Driving & Driving Test Tips: Alleged traffic violation: 22450(a), stop signs, moving violation

Question
Hi Mark,

This morning I got pulled over by a police officer and was given a ticket referencing the subject violation.  The officer said he stopped me because I did not come to a complete stop, that I rolled through the stop sign.  

I've traveled this same road every morning to go to work (for 10 years)and am aware of the stop signs and am certain I stopped, looked to the left and right and continued on.  I am not sure where the officer was when he saw me.  I did not notice him until he was behind me with is lights flashing and I pulled over.  

I'm just wondering, in your experience as a police officer, have you become aware of any disadvantage to an officer's view from any given direction in circumstances such as mine?

I plan on trying to get a report of the incident if there is any, to determine where he was when he saw me, because there had to have been some sort of visual disadvantage for him, because I stopped my vehicle and I told him that.

The officer mentioned to me that he has been keeping an eye on the area of the road I was on periodically because pedestrians frequent the area occasionally.  I'm thinking he was being over diligent in his quest to ticket there.  

I plan on going to the hearing as scheduled and fighting the ticket.  I have never gotten a moving violation in more than 20 years of driving... I'm just annoyed because I feel that this ticket was unjustly written, but who am I?  Guess it's my word against his and being that he is an officer of the court, his word will be taken, unless I can show some doubt in his version of what happened...

Answer
By definition the stop has to be behind the limit line or the curb line if not limit line. if you know the location of the officer prior to the stop, take photographs to disprove the officer could have seen you at or behind the limit line.  If he was in a position to see the stop, then you will have to argue that you did stop or had slowed sufficiently to ascertain that to continue was not a hazard; in that, you slowed enough to observe no traffic approaching the intersection.