People v. Ellis

Opinion

GOLDSTEIN, P. J.

We find that the People cannot rebut the presumption of a speed trap, which arises whenever radar is used to enforce a prima facie *Supp. 27speed limit, by producing a summary of the current engineering and traffic survey for the pertinent segment of roadway.

Facts

Newport Beach Police Department Officer Burgen used his hand-held radar unit to determine that defendant Neal Barnett Ellis’s speed ranged between 42 and 45 miles per hour as he traveled through a 25-mile-per-hour zone. At trial, Officer Burgen produced a summary of a November 1990 engineering and traffic…