The other day I saw a random post inviting me to follow a link and check out the way that Disney made cartoons “Back in the Day”.  I love animation, and more specify, I love Disney.  I grew up watching the live action and animated features as well as the Wonderful World of Disney TV show.  I loved drawing and decided that I would someday work for the Disney Animation Studios.  I went to art school at Arizona State University, got a degree, and interviewed at Disney… and I didn’t get in.  I came back to Phoenix and interviewed at Fox Animation Studios… and didn’t get in.  There’s quite a bit of competition in the animation and film industry and (I can admit now) that I just wasn’t good enough.  In fact, there are LOTS of people that are better at this stuff than me, but when I saw that link, and I watched Walt at the studio, I remembered what it felt like growing up on Disney animation, and it makes me happy.  It makes me want to go out and fulfill that dream of being an artist and storyteller.

That link started me on a bit of a quest.  I’m working on a project right now that has its roots in traditional animation techniques (more to come on that later).   So I started to look into what I found and I’ve decided that I would use this post to catalog my findings.  It’s going to be long and drawn out, so if you’re interested you can check it out after the break.

(Read more…)

Sorry for the delayed update, but I thought this was over, and then it wasn’t, and now it is, so we can move on.  For all the bravado that I exuded in these posts and my various personal retelling of this drama, I have to admit, I was shaking like a leaf when I got to court.  I drove up early and drove back through the Photo Enforcement Trap a couple of times to record how difficult it is to see them.  Then I checked in at the court house, and walked right in with my tri-pod and my video camera.  I started to set things up and a court clerk said that the judge would have to give approval before I could record the proceedings.

She came back and said the judge did not want me recording, but that I could buy a DVD of the proceedings.  I decided to leave the camera set up in the corner but not have it recording.  When the prosecutor came in he said, “Whoa!  If I would have known that I was going to be on TV today I would have worn a jacket.”  Shortly after he left the room, two officers came in and asked me to remove my camera and my bag from the court room and secure it in my vehicle.  Then they asked to see my identification.  I gave them my license and asked why they needed it.  They said they wanted to make sure that I wasn’t a terrorist.  thanks, not a terrorist!

There was somebody else there in court and the prosecutor cut a deal with him and then offered the same one to me.  When I introduced myself he said, “You’ve caused quite the stir around here.”  I thanked him and then told him I was probably not interested in the deal, but I was curious as to what it was.  He offered to take $20 off my ticket and charge me with “Wasting a finite resource” so that I wouldn’t have any points on my license.  I refused the deal and we started the hearing.

I have never been in court before, so here’s how it works.  The prosecutor lays out all of their evidence against the defendant and the numbered photos and documents get filed with the judge.  Then the defendant asks questions of the prosecutor and the witnesses and then presents their own evidence.  The prosecutor asks their questions of the defendant and then both parties make a closing statement.

Here are the highlights… He asked for a continuance so that they could address the issues of my subpoena,  I refused to comply stating that I have already traveled up to Payson twice to appear in court and wanted it over with.  Then he laid out all the evidence, (photos from Redflex, calibration records, etc.).  I stood and asked if the the person who signed the complaint against me was going to testify against me and was told that she wasn’t coming.  I then said that I objected to all of the evidence asking that it be thrown out as heresay because it was made by a For-profit, non-governmental, third-party vendor.  Then judge said that heresay was admissible.

I quoted Star Valley’s website saying that they were out to crack down on dangerous drivers and presented my driving record as evidence that I was not a dangerous driver.  I sited court cases where these tickets were thrown out because a representative from Redflex was not there to authenticate the evidence.  In a standard traffic stop a police officer has to verify the drivers identity and then fill out the paperwork properly so that it stands up in court.  THEN they have to actually show up in court as a witness to the complaint.  Since none of these things happened, I asked for the case to be dismissed.

