| People v Giaccio (Richard) |
| 2013 NY Slip Op 52147(U) [42 Misc 3d 127(A)] |
| Decided on December 16, 2013 |
| Appellate Term, Second Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
Appeal from a judgment of the Justice Court of the Town of Bedford, Westchester
County (Kevin J. Quaranta, J.), rendered May 25, 2011. The judgment convicted
defendant, after a nonjury trial, of speeding.
ORDERED that the judgment of conviction is affirmed.
Following a nonjury trial, the Justice Court convicted defendant of speeding (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1180 [d]). On appeal, defendant contends that the proof was legally insufficient to support his conviction. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution (see People v Contes, 60 NY2d 620, 621 [1983]), we are of the opinion that the proof was legally sufficient to establish defendant's guilt of speeding beyond a reasonable doubt.
Radar readings are generally admissible and may independently be sufficient to prove a violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1180 (d) if there is reasonable proof of the device's accuracy (see People v Dusing, 5 NY2d 126, 128 [1959]). A radar device's accuracy may be established by proof that a police officer, who is a qualified radar operator, conducted tests indicating that the radar was functioning properly at the time of the incident (see Matter of Graf v Foschio, 102 AD2d 891 [1984]; People v Goess, 34 Misc 3d 152[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50303[U] [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2012]; People v Susana, 29 Misc 3d 144[A], 2010 NY Slip Op 52218[U] [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2010]). Calibration records are not needed to establish the accuracy of a radar device (see People v Goess, 34 Misc 3d 152[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50303[U]; People v Susana, 29 Misc 3d 144[A], 2010 NY Slip Op 52218[U]).
Here, the state trooper showed the court his radar operation certificate, which was
issued by the New York State Police. Furthermore, the trooper testified that he had
conducted the appropriate calibration tests on the radar device and that the device was
working properly. Thus, the trooper's testimony that, as a qualified operator, he had used
a properly calibrated radar device to measure defendant's speed at 81 miles per hour in a
posted 65 mile per hour zone, sufficed independently to prove a violation of Vehicle and
Traffic Law § 1180 (d) (see People v Dusing, 5 NY2d at 128; People v Goess, 34 Misc 3d
152[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50303[U]; People v Susana, 29 Misc 3d 144[A], 2010 NY Slip Op
52218[U]).
Moreover, even if the proof of the calibration of the radar was inadequate, a
reading from an untested radar unit, coupled with a qualified officer's visual estimate,
suffices to prove the offense, particularly if the visual estimate sufficiently corroborated
the radar measurement to [*2]render "any perceived
deficiency in the radar evidence . . . of no consequence" (People v Knight, 72
NY2d 481, 488 [1988]; see also
People v Goess, 34 Misc 3d 152[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50303[U]; People v Susana, 29 Misc 3d
144[A], 2010 NY Slip Op 52218[U]; People v Ramaker, 9 Misc 3d 131[A], 2005 NY Slip Op
51592[U] [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2005]). Thus, the trooper's testimony that he
had received training to visually estimate the rate of speed of a vehicle and that he had
determined defendant's rate of speed to be 85 miles per hour, which was close to the 81
mile per hour rate that the radar unit had measured, was sufficient to prove a violation of
Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1180 (d) (see People v Knight, 72 NY2d at 488).
In any event, the trooper's testimony that he had visually estimated the speed of
defendant's vehicle to be 85 miles per hour, which exceeded the speed limit by 20 miles
per hour, was alone sufficient to establish defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
(see People v Olsen, 22 NY2d 230, 232 [1968]).
Defendant's remaining contentions have been considered and found to be without merit (see People v Neal, 24 Misc 3d 130[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 51347[U] [App Term, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2009]).
Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is affirmed.
Nicolai, P.J., Iannacci and Tolbert, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: December 16, 2013