in a rural area, i handle the JP courts which include traffic. any suggestions with pro se defendants requesting voluminous discovery in radar cases? thx.

Among other things, I also handle our JP courts. I have noticed that a lot of the discovery motions ask for information that is not discoverable and/or relevant --it appears there is a website with a canned motion all of them use. I object to the objectionable stuff (personnel files, all tickets written for past x months, etc.) and agree that they can schedule an appointment to view the radar logs during normal business hours at the law enforcement agency. [In 3 years not one person has scheduled a visit.]

Then I set it for trial.

When I prosecuted JP cases, I hated receiving discovery requests. I found that by asking my judges to hold hearings on discovery motions, the judges would usually deny the motions without a hearing rather than endure 20 minutes of listening to me or some clueless defendant talk about discovery. On the two times when a hearing was held, the discovery motions were still denied based on frivolousness.

First, most JP's don't have time to hold voluminous discovery hearings on each $85 traffic ticket. If they can dispose of a request for a motions hearing by merely denying the motion (when, of course, there is good cause to deny the motion), they do so.

Second, the defendants rarely demosntrated a real need for the information within the four corners of their motion. (After a while, the JP's were quick to pick up on this fact.)

Third, the judges realized that most (all?) of the information sought was not intended to be used for mounting a defense or relevant to the case, but was requested as part of a greater effort to harrass the officer.

Fourth, if you schedule the traffic ticket for multiple hearings, that means the defendant also has to take off from work/family/school/etc. to appear. After a while, the defendants get tired of doing that and will quit filing frivolous requests.

Fifth, you should thank your JP clerks: If they're calling you before trial about motions being filed in traffic cases (which, of course, you're probably not being copied on by the defendant), you are a very lucky person. (I was that lucky in Gregg County, and I made sure those clerks knew I appreciated how much easier they were making my job!)

Andy

P.S.: This is not to say all JP discovery motions are inherently frivolous. In my experience, however, I never saw one that was meritorious. ;-)

P.P.S.: If these discovery motions are a product of the American Driver's Association, contact the Longview DPS Office -- they've handled the association's president more than once and can give you greater insight into the organization.