For the prosecutor’s cross questioning, he realized that he had no witness and he retrieved the photos from evidence and asked me if that was my car.  I said it looked like my car.  Then he asked if that was me driving, and I said, “I believe that I don’t have to answer that.”  He pressed some more and the judge said that I was there to testify and I said that I didn’t have to say anything that would be self incriminated.  The judge then asked the prosecutor to have a seat.  In his closing statement, the prosecutor said that I needed to slow down for my safety, the safety of the people around me, and for the safety of the child that I had with me in the car.  I reiterated that there was no witness against me and that this photo enforcement system was just a commercialization of law enforcement.  I also said that on the day in question I was on my way to a boy scout leadership training camp and there were no children with me in the car.  If the prosecutor could not tell from the photo whether or not there was a child in the car, then how could they attempt to identify me as the driver?

The judge said that she thought that I probably was speeding, “but in the interest of justice, I find you not responsible”.  exhale! the end… or is it?

I got all the information, sent off my $24 along with a self-addressed stamped envelope for the DVD of the hearing and was SHOCKED when an audio CD showed up.  I wrote them a letter demanding my DVD or refund my money, so they sent me a check.  the end.  Here’s a video summary that I shot in my car right after the hearing.  Maybe some day I’ll make a mask of Mayor Bill Rappaport to wear through Star Valley.  If they send me a photo enforcement complaint, I’ll identify the driver as the mayor, and see what type of fun we can have next time around!

In preparation to present my case to the judge next week, I contacted RedFlex to gather information about the calibration records and testing results of their system. Cameras and sensors embedded in the pavement are exposed to extreme heat and the elements 24/7. Electronics do not work well in that environment, and since there was no one monitoring the machine when the photo was taken, I would like to know how often the machines are calibrated.  RedFlex told me that I would have to contact the Town of Star Valley or their police dept. to get the information.  So I called Star Valley and the were somewhat amused.  They have no police dept.! 

I had to wait for a call back from the town attorney to learn that Star Valley DID NOT have the records and that I would need to contact RedFlex.  I love it when they start pointing fingers at each other.  I contacted the Payson Court and they told me that I would have to file a Subpoena with them to get the documents from Star Valley and that it would cost $24.00.  They referred me to the state government site to find the form.  So I searched, and searched and ended up calling the state offices to find the form.  I then got transferred to the forms office, who informed me that I was contacting the Maricopa County offices and then transferred me to Gila County offices.  I’ve spoken to this person before, so she laughed to hear me try and subpoena the records and thanked me for going out of my way fight the ticket.

I ended up being transferred again to the District 1 supervisors office, which didn’t really help at all.  SOOOO, I asked lawyer friend for the form, I filled it out and sent it in with my check.  This is their response…

“Please be advised that the court is in receipt of your subpoena and request.  Judge Little has reviewed your case and there are no subpoenas issued for civil traffic.  Enclosed is your $24.00 check. (signed) - Court Clerk”

So after the court told me the process for a subpoena, they now tell me I don’t need one?!?!  Interesting that the Town of Star Valley admitted that they did not have the data I requested and THEN the subpoena was denied.  According to the Judiciary Branch of Arizona’s Website civil traffic defendant’s rights include ” The right to present evidence on your behalf and the right to have subpoenas issued by the court at no cost to you to compel the attendance of witnesses.”  No subpoenas issued for civil traffic?  Really? They told me it would cost $24.00, but this says it should be free.  This whole situation has seemed odd from day ONE!

When I saw on the Case Lookup site that my court date was still set after the judge had received and ruled on my motion, I knew that it had been denied.  I got the letter out of the mailbox this morning and this is what it says.

