The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Mar 8, 2010

Protecting the Scam

Red or green, stop or speed, city scam-eras will make you pay. Last week, District Court Judge Theresa Baca struck down the green. Video from the city's green light scam-eras have been ruled inadmissible in the case of Joel Widman vs. the City of Albuquerque.
In a state Appeals Court case, N.M. v. Henderson, justices ruled that a particular photo was admissible, but they set out certain standards for permitting such evidence. They ruled that photo evidence can be admitted if the photo "speaks for itself" or if someone with personal knowledge can testify that it's a fair and accurate representation of what occurred.

Widman argues that traffic-camera videos don't meet that standard, at least for speeding violations. In his case, for example, he said the video simply showed his vehicle driving down the street. It wasn't clear he was speeding, Widman said, and no one would have personal knowledge that he was.
Admittedly, this is a hole in the scam that we hadn't considered. The video in and of itself is not proof of speeding. The system uses ordinary speed radar to detect the speed of a vehicle. Unlike the radar's criminal cousin, there's no one present to testify to the green light scam-era's calibration or even which vehicle actually triggered the violation.

Frankly, we're surprised that the city even let this thing go to District Court. Our Eyes tell us that the city's first and best defense of the scam has been to dismiss the citations of those who are determined to appeal scam-era "court" to real courts with real judges. In fact, the city's trying to remedy the Widman problem by retroactively dismissing his citation.
The city dismissed Widman's citation "because of issues with the record" that were entirely unrelated to his appeal.
"Issues with the record?" Reeeeeaally? The issue with the record is that the city and City Attorney Bob White got their, uh... hind quarters handed to them by Judge Theresa Baca. (Yet another example of White's legal prowess.)

It's clear that the city DOES NOT WANT a real court to set a precedent that would shutter the scam-eras and they'll do anything protect the scam - even re-write history.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Radar is not used to calculate the vehicles speed with this system.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure about Berry either although I voted for him. I think the reality of the cameras is in the revenue they generate for a cash strapped city. The city is struggling to pay its bills now so cutting this stream will only occur after lots of delays, studies, more studies, etc.

The poster above says radar is not used. Funny, I've seen radar looking units on some of the red light cameras including one that nabbed my brother on Coors for speeding.

Anonymous said...

It is a time distance formula that is used with sensors in the roadway. It is nothing more than a simple time/distance calculation from point A to point B that determines the average speed over the distance. However, I would say that the video still does not speak for itself in this case. Someone would have to explain how this was calculated and verified each time per the recent ruling.

Anonymous said...

Nadine Hamby is an absolute idiot. Look what she said about the double homicide:
“[Montoya] was the ex-boyfriend of Ms. Grey,” said APD spokeswoman Nadine Hamby. “She had a new boyfriend. I think we can make our conclusions as to what exactly happened and what Mr. Montoya was thinking at the time he committed these acts.”

We can make our own conclusions? i have, my conclusion is YOU ARE A WASTE!

Anonymous said...

Word on the street that anyone comes forth to sell anything to the city Berry pretends he knows what they're talking about exclaiming that he's a numbers guy, a business man.
Campbell decides period; and he'll just shoo you out the door.
Berry fooled us all. He's no business man. Darren & Campbell finally found a nice soft spot to rest their asses as they have no one to answer to.
This is nothing short of the Ozzie Osbourne Show.

Anonymous said...

Comment above; Re; dirt.
Must be something; nobody is this dumb.
Does anyone out there in "eye" land know?

Anonymous said...

Darren,
Why don't Grandma & Peaches just move to Albuquerque? This way Elli Mae can stay here.

Anonymous said...

JUST DON'T PAY THE FINES. SIMPLE

If it's not worth taking Ed Adams to court for his over paid job, then why would this?

Anonymous said...

COMMON SENSE/ RIGHT AND WRONG/ WHY DO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE A PROBLEM FOLLOWING THIS?

Anonymous said...

"Radar is not used to calculate the vehicles speed with this system"

Really??? Then for what purpose are the radar heads on all the scam-eras for?? Seems that when these damn things first went up, all they had were the wires in the road to determine whether a moving iron mass went into the intersection after the red light went on (theory here, not practice).

Then when the Mini-Mayor's greedy little mind thought that we were all NASCAR drivers (witness the "Slow Down Albuquerque" signs in old peoples' yards) and that if you can't get 'em running the Reds, you may as well get 'em goosing it through the Greens (again, theory, not practice). That's when the radar heads started to sprout up with the scam-eras and strobe light heads.

Like the first poster, I thought Berry would realize that the only reason half of the people voted for him was that they wanted him to fumigate City Hall to rid us of the stench that the Mini-Mayor left. I rarely read the back pages of the ABQ Journal but has he even dispatched one of Marty's Minions??

Anonymous said...

Comment above;
PUNKED FOR DAMN SURE.

CAMPAIGNED like John Wayne; gonna save the day.
When he won, it was like a deer in the headlights. "Oh shit"

Last minute fast scramble to appoint two people to run the city for him as he seriously didn't have a clue on how to GOVERN.
This is gonna be a long four years.

Anonymous said...

"Eye", what gives?
Where are the stories about Vegas, the Academy?
What is it about these two potential stories don't we know about?

Anonymous said...

we can all make our own conclusions here,,,

Anonymous said...

NEWSFLASH: Long time Darren White butt buddy Rob Perry hired as City Attorney. Like David Campbell, will make $20,000 a year ($130,000 vs. $110,000) more than the guy he's replacing.

Berry says appointment will stop cronyism, cut spending and end over the top salaries at City Hall.

Anonymous said...

Please, more details concerning the Vegas trip and the Academy. Anyone!

Anonymous said...

" Berry says appointment will stop cronyism"
What idealogical bullshit world is he living in?
Beery, get a clue to what's going on in this city. Where have you been?
Were you just hatched on election night?

Anonymous said...

Vegas, please !!

IT HAPPENED,
DARREN DENIES IT,
REPORT MISSING,
CORRUPTION,

Berry, Campbell, White
HONORABLE ( Contradiction in terms)

THEE END

Anonymous said...

Why is it that people in Albuquerque think they have a God-given right to violate traffic laws, as long as they aren't caught?

Berry WAS hatched on election night. There isn't a single person on the 11th floor that he has known for more than 6 months. It isn't his fault. He was never supposed to win. But, he did. He's a decent person with honorable intentions. Ergo, he has no place whatsoever in this sewer of a state. Mr. Smith Goes to The Mayor's Office.

There's an old saying: "In a democracy, people generally get the government they deserve."

Well, that's true is aces and spades for Albuquerque. Insular, uneducated, inept, backward, well-meaning, innocent, childish, unsophisticated, corrupt, self-serving, ignorant.

Behold, your government, morons!

Anonymous said...

I want to know who the Commander that has a girlfriend from the main. I bet it is Commander Eric Garcia he as been dating someone from payroll for a long time.

RockingChair said...

Ok I like a good conspiracy theory post as much as the next guy -- but seriously somebody actually thinks Darren could get Metro Vegas to "lose" a report for political reasons.
You guys are going a tad nuts with that story.

Anonymous said...

isnt eric garcia married to an officer in the chiefs office?

Anonymous said...

Please! don't be naive, Vegas Metro is just as crooked as APD. Of course the report is missing. Dah !!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes

Anonymous said...

Yes Comm. Garcia is married but has a little girlfriend in payroll. Its not secret he has been with his mistress a long time.

Anonymous said...

Yes we all know Commander Garcia's secret. Even the Chiefs knows but Garcia is his little lap dog. Garcia used to be my Lt.