Damascus man beats speed camera ticket

Victory is rare instance of judge deciding for the driver
by Susan Singer-Bart, Staff Writer
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Of the 333,704 speeding tickets issued in the last year in Montgomery County as a result of speed cameras, 24 were overturned in court.
Last week, Paul Layer of Damascus became the 25th person to be found not guilty in court following a speeding citation from a camera.
A camera in the work zone in the 27000 block of Ridge Road near Faith Lane clocked Layer speeding on May 30. According to the $40 citation, he was driving more than 42 mph in a 30 mph zone. The camera was behind barrels marking lanes closed to traffic in the construction zone where Woodfield Road extended meets Ridge Road north of Damascus.
After he received a speeding ticket in December from a camera in that spot, Layer, a constitutional lawyer for the federal government, did a little research and decided the camera was illegal. State statute is specific about the placement of speed cameras and warning signs, he said. The law is worded in such a way that a speed camera is only allowed in a work zone if the speed limit is 45 mph or greater, Layer said. The Ridge Road camera is in a 30 mph zone.
The county attorney disagrees, according to Capt. Thomas C. Didone, head of the Montgomery County Police Department Traffic Division. Layer argued before Montgomery County District Court Associate Judge Audrey A. Creighton on Aug. 29 that the May 30 ticket was not legal for three reasons: the camera is not in an appropriate speed zone, a sign warning about the cameras was more than 20 feet from the camera instead of the required six feet, and police could not prove the camera was calibrated correctly. Lanes in the area have shifted in recent months because of construction. “I asked,’When did they reposition the camera to target vehicles in the new, relocated lane?’” Layer said in an interview. “They claim it was done on a certain date without any evidence.” Police told the judge a contractor was asked if the camera had been recalibrated and took his word for it. They did not produce any documentation the recalibration had been done, Layer said. “They can’t just come in and say, ‘This guy told me it was done’ — that’s classic inadmissible hearsay evidence,” he told the judge. The judge agreed and found Layer not guilty. “The judge ruled as she has discretion to rule,” Didone said.
The law does not require police to produce documentation to show the camera was calibrated, he said. “There’s no precedent, he’s not right,” Didone said. Police inspect cameras and download data daily, he said. Layer said he supports the speed camera program in general.
“The state has put in parameters for local jurisdictions to follow and in this case they didn’t follow it,” he said. Layer contested the ticket he received in December and was told Feb. 9 that it had been voided because his license plate was not clearly visible. The license plate was clear enough to track Layer down to mail him the citation, so he suspects it was voided to stop him from challenging the camera. hile waiting in court last week for his case to be called, Layer heard other people contesting tickets based on the same camera and they were found guilty, he said. He was sorry he had not gone first to develop his case to help them out. I felt bad for everybody nailed by this camera under these circumstances,” Layer said. “It’s just wrong.”
The Gazette was unable to obtain the court documents for Layer’s case.
ssingerbart@gazette.net

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