“COMES NOW, Defendant has filed a Motion to Dismiss which is in addition to the Defendant’s original Motion to Dismiss in which the Court set a hearing for the Defendant.  The Court is responding and ruling on Defendants motions to clarify Civil Traffic procedures for the Defendant.  Defendant is required to respond to a civil traffic violation in writing or in person.  Upon notice of a complaint a defendant is notified in writing as to their options and is instructed to either appear on appearance date or respond by mail.  The Plaintiff or the State is not required to appear at the Defendants appearance date the appearance date is for the Defendant to enter a plea of responsible or not responsible.  A plea of Responsible the fine is imposed or the defendant may attend a traffic school.  A plea of Not Responsible the Court would then set the matter for hearing at a later date and notify the State Court date also.  The Court truly apologizes that the Court offices were ordered closed by the County due to the snow emergency and you were not able to make your appearance.
IT IS HERBY ORDERED Denying defendant’s motion to dismiss because the State failed to appear.  It is further ordered denying defendant’s motion to dismiss due to clerical error; clerical error is not a legal basis for dismissal.
Currently this matter is set for hearing on 2-25-11 @ 09:00 a.m.”

So the motion was denied.  It’s time to bring together all my research and prepare to appear in court.  I’ve never fought a ticket before, but this feels more like I’ve been ensnared in a taxation scam! I’ll be posting some of my ideas for approaching this complaint, but I’m totally open to suggestions.

It was suggested that I take action and file a complaint against the court.  After a couple of hours of phone calls, I discovered that complaints are NOT filed against the court, they are filed against the judge.  I ended up calling court services, and then the clerk of the superior court and then the Payson and Globe courts and ended up speaking with the office of the District 1 Supervisor.  I can’t believe that there was this much run around just to say, “Hey, I don’t think the courts are treating me justly.”So after all of this communication, I started to feel more and more frustrated about the situation.  When I spoke to someone in Payson and pointed out the clerical error of the date and time for my new trial, they were very short with me.  They didn’t seem to think that a “snow day” was a just cause to have my case dismissed.  So I grabbed the forms from the Commission of Judicial Conduct and filed an official complaint.  I thought it was interesting in the form where it said, “List the names of any attorneys who appeared in the case:” and then is said, “List the names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses who observed the judge’s conduct:”.  I wrote in that there were no witnesses because the judge did not appear.  I also added an amendment to my testimony stating that I wanted to complain against the court and not specifically against Judge Dorothy Little.I sent off my complaint with a copy of my new Motion to Dismiss, my old Motion to Dismiss, and the letter that I received from the court.  I then sent a copy of the new Motion to Dismiss, my old Motion to Dismiss, and the letter to the court, the Star Valley Town Attorney, and the District 1 Supervisor.  So here’s the new Motion.

FACTS

Defendant Spencer Brinkerhoff was summoned and ordered to appear in the Star Valley Magistrate Court on December 30th, 2010 between the 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on a complaint charge of the offense of: Speed Greater Than Reasonable and Prudent. The Defendant was warned that a failure to appear as directed may result in a default judgment against him, a civil sanction imposed, and resulting in a suspension of his driver’s license. The Defendant appeared at the court house on the assigned date and time, checked in with the court secretary, and waited. The Plaintiff failed to appear in court and was unresponsive to phone contacts. After the Plaintiff failed to appear in court, the Defendant was compelled to issue a Motion to Dismiss (see attached document) on the 10th of January. The court responded with the attached document dated Jan. 14, 2011 stating that the court had received a “…not guilty plea…” from the defendant and set a trial date for “…2-25-11 @ 2-25-11…”.

ARGUMENT

The Plaintiff failed to appear in court on the assigned date and time and failed to present witnesses against the Defendant. If the Defendant was summoned and ordered to appear with a warning of imposed sanctions, then the Plaintiff should be held to the same standards. There was no attempt made to inform the Defendant of any change in the summon to appear.Also, the issued court response to the Motion to Dismiss contained language inconsistent with the Defendant’s motion. Nowhere in the Motion to Dismiss did the Defendant enter a plea of “not guilty”. The Civil Complaint received by the Defendant specifies that the Defendant may make a declaration of “not responsible”. It is the Defendants understanding that the phrase “not guilty” is reserved for use in criminal cases. In addition to this inconsistent language use, the received document included an clerical error concerning the time for the court appearance. Thereby placing a undo burden upon the Defendant to correct the court supervisor’s mistake and creating an lack of confidence in the court.

