People v. Hildebrandt

The question of law on this appeal is: may it be inferred, from the fact that a person is the owner of an automobile, that he is its driver at a particular time?

Defendant’s conviction, in a Court of Special Sessions, was for the “ traffic infraction ” (see Vehicle and Traffic Law, § 2, subd. 29) of driving an automobile at a speed illegal in a restricted speed zone (Vehicle and Traffic Law, § 56, subd. 4; § 95-c). The penalty imposed was a small fine. Police officers, to measure the speed, had used a ‘ ‘ phototraffic camera ’ ’ which takes two photos, at a set time interval apart, of a moving…