Teh One Who Knocks
11-27-2011, 12:45 PM
By LINDA REILLY - The Daily Times Correspondent
http://i.imgur.com/kuTwp.jpg
UPPER DARBY — A four-day traffic detail in September coordinated by township and state police resulted in 228 speeding tickets.
But charges against 56 motorists were reduced to a warning and a slap on the wrist by a district judge — an action that infuriated the township’s top cop, who wants another jurist assigned for the remaining cases.
Upper Darby police targeted Township Line Road, one of the major thoroughfares in the township, for the detail from Sept. 26-29.
Motorists driving 15 mph or more over the 35 mph speed limit posted on signs were issued citations from the township and state police working in tandem.
Radar devices to calculate speeds were used by state troopers and township police handed out the citations.
Magisterial District Judge Michael Cullen came under fire by Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood for only issuing warnings to the drivers in court and dismissing 56 speeding cases — three on Oct. 25 and 53 on Nov. 15.
Chitwood contacted county District Court Administrator Ward T. Williams this week regarding the dismissal of the citations and seeking a continuance of the remaining cases until January when Cullen will no longer be on the bench.
Republican Cullen, 69, a magisterial district judge for 36 years, did not seek re-election.
“To me, it’s irresponsible and unacceptable, especially when you’re dealing with public safety and potential injury that can be caused by speeding,” Chitwood said. “It’s ridiculous to throw 56 tickets out when speeding is a major, major problem. Judge Cullen threw them all out, discharged them all, because there was no state trooper in the courtroom.
“Judge Cullen could have easily continued these cases to subpoena the Pennsylvania State Police.”
Cullen countered that the cases were dismissed specifically for the lack of a state trooper in the courtroom.
“The tickets were thrown out because state police did not show up for the hearing,” Cullen said. “It’s his responsibility to have officers there. It’s highly technical to prove a speeding ticket with radar. It has to be an approved device. It has to be calibrated and you have to prove that in every case. It’s the job of the Upper Darby police to notify state police of the hearing.
“You can’t judge shop because you don’t like the decision of a judge. There are specific reasons for recusal and this is not one of them. There is a whole process to transfer cases.”
According to Cullen, there is a reason local police are not permitted to use radar.
“It requires a tremendous amount of training,” Cullen said. “The Legislature didn’t trust local authorities with the complexity of radar. If they brought in the state police I would have heard them.”
Chitwood’s letter to Williams cited the 30 pending speeding cases scheduled before Cullen on Dec. 6; six more are scheduled for Dec. 13. Fifteen additional tickets, initially scheduled for Nov. 29, will be continued to another date because Cullen will not be hearing cases that day.
“We don’t have radar and have to rely on state police because the state won’t allow local police to use radar,” Chitwood said. “The reason we had state police come into the township is because of the high rates of speed on that road. We spent 104 police department man hours with six of our guys and one Pennsylvania State Police officer each day. I asked for any speeding cases scheduled before Cullen be continued until after Jan. 1. I don’t want him to hear the cases. He should recuse himself.”
According to Chitwood, Sgt. Don Clark, who regularly handles court cases for motor vehicle violations, calls offenders up before a judge (Upper Darby has five district judges) and offers motorists an opportunity to plead to a lesser charge and pay a $110 fine with no points on their license, a common procedure that didn’t happen with these speeding incidents.
http://i.imgur.com/kuTwp.jpg
UPPER DARBY — A four-day traffic detail in September coordinated by township and state police resulted in 228 speeding tickets.
But charges against 56 motorists were reduced to a warning and a slap on the wrist by a district judge — an action that infuriated the township’s top cop, who wants another jurist assigned for the remaining cases.
Upper Darby police targeted Township Line Road, one of the major thoroughfares in the township, for the detail from Sept. 26-29.
Motorists driving 15 mph or more over the 35 mph speed limit posted on signs were issued citations from the township and state police working in tandem.
Radar devices to calculate speeds were used by state troopers and township police handed out the citations.
Magisterial District Judge Michael Cullen came under fire by Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood for only issuing warnings to the drivers in court and dismissing 56 speeding cases — three on Oct. 25 and 53 on Nov. 15.
Chitwood contacted county District Court Administrator Ward T. Williams this week regarding the dismissal of the citations and seeking a continuance of the remaining cases until January when Cullen will no longer be on the bench.
Republican Cullen, 69, a magisterial district judge for 36 years, did not seek re-election.
“To me, it’s irresponsible and unacceptable, especially when you’re dealing with public safety and potential injury that can be caused by speeding,” Chitwood said. “It’s ridiculous to throw 56 tickets out when speeding is a major, major problem. Judge Cullen threw them all out, discharged them all, because there was no state trooper in the courtroom.
“Judge Cullen could have easily continued these cases to subpoena the Pennsylvania State Police.”
Cullen countered that the cases were dismissed specifically for the lack of a state trooper in the courtroom.
“The tickets were thrown out because state police did not show up for the hearing,” Cullen said. “It’s his responsibility to have officers there. It’s highly technical to prove a speeding ticket with radar. It has to be an approved device. It has to be calibrated and you have to prove that in every case. It’s the job of the Upper Darby police to notify state police of the hearing.
“You can’t judge shop because you don’t like the decision of a judge. There are specific reasons for recusal and this is not one of them. There is a whole process to transfer cases.”
According to Cullen, there is a reason local police are not permitted to use radar.
“It requires a tremendous amount of training,” Cullen said. “The Legislature didn’t trust local authorities with the complexity of radar. If they brought in the state police I would have heard them.”
Chitwood’s letter to Williams cited the 30 pending speeding cases scheduled before Cullen on Dec. 6; six more are scheduled for Dec. 13. Fifteen additional tickets, initially scheduled for Nov. 29, will be continued to another date because Cullen will not be hearing cases that day.
“We don’t have radar and have to rely on state police because the state won’t allow local police to use radar,” Chitwood said. “The reason we had state police come into the township is because of the high rates of speed on that road. We spent 104 police department man hours with six of our guys and one Pennsylvania State Police officer each day. I asked for any speeding cases scheduled before Cullen be continued until after Jan. 1. I don’t want him to hear the cases. He should recuse himself.”
According to Chitwood, Sgt. Don Clark, who regularly handles court cases for motor vehicle violations, calls offenders up before a judge (Upper Darby has five district judges) and offers motorists an opportunity to plead to a lesser charge and pay a $110 fine with no points on their license, a common procedure that didn’t happen with these speeding incidents.