CONCLUSION

For the Plaintiff’s failure to appear in court against the Defendant, and for the Plaintiff’s failure to acknowledge the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss should be granted.

Dated this 25th day of January, 2011

 Now that I’ve sent this off, I’m thinking that I should have mentioned that they entered a plea in my behalf without my consent.  I wonder what the legal terminology for that is?

Um, I thought that I asked to have this case dismissed? The court case tracking system http://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/caselookup.aspx shows that they recieved the letter on January 12th, 2011 as a “Not Guilty/Not Responsible Plea”. While I was disappointed that the case not simply dismissed, I think that it’s important to pick apart the letter that I received in conjunction with the information fro the court case website. Here’s some more information from the message board, “Fighting Photo Radar for Dummies“.

“With a traffic ticket the cause of action is the alleged violation of the relevant ARS title 28 statue. It is important you understand this. On a civil matter, the burden of proof is less that with criminal. On a civil matter, who ever has the preponderance (51%) of the evidence wins. You should also understand the legal language of your case- on a civil traffic citation you are either “responsible” or “not responsible”. Try not to use the terms guilty or not guilty, that is only for criminal matters and the court will correct you if you use those terms.”

So here’s the letter from the Star Valley Magistrate Court dated Jan. 14, 2011.

“The Court has received your not guilty plea and a trial date has been scheduled for you on 2-25-11 @2-25-11 for the violations of 28-701A. 1/2 hour has been set aside for you hearing. Advise the court immediately if you have multiple witnesses or you feel this is not ample time to present your case. Your trial will go forward in your absence should you fail to appear.” The document goes on to talk about the process for continuances and my rights to an attorney as well as my right to attend traffic school. It is then unceremoniously signed by court supervisor Tina.

I submitted a motion to dismiss the case. There was nothing about the plea of Not Guilty that they referred to. But wait, my CIVIL traffic court hearing date has been set, not a CRIMINAL hearing. The wording doesn’t seem to jive. So here’s another bit from the “Fighting Photo Radar for Dummies“.

“You need to start thinking about your citation as a civil matter. Lose the idea that you have done something wrong, or that the police are involved. To most law abiding people this is a hard thing to do.
Let me give you an example: Your next door neighbor files a small claims suite against you alleging your motorcycle makes too much noise and is disturbing his peace. He wants you to pay $180 to him. Would you just go write him a check? More than likely you would be outraged and you would certainly go to court over it.
So why then would you allow the state to just send you a letter telling you to send them $180? I will tell you why; most people think of it as a police matter (very scary) and have no idea of how civil traffic citations work in Arizona.
So- if you think that you were driving in an unsafe manner and need to pay $180 or spend four hours in traffic school and pay higher insurance rates; then read no further. However, if you are ready to stand up and fight the revenue machine known as photo radar this information will be helpful.”

So now I need to study a bit more about ARS title 28-701A and prepare myself to present 51% of the evidence. With all this being about a photo of me driving my car, I REALLY wish that I would have taken a picture of me sitting and waiting for them to show up in court!

So here I was, waiting to here back from the “no-show” court about the snow day that I braved in vain. I was talking to a friend of mine that said, “You shouldn’t wait for them to do something. While you can’t beat the King in the King’s Court, you may have grounds for dismissal based on their failure to produce any witnesses against you. But don’t wait around, put it in writing, make a paper trail, and do it before they contact you.” While this went against my feelings to avoid making contact with the court and hoping that I would slip through the cracks, I figured that I was already in the system and something should be done. I found a couple of legal looking documents online, and wrote up the following letter. I sent it to them on Jan. 10th, 2011. I thought that I summed things up pretty good.

