Thursday, April 08, 2010

Pig Latin

So in the case of The State of South Carolina against me -- regarding a speeding ticket for 10 mph over the speed limit last July -- I am advised that a jury trial is scheduled in 10 days.

Why am I fighting this, you might ask? They've offered me deals to not pay the $81 fine and just take the points on my license.

That's not going to happen. There isn't a scenario where I will admit I did something I didn't do.

I'm fighting it because the cop was hunting for drunk drivers, pulled me over and tried to bully me, got angry when I refused to let him not answer why he pulled me over while my children are sobbing and then wrote me a ticket while admitting that he never used a radar gun.

This isn't typical, obviously.

The court system can be an intimidating instrument.

It can be like sitting down with a bunch of rich people at a fancy restaurant not knowing which fork is used for the salad.

There are countless examples -- but I'll just stick to one.

In the case against me, I'm told in a letter first that I should "please be advised" of the trial date. Then I'm told where I'm supposed to go.

Then, in loud, all-caps, bold type reads this, followed by the signature of your local magistrate judge:

HEREIN FAIL NOT, ON PAIN OF FORFEITING THE LAWFUL PENALTY IN SUCH CASES MADE AND PROVIDED.

Seriously? Are we paying people to take the time to come up with this type of unnecessary, tortured language? Doesn't it suffice to say, "You have to show up or you'll lose your rights?"

This type of thing is one reason I think people end up begging in front of a judge and hoping mister/sir/officer/lawman will show some mercy.

7 comments:

dan said...

Man, you have got to fight those bastards.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Where the fuck is this prick's evidence that you were speeding?

Even if he said that his own speedometer showed (assuming he were tailing you at a steady distance) that you were ten mph above the limit, surely, the pigs should have to prove that THAT speedometer was correctly calibrated at the time.

I'd imagine you can't write about the incident in your job because it would be a conflict of interests

Rusty said...

Yeah... I've had my share of arguments with "instruments" of the "law".

Why do you think the put a comma after 'not' in "HEREIN FAIL NOT"?

Rusty said...

*Why do you think THEY put a comma ...

eric said...

probably because it looks more official ... it can't be because it helps it make more sense

Cindy-Lou said...

Be mindful of the pain part, I think that's what they want.

Anonymous said...

What happened with this?

Trey

eric said...

They dropped it, almost a full year after it happened