skmo wrote: ↑September 6th, 2017, 9:22 pmIn one of my experiences long ago, this was not the case.Hidingbehindmyhandle wrote: ↑September 6th, 2017, 7:54 pm The courts are in general not honest, in my opinion. The primary function of Law Enforcement and Courts
is revenue.
I was going to Ricks College in 1985, just after my mission ended. The switch for my headlights was bad, the circuit breaker in it would overheat and flip off. Idaho regs at the time specified a need for two clear lights at the front of the car on either side which did not exceed 55 watts. I put on a couple of cheap driving lights a friend gave me and decided I'd fix it when I went home for Christmas.
Crossing Wyoming in the night on my way home, a Wyo Highway Patrolman pulled me over and said I was getting a $165 ticket, if I paid it in cash I could be on my way. I offered him a Visa, but he said cash only or I'd be arrested. My roommate drove my car another 6 miles to Rock Springs and got a motel for the night, in the morning he came to Green River and I bailed out (the court DID take Visa.)
On my way back through, I went to court and fought the ticket. After the cop gave a fictionalized version of what happened, I talked to the judge and tried the defense that since my car was registered in ID and my headlights were legal there, I should be innocent. The judge explained that my defense was only valid for ID highways, not WY ones. He asked the cop if I did, indeed had lights like I stated, he said I did but that they were not in accordance with WY laws. Since the court doesn't have that, the cop needed to bring them with him to prove specifically which law I'd broken. When he said he "knew" they were illegal but didn't have the statutes with him, the judge reminded him it was the state's responsibility to prove me wrong. I got the case dropped on a technicality.
The best part about it was that before the judge let us go, he berated the cop about how sloppy it was for a professional law enforcement officer to be unprepared to come to court and be, and I remember this phrase clearly, "BEAT BY A SNOT-NOSED COLLEGE PUNK." Needless to say, I drove 54 miles per hour until I was across the UT border. Laughed the whole danged way, though.
Well, skmo, in that case I'd give the Judge credit for inning the case for you. And also I'd give him a lot of credit for calling you a 'snot nosed college punk'.
But tell me this, were you really a 'snot nosed college punk', or actually rather clean cut?
dc