Star Valley Magistrate Court
Court Number:0447
714 S. Beeline Hwy, #103
Payson, AZ 85541-9943

State of AZ,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Brinkerhoff Spencer,
Defendant
Case No.: ********************

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISMISS

FACTS

Defendant Spencer Brinkerhoff was summoned and ordered to appear in the Star Valley Magistrate Court on December 30th, 2010 between the 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on a complaint charge of the offense of: Speed Greater Than Reasonable and Prudent. The defendant was warned that a failure to appear as directed may result in a default judgment against him, a civil sanction imposed, and resulting in a suspension of his driver’s license. The Defendant appeared at the court house on the assigned date and time, checked in with the court secretary and waited to see the judge, but no one showed up. Court house employees provided the Defendant with two separate phone numbers to make attempts to reach the Star Valley Magistrate Court. The first number (480.474.5267) was not in service and a message was left on the second number (480.474.7172).

ARGUMENT

The Plaintiff failed to appear in court on the assigned date and time and failed to present witnesses against the defendant.

CONCLUSION

For the reason stated above, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss should be granted.

Dated this 10th day of January, 2011


Spencer Brinkerhoff

“You are hereby summoned and ordered to appear at the Star Valley Magistrate Court - 714 S. Beeline Hwy. #103 Payson, Arizona at the date and times indicated: 12/30/2010 between 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on a complaint charging you with the offense of: SPEED GREATER THAN REASONABLE AND PRUDENT on 10/14/2010. (signed (or better yet, rubber stamped) by Dorothy A. Little, Justice of the Peace).”

“WARNING TO DEFENDANT
If you waive service or you are served with the Summons and Complaint and you fail to appear as directed, a default judgment may be entered against you, a civil sanction imposed, and your driver’s license suspended. Your driver’s license or non-resident privileges may remain suspended until the sanction is paid in full and you satisfy Motor Vehicle Division requirements.”

Payson is about an hour and a half from Mesa. I woke up early, dressed nice, prepared my notes, grabbed my jacket and headed north. It was pretty cold on December 30th. As I got closer to Payson (*note* Star Valley has a population of about 1000 people and sends it’s court work to Payson), I started to see the clouds hanging in the mountains. Then it got colder, and darker and then…. snow. The roads were not yet plowed, a winter storm was in full effect as I cautiously made the trek for my required court date. They were threatening me with a default judgement and a suspended license if I didn’t show up! I got to the court house right before 9:00 AM, walked in the front door and made my way to the receptionist. I informed her that I was here for the Star Valley Magistrate Court. She took down my name then pointed me towards suite 103 and said, “Nobody’s there. I think that they’re closed.”

WHAT!?!?! How could this be? It was a pretty tense drive through a snow storm to get here, and I’m on time, and they’re CLOSED?!?! SHEESH! So, I walked over to suite 103, pulled on the handle to ensure it was locked, peered in through the dark window, then I took my seat in the waiting area. If I was required to be in court between 9-11 AM, I was going to wait it out. I double checked the complaint documents for any contact phone number, but I didn’t find anything. I couple of court workers came out to check the waiting room and would ask who I was waiting for. Every time I said, “Star Valley”, they would reply, “oh, um, they’re closed”. So I waited. and waited. Then somebody else came out and gave me a phone number to call to leave a message as further proof that I had showed up. Guess what happened when I called it? “The number you have called in not in service…” Really? Wow. So I got another number and left a message saying that I was here, just like I was supposed to be, and they didn’t show up, so I wanted my case dropped.

Another one of the court workers suggested that I call the Justice Court in Globe and talk to them. I thought it was a ridiculous idea, but after the person I spoke with told me it was out of their jurisdiction, she suggested that I have someone in the office sign something as evidence that I had been there. I thought that was a pretty good idea, but nobody would sign anything for me. In fact, they had finished their workload and decided to call it a snow day and asked me to leave so they could lock up the building. *shakes head* At this point, I figured I had done what I could, and I would simply wait around for the court to contact me again.

