[CedarDave]

The quick reversal and dismissal of these charges should be automatic in a just society. However, Southern has decided to act as his own attorney and obviously has made some missteps along the way that has led to delays in his exoneration. He has now stated he will prepare a new writ of habeus corpus.

[CedarDave]

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[gov_bean_ counter]

Maybe at least this time he will consult with Legal Zoom...

[Ray76]

What? What’s wrong with the judge?

Judge Albert Mitchell, more like judge Asshle Maximus.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Pretty ridiculous. Listerine has more almost 50% more booze in it than that stuff, yet I don’t think he would have been in trouble if he has an open bottle of it in the car.

Either way, I never understood O’Douls. It’s like the Sanka of beer. Why drink it in the first place? What’s the point?

[lewislynn]

Southern has decided to act as his own attorney

That, in the eyes of judges/lawyers was his biggest crime.

[JaguarXKE]

You couldn’t get buzzed from O’Doul’s if you drank a case of the stuff!

[American in Israel]

The fact that a man cannot represent himself in a non-alcohol beer as an open container in a car is a perfect example of the Mockery of Justice our Justice system has become.

God is not amused I imagine.

[discostu]

Can you sell it to 16 year old? If not, it’s alcoholic, and he broke the law.

[CharlesWayneCT]

One has to wonder why he lost the original court case. My guess is he didn’t even contest it, and only learned later that the definition of “alcoholic beverage” in New Mexico is a drink with more than 1/2% alcohol.

So instead of a simple court case, he needs to get a conviction overturned on appeal. That requires more than just “hey I screwed up and missed something in my case”. He tried a writ of fact, but NM doesn’t allow such writs for appeals, if I had to guess because facts are brought up in the trial. Maybe he could appeal based on bad representation, but if he represented himself he was probably warned about that, and the law doesn’t like to give people do-overs just because they were incompetent.

This is speculation on my part because I can’t find details about the original case.

[Figment]

Does NM charge you for open containers of root beer too?

[TexasTransplant]

Bread probably has more alcohol in it.

Stupid dude, stupid Judge

TT

[NonValueAdded]

Seems like the case should be open-and-shut. The guy must have a fool for a lawyer.

[Pollster1]

In a just society, the cop would not have charged this guy with open container, not when the law specifically requires greater than 1/2% alcohol for an open container charge.

In a just society, the prosecutor would not have prosecuted this guy for open container, not when the law specifically requires greater than 1/2% alcohol for an open container violation.

In a just society, the judge would have thrown out the open container charge in the original trial, even if the accused didn’t phrase his explanation in proper legal language, or the District Court judge would have directed the court appointment of a lawyer to handle this basic case and get the guy back to his normal life.

We live in the Obama society, where a 14 y/o kid can face a year in jail for wearing an NRA t-shirt, and a 6 y/o can be suspended and have a weapons violation on his permanent school record for chewing a Pop Tart into a “threatening” shape or for bringing a Lego “gun” smaller than a fingernail to school. This ruling makes complete sense - the guy didn’t pay a lawyer the proper fee to grease the system, and he will suffer. America is in deep trouble.

[foxpro2]

Cant wait for self driving cars.

Get rid of all this stuff.

I was charged with a DUI even though I blew a zero.

My great sin was that I was to nervous to stand on one foot because I just got stopped by the cops.