That was my problem…Then, a bit after getting the car, I moved to Michigan where they only have rear plates. Sometime during the move to MI and the move back to CA 9 months later, I misplaced the front plate bracket. I figured, screw it – I won’t get a ticket. I think that they were pretty minimal tickets – ~$20 the first time and a bit more years later.
1 Like
Yes, I think $500 is ridiculous, but no, making a RoR where it’s prohibited is still a violation, as is rolling through a permitted one rather than coming to a complete stop. I think I got tagged for that 3 times before I got the message, but I don’t think it’s unfair. Drivers here need some slapping down, even me it seems. In the video below most people sort of slow, but I see drivers blow stops at speed all the time, and hit 40 mph between stops signs on a 400 ft block.
2 Likes
The author veers between suggesting that traffic laws shouldn’t exist (“driving through empty streets at thirty miles per hour in twenty-five zones”) and implying that he’d be OK with speeding cams if they also captured the face of the driver.
It’s easy enough to get both the face and the license plate using two cameras. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits that.
His main point, though, is that local governments shouldn’t be able to create a Frankenstein’s Monster of law that unilaterally combines Civil and Criminal procedure, allowing criminal prosecution with none of the protections, all while calling it civil law, but not following those procedures either.
8 Likes
Illinois requires front and back, but Indiana only requires the rear one. My dad is not ticketed when he comes to Chicago, because he’s got Indiana plate(s). Licensing has to be correct for the state doing the licensing, not the state you happen to be passing through at the time.
4 Likes
[quote=“doctorow, post:1, topic:92987”]
How a law prof got a judge to rule that speeding cam tickets are unenforceable[/quote]
One aspect Cory’s headline notably omits is that the judge didn’t find that all speeding cam tickets are un-enforcable, rather that the ones that only had a picture of a license plate and did not include confirmable picture of the driver were un-enforcable against an individual driver.
The city was setting up speed traps using portable speeding ticket cameras mounted in unmanned police cars. However, the Alabama legislature has since banned the portable, unmanned speed cameras. Red light cameras are still allowed.
1 Like
My friend (from N.Y.) was in Tokyo on business 10+ years ago and got a parking citation on his rental car: Didn’t pay it…
He’s still getting notices at his old address from their traffic(?) court !!
1 Like
Nope. That is precisely the kind of government overreach that supposedly we ar protected against by the constitution. Example: it’s likely that a partner would be driving the car, and there is a specific right in the US not to testify against your spouse, for instance-because the constitution places a human partnership above the individuals’ relationships with the State.
Just because in cop shows they always do that “Well, if he won’t give the perp up, let’s charge him; that’ll get him talking” trope in nearly every episode does not mean that the US legal system was designed for those tactics. You could even sue for violations of civil liberties if you have evidence that they had insufficient evidence and charged you anyway. If it’s a criminal proceeding, the state should have a doer, and the accused should be able to defend themselves. It’s not valid for the court to convict placeholders.
2 Likes
All that being said, the US has one of the most oppressive legal systems in the developed world. If you are charged you have an incredibly small chance of successfully defending yourself. That’s not because police are very scrupulous about charging only the right people. The incarceration rate is astronomical.
I know you are talking about the intent of the constitution vs. the actuality of the legal system. I only bring this up because the US constitution has demonstrably failed to actually create and safeguard the kind of system you are describing. As you say, if they arrest you without a good cause you could sue them (if you aren’t found guilty, that is) but the onus for doing so it totally on you. Individuals basically have to enforce their own rights against the state, and it’s a losing battle.
4 Likes
True that.
I’m just trying to whack the moles who go around “fixing” the disparity by changing the intent of our legal system to be as bad or worse than the results.
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