So I got my picture taken, I waited to be served in person, and then I had a new court date of Dec. 30, 2010. Sigh… Let’s look into this situation a bit more. Star Valley. Anybody ever heard of Star Valley? I hadn’t heard of them before. The Town of Star Valley was incorporated on SR 260 in 2005, making it one of Arizona’s newest towns. The Town website prominently displays an image of their Photo Enforcement program on their homepage.  I found an article in the Payson Roundup from that stated the cameras became active in January 2008 and are now snapping an estimated 100 photos a day of drivers traveling 11MPH over the speed limit. The article also quoted mayor Bill Rappaport saying that, “…the “revenue-neutral” cameras are used stricly to improve safety, the additional money is “icing on the cake”". The town is budgeted to put $1.3 million into its general funds from the cameras. That’s some pretty nice icing. So, they’re going to be putting in some more cameras.

Mayor Bill Rappaport, that name looks familiar…. I checked my traffic violation and noticed that the complainant on the ticket was signed by Sharon Rappaport. Golly, how common is that name in Star Valley? After a little internet search, I found that Sharon B. Rappaport, age 62, is married to a William S. Rappaport, age 67. I’m getting the impression that the mayor is in bed with the court system. That just doesn’t feel right.

So further investigation of the Town website teaches that the Star Valley photo enforcement system is configured to an accuracy of +/- 1 MPH of the calibrated detection device reading. This calibration was done when the system was brought online on Jan. 31st 2008. The photos are taken at 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit. That mean’s that there is room for error that my photo may have been taken erroneously. The site also states, “Our primary focus is on intentional, aggressive and negligent drivers….We are trying to change the behavior of those persons who are most likely to cause crashes.” THAT’S NOT ME! I am NOT aggressive! (maybe I should lay off the ALL CAPS) I’m NOT negligent, I means C’MON! I was on my way to Boy Scout Leadership Training! At this point I decided to show up in court and plead my case. I don’t want to blindly contribute to the icing on their cake.

So I got a traffic ticket, but I didn’t feel like I really deserved it. I think that’s a natural response. I looked around on the internet to find out what other people had done about their ticket. I found a thread in a message board titled, “Fighting Photo Radar for Dummies“.  The thing is about 10 pages long and was started at the end of July in 2009. The author gave some pretty good insight, so I thought I’d try it out and then share some of the info here.The first thing with Photo Enforcement is that you have 4 options to respond to them with. You can Pay the Fine, Identify the Driver, Request a Trial, or Attend Driving School. I decided to not make contact with the court at all for fear that I may waived my legal service of summons and complaint. If I don’t show up on the appointed day, and I don’t make contact with them, then they have to go out of their way to contact me. This means that the court will have to decide what to do about me.

I found out that the court updates their cases online on Wednesdays. The website is here.  After finding my name in their system, I waited to see if the case came up as Adjudicated or Terminated. That would mean that it’s over. Otherwise, the case is still active and it is likely that they’ll attempt to serve me with a summons and complaint for the case. These photo enforcement systems are snapping a ton of photos. The court has 120 days for the service to occur from the filing of the complaint with the court. This is the part where you go into Hiding. If you can avoid opening the door to strangers for the next 120 days, the case will drop.

This was a MAJOR stress! Every time somebody would knock on the door, I would ask somebody else to check the window or just ignore it. I really hated feeling like I was running from the law. But alas, on December 11th, some portly guy holding a cup of iced tea came looking for me. I answered the door, he asked for me, and I said I was unavailable and closed the door. I felt bad about it. He started looking at the paper work and then reading it aloud and stuffed it into my door handle. Arizona allows “substitute” service to cohabitating adults. If the server sees an adult (loosely defined as older teenagers too) in the house/premises but is unable to get physically close to them and give them the summons, they can leave it on the doorstep or tape it to the door, etc.

crap.