Yes, that’s what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has actually suggested. Think of what a great idea in emergencies! [Bedard/U.S. News via Radley Balko, Reason "Hit and Run"]
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Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
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Yes, that’s what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has actually suggested. Think of what a great idea in emergencies! [Bedard/U.S. News via Radley Balko, Reason "Hit and Run"]
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“Police in Washington state will have the power to take any car for at least twelve hours under legislation passed unanimously by the state House earlier this month and considered by a Senate committee yesterday.” The bill would provide for minimum 12 hour impoundment of any vehicle in a DUI arrest, whether or not the charges are dropped or the vehicle is owned by an innocent third party. “The Towing and Recovery Association of Washington is one of the main lobbying organizations pushing for the adoption of the law.” [TheNewspaper.com]
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And then demands attorneys fees over unjustified litigation; the dispute was over a parking ticket issued to one of its own departments which it wrongly presumed to be legally independent. Another local council won a fine against itself which it then had to pay, according to British author Barrie Segal [Lowering the Bar, Times Online "Money Central"]
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“Window obstructions” can give cops the pretext for a stop [Chicago Tribune]
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“A Portland attorney who blamed his German luxury car for a speeding ticket was told he was responsible, not the automaker,” reports AP/OregonLive: C. Akin Blitz brought in a PowerPoint presentation and the testimony of a mechanic to bolster his argument “that he had no idea his BMW 535xi was going 76 mph in a 55 mph zone because of its handling characteristics”, but Clatsop County Circuit Judge Philip Nelson disagreed and fined Blitz $182.
P.S.: Ken at Popehat: “Legal realism note: as a rule, you will not find traffic court judges sympathetic to the defense ‘Your honor, I am not guilty because my German luxury car is too awesome.”
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Because, as Scott Greenfield points out, “This is NY. Death is no excuse.” [Jalopnik]
The District of Columbia has a new way to raise revenue: “When Anderson complained to a supervisor at DPW she was told that she could lease the property from the District and avoid future tickets.”
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You do have to wonder what the cops are thinking in some of these cases.
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Jim Moffett, waking up in intensive care in Denver, was reported to be “dazed and confused” at learning he was being charged with a traffic violation. [AP/Foster's Daily Democrat]. Update (thanks to Kimsch in comments): police rescind ticket.
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California is reaching for revenue by steeply hiking the fine you’ll pay when a patrolman writes a “fix-it” ticket over some minor repair needed on your car (via Amy Alkon).
More states are toughening mandatory seat-belt laws in search of cash: for one thing, the federal government bribes them to do so, and that’s aside from the ticket revenue.
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Bakersfield, California: 3000 drivers stopped, no drunk drivers apprehended. “By the way, the Supreme Court carved out an exception to the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment for roadblocks — but only for apprehending drunk drivers,” not for other purposes such as catching drivers with lapsed licenses. (DUIBlog, Dec. 9 via LexMonitor).
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Wouldn’t you have been too? Data entry was blamed. “Do not send cash,” the ticket advised. (Obscure Store).
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Wired magazine (May) carries this bit of advice from attorney David Brown, author of Beat Your Ticket:
3. Stall. Two weeks before your trial, request a continuance from the court clerk. The longer you delay, the more likely the officer won’t be able to attend, which should result in a dismissal if you ask for one.
Question: is it ethical to advise clients to ask for continuances with the purely tactical aim of increasing the burden on an opponent, as opposed to the more aboveboard reasons one might have for such a request?
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Turns out their economic appeal for municipalities isn’t so closely related to whether drivers are plowing through cross traffic against the stop light: “In Los Angeles, officials estimate that 80% of red light camera tickets go not to those running through intersections but to drivers making rolling right turns”. (L.A. Times via Bainbridge and Drum).
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