in News / by Sean Brown / on March 20, 2014 at 9:20 am
Nathan Cox received a letter in the mail last year that contained a picture of his vehicle and a traffic citation for speeding that was captured by a traffic camera in D.C.. However instead of simply paying the ticket and going about his business he fought back against the government, and he won.
There’s no question whether or not the vehicle in the picture is Cox’s and he doesn’t deny it. You can clearly see the license plate that says “ENDW4R” affixed to the same vehicle he drives, but what it didn’t show was him driving the vehicle so he cited the Bill of Rights in his response to the police.
Cox put up a post on VirginiaCopBlock.org that said;
“I am in the habit of not taking ‘plea deals’, and I am always in the habit of fighting my tickets and NOT pre-paying them so I don’t have to go to court – like many folks do. [T]hese criminals issuing these tickets are hoping that the people will just get scared and pay, or not want to waste their time with it. However the government has to provide evidence that it was actually ME driving, it’s their burden of proof. Just because they got pictures of my car doesn’t mean I was driving. So, in response to the first letter, I mailed them back the following letter:
To Whom it May Concern,
I received a letter claiming I committed a violation of a speeding law in the District of Columbia on 04/21/2012. As per the instructions, I am writing to plead ‘not guilty’ to this charge. Although this option is said to result in this matter going to court; it is my suggestion that the charges simply be dropped. This suggestion comes out of respect for tax payers, and my request that their hard-earned money not be wasted in such proceedings. As there is no evidence of my involvement with this alleged ‘crime’, as well as the fact that I am not granted my 6th amendment right to face my ‘accuser’ (a camera); I see no way the government could prove my guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I also see find no legal requirement for me to implicate someone else in this process, as it is the government’s responsibility to prove a person’s guilt. It is also my 5th amendment right to remain silent on the matter.
If it is the government’s decision to move forward in this matter, I would request copies of any evidence the prosecution may have of my involvement in the “offense”; as well as, all maintenance records for the camera(s) involved.
Sincerely,
Nathan Cox
United States Army Veteran
After sending his letter off, he received a reply in the mail from the government, here’s a screenshot of it:
Cox ended up hearing back from the police over six months after he initially received their reply. When he did hear back he said that the charges had been completely dismissed because “the government’s failure to meet its burden of proof.”
As you can imagine, he was elated at the news of being able to fight the ticket and win, and now he is encouraging everyone to fight their tickets the same was, saying “If there is NO VICTIM, there is NO CRIME!”