You do have to wonder what the cops are thinking in some of these cases.
Posts Tagged ‘traffic laws’
“Injured good Samaritan ticketed for jaywalking”
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.
Burned-out taillight?
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).
Sweet land of traffic stops
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.
“Another ‘successful’ DUI roadblock”
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).
“Illinois couple surprised to get a $9 million parking ticket”
Wouldn’t you have been too? Data entry was blamed. “Do not send cash,” the ticket advised. (Obscure Store).
September 15 roundup
- Saying fashion model broke his very fancy umbrella, N.Y. restaurant owner Nello Balan sues her for $1 million, but instead gets fined $500 for wasting court’s time [AP/FoxNews.com, NY Times]
- Spokesman for Chesapeake, Va. schools says its OK for high school marching band to perform at Disney World, so long as they don’t ride any rides [Virginian-Pilot]
- More on Chicago parking tickets: revenue-hungry Mayor Daley rebuffed in plan to boot cars after only two tickets [Sun-Times, Tribune]
- Too old, in their 50s, to be raising kids? [Houston Chronicle via ABA Journal].
- Britain’s stringent libel laws and welcome mat for “libel tourism” draw criticism from the U.N. (of all places) [Guardian]
- Beaumont, Tex.: “Parents sue other driver, bar for daughter’s DUI death” [SE Texas Record, more, more]
- “Three pony rule”: $600,000 a year is needlessly high for child support, even if mom has costly tastes [N.J.L.J., Unfiltered Minds]
- Advocacy groups push to require health insurers and taxpayers to pay for kids’ weight-loss camps [NY Times]
- Lester Brickman: those fraud-rife mass screening operations may account for 90 percent of mass tort claims [PoL]
Ticketed? Stall ’em
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?
Red light cameras, cont’d
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).
“Bill targets drivers with pets on lap”
But won’t California lawmakers have to consider an exception for emotional support animals? (Steve Geissinger, San Jose Mercury News, May 6)(more).