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Issue: was John guilty of speeding

± Rule: A person will be guilty of speeding if he exceeds the speed limit, which in Nevada is whatever is reasonable under the circumstances. [Cite statute.] Courts determine whether the speed was reasonable by examining the weather, road and traffic conditions. (cite to Case A)

± Analogous Case: For instance, in Case A the court held that 80 mph was a reasonable speed under the circumstances. [Cite case.] In that case, the driver was traveling 80 mph on a four-lane highway that was mostly straight, but it had two moderate curves in the thirty miles of highway on which the defendant was driving. Traffic was light but intermittently moderate; it was a bright, sunny day and the road was dry. [Cite to case.] Because the traffic pattern was mostly light and because of the perfect weather and road conditions, the court held that the driver could travel safely at 80 mph, making that a reasonable, legal speed under the circumstances. [Cite holding.]

± Argument/Application Section: John can argue that his speed was reasonable because unlike in Case A, in which the court held that eighty-miles- per hour speed was reasonable, John was driving only 75 mph. Also, like the road in Case A, the highway John was driving on had four-lanes, and the weather was similarly sunny. Furthermore, like the mostly straight road in Case A which had two moderate curves in thirty miles, the road on which John was traveling was mostly straight, with only four curves on a twenty-mile stretch. John’s road, like the road in Case A, was dry and the safety of the road itself had not been affected by the earlier rain. The water was only on the shoulders. Finally, as in Case A in which the traffic was at times moderate, the traffic in John’s case was also at times moderate. Since the court in Case A held that 80 mph was a reasonably safe speed under similar conditions, John will argue that he could reasonably travel safely five miles per hour slower. The speed was safe because the road was dry and traffic was at worst moderate. Also, even though the road had a two more curves than in Case A, the road on which John was driving had long stretches of straight road as in Case A. Thus the court should hold that he was driving at a reasonably safe speed under the circumstances.

± Conclusion: The court will probably find that John’s speed of 75 mph was reasonable under the circumstances. The similarities between Case A and John’s situation are analogous since the road was dry in both cases and both involved a driver on a relatively straight, four-lane highway without heavy traffic. Therefore, just as in Case A, the court will probably hold that John was driving at a safely, and thus a reasonable rate of speed under the circumstances.