July 2, 1997 Eleanor Valecko Deputy Prothonotary Superior Court of Pennsylvania 1015 Grant Building Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219 Re: Commonwealth v. Janos Dohanics 406 Pittsburgh 1997 Dear Ms. Valecko, The Commonwealth agrees with appellant's position that his conviction cannot stand. The Commonwealth submits this letter to your Honorable Court in lieu of a brief in the above captioned matter. Appellant was charged with violating 75 Pa.C.S.A. 3362(a) (1). The police charged appellant with driving 66 mph in a 35 mph zone. The District Justice convicted appellant, and appellant appealed to the Court of Common Pleas. The court once again convicted appellant and this appeal followed. At the trial de novo, the officer testified that according to the Vascar Plus device, appellant was travelling 66 mph. Appellant called Andrew Tepper who testified that according to his calculations appellant was driving approximately 44 mph (TT 14). The court found appellant guilty of driving 43 mph (TT 18) Appellant correctly cites to 75 Pa.C.S.A. 3368(c) (4) which states in pertinent part that "...no person may be convicted upon evidence obtained through use of devices authorized by paragraph (3) in an area where the legal speed limit is less than 55 miles per hour if the speed recorded is less than ten miles per hour in excess of the legal speed limit." Appellant also correctly notes that the Vascar-Plus device is a paragraph 3 device. If there was nothing else of record other than the conflicting testimony, the Commonwealth would be arguing that the court simply decided to accept the officer's version over Mr. Tepper's testimony. Appellant is correct, however, in arguing that the court accepted Mr. Tepper's testimony. The court wrote in its opinion, "[w]e accepted the testimony of Defendant's witness and agree that defendant was travelling some eight miles per hour in excess of the posted limit rather than the figure put forth by the prosecution." In light of the court 's statement, the Commonwealth is constrained to agree with appellant's position. Under 75 Pa.C.S.A. 3368(c) (4), appellant would have to have been driving at least 45 mph for his conviction to stand. Respectfully Submitted, ROBERT E. COLVILLE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
cc: William F. Askin, Esquire 1047 McKinney Lane Pittsburgh, PA 15220
