Posted on 08/20/2005 9:52:01 AM PDT by elkfersupper
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A 24-year-old dental student who sent a note and a wad of bubble gum with her fine for a speeding ticket has been found not guilty of two felony counts of mailing a threat.
A federal jury on Wednesday found Rosemary Ho of Phoenix not guilty following a two-day trial and a few hours of deliberation.
Ho was accused of mailing a note to the Santa Fe Motor Vehicle Division office in 2003 that read, “Caution: Touch at your own risk or use gloves. Ha-ha.” The word “caution” was highlighted in pink.
The letter also contained an $80 money order to pay her traffic ticket.
Despite the payment, the MVD called the FBI. Hazmat teams showed up and physicians drew blood and analysts looking at DNA and comparing handwriting involved.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sirignano told the jury that the MVD employee who opened the envelope reacted the way any reasonable public employee would in the post-9/11 world.
Ho’s attorney says his client may be guilty of bad taste or poor judgment, but she’s not a terrorist.
Prosecutors and MVD: "Let's teach this Ho a lesson and make an example of her".
Judge & Jury to Prosecutors and MVD: "You have us here for WHAT?" (simultaneously delivering figurative b*tch slap)
Only because they can't figure out how to get "Disrespect for your Master" into law yet.
How to identify bubble gum:
Pick random fellow employee.
Mentally strip away 4'8', 260 lbs. of non-English-speaking surly fat girl; big hair, acrylic nails and all.
The substance that is left (formerly semi-surrounded by snarling oral cavity) is.................
BUBBBLE GUM!
I'm willing to bet this cost the taxpayers $250,000.
Actually, the entire case was good for business all the way around. I could go into a prostitutors office and claim you were aiding and abetting terrorist Martians and if she thought she could get some face time out of it, the landsharks could extract some fees, and the judge could facilitate the entire money making operation, we'd have a trial over Martians.
ROTFL!
A 24-year-old dental student who sent a note and a wad of bubble gum with her fine for a speeding ticket has been found not guilty of two felony counts of mailing a threat.
Ho was accused of mailing a note to the Santa Fe Motor Vehicle Division office in 2003 that read, "Caution: Touch at your own risk or use gloves. Ha-ha."
... the MVD called the FBI. Hazmat teams showed up and physicians drew blood and analysts looking at DNA and comparing handwriting involved.
... the MVD employee who opened the envelope reacted the way any reasonable public employee [oxymoron] would in the post-9/11 world.
"Only because they can't figure out how to get "Disrespect for your Master" into law yet."
There are 500 laws on the books that start with "Obstructing..." that accomplish the same thing. They really wish they could be honest as you suggest :)
I'll admit that her prosecution is an overreaction. But there's a but:
It's not all that funny to stick unknown substances and notes that can be percieved as threatening to government offices in the age of terrorism. The mail has, after all, been used to send poison to government offices. I can see where the level of employee who opens the envelopes with the fines in them might be prone to panic.
And then there's this: She's a punk, for that behavior.
In all seriousness, just who are the "terrorists" here?
You're right, if they could identify bubble gum with any degree of reliability, they would be working in the private sector.
I agree.
This was an overreaction. However, giving her a slap on the wrist for something like "disorderly conduct" would have been completely appropriate here.
How about giving her 40 hours community service, scraping bubble gum off the bottom of chairs or something.
However, this was a malicious prosecution that evidently backfired with a vengeance.
Can you imagine the reaction of the jury? I wish I had been on it.
What you suggest could have been accomplished without the costly effort of a jury trial and all the hype and effort that the "govment" put into it.
A reasonable confrontation with a common sense focus on whether or not there was a danger aspect to anyone might have been better.....and certainly a less costly embarrasment to those in authority.
"However, giving her a slap on the wrist for something like "disorderly conduct" would have been completely appropriate here."
I would suggest that when a person becomes an overcompensated parasite on the butt of America like the people who process tickets are, that politely accepting insults from their extortion victims is a cost of doing business and that they should STFU if they don't like it or get a *real* job - which they probably can't because that would require some marketable skill besides sucking up tax dollars.
>>How about giving her 40 hours community service, scraping bubble gum off the bottom of chairs or something.<,
Good idea. . .as we know none of those wads are health risks. But better warn her to wear gloves when doing the chore, well, one never knows.
>>A reasonable confrontation with a common sense focus on whether or not there was a danger aspect to anyone might have been better<<
And, seriously, how would the people know the substance was harmless? Testing would need to be done. . .unless you can tell me what else can be done reasonably to ensure the substance was not a threat --- a threat that was clearly stated in the note.
>>I would suggest that when a person becomes an overcompensated parasite on the butt of America like the people who process tickets are, that politely accepting insults<<
I agree, if it was only an insult. It was a threat of harm, not an insult.
I suppose if I sent my payment to a book-of-the-month and attached a wad of goo and told them it was harmful to the touch. . .think they would just shrug it off, think it merely an insult. . .or would they treat it like the threat it was.
She was dumb to do it.
The authorities were dumb to pursue federal charges when other, less draconian charges would have been best.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.