I (Ryan W. McAllister) recently represented two (2) clients at district court who were each issued two (2) traffic citations. The first client, who was the driver of the vehicle, was charged with failing to stop and provide information following an accident, 75 Pa.C.S.A. 3744, and accidents and damage to unattended property, 75 Pa.C.S.A. 3745(a).
As is my usual course of action, upon arriving at the courtroom, I approached the officer who had issued the citations and asked her is she would be willing to drop and /or reduce some of the charges. For whatever reason, her verbatim response was “not at all”. As a result, I told my clients of the situation and informed them that we would have no choice but to proceed to a summary trial. In fact, at that point my clients had nothing to lose by going forward with a trial, so it was the obvious choice.water park
As in any criminal case, including a traffic citation, the burden of proof is on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to prove a defendant guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”. In this matter, the officer was simply not prepared with the proper evidence to prove my guilty. On numerous occasions, the officer attempted to testify statements that other witnesses had said. This is clearly “hearsay” evidence, and the Judge sustained my repeated objections to these statements.
At the conclusion of the case, my client was found “not guilty” by the Judge. The police officer, knowing that she couldn’t prove her case on the remaining two (2) citations, withdrew them. My clients were extremely happy with the outcome.
If you have been charged with a traffic citation under the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, please contact Nevins & McAllister, PLLC, at 610-372-5128 to discuss you case in more detail. We offer free in-office consultations for your convenience.
