing a bit of legwork surrounding the manner in which I was ticketed and came upon this:

M.G.L. - Chapter 90c, Section 2

Chapter 90c, Section 2 states that:

"A failure to give a copy of the citation to the violator at the time and place of the violation shall constitute a defense in any court proceeding for such violation, except where the violator could not have been stopped or where additional time was reasonably necessary to determine the nature of the violation or the identity of the violator, or where the court finds that a circumstance, not inconsistent with the purpose of this section to create a uniform, simplified and non-criminal method for disposing of automobile law violations, justifies the failure. In such case the violation shall be recorded upon a citation as soon as possible after such violation and the citation shall be delivered to the violator or mailed to him at his residential or mail address or to the address appearing on his license or registration as appearing in registry of motor vehicles records. The provisions of the first sentence of this paragraph shall not apply to any complaint or indictment charging a violation of section twenty-four, twenty-four G or twenty-four L of chapter ninety, providing such complaint or indictment relates to a violation of automobile law which resulted in one or more deaths."

The section states that I must be handed the violation at the scene of the accident, unless "additional time was reasonably necessary to determine the nature of the violation or the identity of the violator" was unknown.

Even if more time was deemed necessary, "the violation shall be recorded upon a citation as soon as possible after such violation and the citation shall be delivered to the violator or mailed to him at his residential or mail address".

None of the above happened. I was not issued the citation at the scene nor was it mailed to me. At the time I was in the hospital, my grandmother had gone down to retrieve the police reports, and they handed it to her, which is a blatant violation of the chapter. Is this our smoking gun?

Sincerely,
Ronald McDonald

[Bud]

What was the time difference between the violation and retrieving the police reports?

[bottoj]

A few weeks. My grandmother went to retrieve them since I was in the hospital at the time, but they stated that they didn't have the reports ready, and gave her my ticket. I did not receive the ticket myself.