County of Riverside District Attorney - Banning

Do not expect any justice here: Temp Judge Cripe opens his presiding with announcing to the hopeless court audience that "half of you will lose" today delivered with a glum face and reprimanding tone. Here is my case: Officer Burgess cited me for speeding 90 mph (i was at 70mph with 2 toddlers/husband in the right lane seeking a bathroom) while a convertible raced by me on the left. It was a dark desert night and the most common error with this radar is vehicle identification-in other words, you clock one car but pull over a different one. So that is what happened but in court, Officer Burgess continued that I was the only car on the road (meanwhile, there were 3 cars on my left in the 4 lanes and a truck in front of me, also moving slowly) He just pulled that out of his hat and fidgeted as he lied. But he distinctly recalls and could see from a great distance and raced 120mph to catch me! Also, implausible considering he claimed to drive 80 mph over an on ramp to catch a speeder going 90-the actual speeder long gone at this point. The math didn't add up at all ( I am a former pilot). And, without so much as questioning me, this officer skips that investigative bit and informs me of my violation. Ya I lost-I lost a lot of money, time, sleep, suffered points on my clean record and a big insurance increase. I also lost my presumptive faith in law enforcement, the Banning PD, the Banning Court competence-so did my six year old who witnessed this garbage. The judge ruled that the officer had proven the evidence necessary ( basically Burgess's sharp memory and inability to make a mistake common in those radar guns) was enough.

Well, that was the appeal and now we are on to finding others with similar injustices-I am assuming this is a chronic problem because the speed trap distance is so far from the place in which to pull over the vehicle, leaving a huge margin of error.

Also, if it is also routine to skip the sop to avoid giving a citation in the first place, CHP should be notified. But, at least it is not Long Island or New Jersey, where the police corruption is comparable to Sicily. It is a Western flavor, which I prefer.

In the end, though, this is a small picture of what can happen on a bigger, scarier scale. Some innocents go to death row or are imprisoned for life because law enforcement cannot make mistakes and judges cannot lose face. Some things never change from country to country, era to era. Thankfully, my father was no such judge and saw the truth and presided his court with equal respect from citizen to law enforcement. But there is not enough revenue in that and that is the name of the game in the Banning Superior Court ,I'm disappointed to find out.