NMA Georgia Alert: Loss of Radar and Laser Authorization May Invalidate Some Tickets
Due to the failure of Gwinnett County and city governments to compromise on a strategy to provide services like policing, public health and road maintenance, the county has temporarily lost the ability to get state grants or permits -- including permits for radar and laser enforcement. (This according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution online article from January 4th.)
Auburn, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville and Suwanee have also lost their permits. Consequently, speeding tickets issued in those locations after January 1st, which rely on either of those technologies, may be invalid; certainly the tickets are much more vulnerable to courtroom challenges. What needs to be borne in mind is that officers can probably still generate valid speeding tickets by personally "pacing" vehicles, or by claiming to have done so. Still, if you have a radar or laser-based ticket from these places and this time period, you might want to consult with an attorney as to the validity of your ticket, or you might even want to go ahead and take it to trial on your own. There are no guarantees, but the loss of radar and laser authority could be the key to a successful defense.
