To the municipal court of Polk county July, 20 '99

Re: citation(#1921) for "driving uninsured" on 7-16-99

Dear court: I am requesting a motion to dismiss the charge within Option 4, based on the following. On 7-16 I was driving North on hiway 99 west through Monmouth at 00:38 am in my newly purchased '79 VW van. I was 'flashed at' by Officer J.J.Mandayano (#28833) behind me then, so I pulled over to stop. He approached then & I asked him 'what's wrong' & he said he couldn't see my rear license plate, due to no light on it. So I got out to check it, & the LP light was on, in clear view from behind. Also the street was fully lit & he had headlights on.

So it appears he could see it & had no 'probable cause' to stop me then & there, as I was obeying the local traffic laws in a legal car. Also he asked me twice if I was drinking & requested a alcohol-breath-palm test, which I did for him, to prove no alcohol. He also had 'no reasonable cause' to request that, & I don't drink alcohol at all. Is that an invasion of my privacy? He also explained that he was letting me off the 'car impounding' policy, that I must appear in court, to pay $170 bail/fine.

My purpose for driving north then was to take the VW to Portland at night with low traffic on 99west (to my rent residence since April) to get insurance, a new tire, minor repairs & a tune up. See enclosed the proof of new liability insurance for the VW van. This is the first year I've owned a car & had car insurance in 27 years of traveling by foot, bus, bicycle, friends, etc. Also this April I got a new ODL, after 10 years of no ODL. So I am still learning the car, traffic & insurance laws & policies. I am a law-abiding citizen. So I request that the citation/charge be dismissed due to unfair pressure by the officer, explained above. If I am not granted the 'motion to dismiss' i request a trail/hearing to present my case. I can't afford the $170 fine, as I spent the $164 tune up, a $20 tire & $54 down payment on $251 for 6 months liability insurance with Geico Co. Please consider all these factors in this case, for a fair 'due-process' decision.

Sincerely Michael Sprague, 1609 N Dekum

Portland, Oregon 97217

503-289-7821