California police lidar and judicial notice?

Question

what does this mean basically? does it mean that california traffic courts cant accept lidar unless there is expert testimony or does it mean lidar can not be argued in court? im confused somone explain....

Answer 1

Wikipedia notes that: "Judicial Notice is a rule in the law of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well known that it cannot be refuted."

FACT: Radar has been around for around 40 years and most courts understand that its concept is logical and a valid method for measuring the speed of a ground target.
FACT: Lidar has been in use for about 15 years and the makers of lidar units have actively invited judges to see demonstrations of its effectiveness and accuracy in the last 5 years.

However, this does not mean that the operator of the lidar or radar is not capable of using radar incorrectly.

Thus, if a court takes judicial notice of lidar technology, then a party wishing to submit lidar results into evidence need not show how lidar works by expert testimony. However, if a defendant introduces strong evidence that the operator who used the lidar was in error in his practice or the lidar equipment that he used was faulty in some way, then the judge may find a reason to discount the evidence. The prosecution may need to bring in experts to refute the defense's arguments.

Answer 2

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