State v. Tomanelli

The opinion is strangely silent about the circumstances under which the trial judge took judicial notice of the principle of radar as a scientific device for the measurement of speed. Over the defendant’s objection, the state police trooper who operated the radar apparatus was permitted to testify concerning the principles of radar, the operation of the radar instrument and his observation of the radar speedmeter when the defendant’s vehicle passed through the radar beam. Later the defendant moved to strike the trooper’s testimony because no expert testimony had been offered by the state that…