Posted on 03/02/2006 7:57:08 PM PST by elkfersupper
A Metro General Sessions judge summarily retired dozens of traffic tickets scheduled to be heard earlier this month, including one for House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh.
Metro General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland says he doesn't think he did anything wrong when he cleared 72 of the 74 tickets for people that showed up to traffic court on Feb. 16.
The decision to retire the tickets had nothing to do with Naifeh, the judge said. The judge said he was in a buoyant mood after learning he would be running unopposed in this year's election.
"It just happened to be 30 minutes after the qualifying deadline, and he was dealt with like everyone else in there," Moreland said yesterday.
Naifeh, who was cited Dec. 28, for speeding 16 miles above the 70 mph limit on Interstate 40, said he got no special treatment and went to traffic court to pay the fine and arrange to go to traffic school.
"I didn't know the judge and I went through the process just like everybody else," Naifeh told a group of reporters yesterday.
The speaker said the judge announced in court that he had just learned he had no opponent and was going to dismiss all the tickets.
Moreland, however, said he didn't outright dismiss the tickets. He said he retired them instead.
Unlike a dismissal, when a charge or citation is retired, the court has the option of bringing it back up again. In this case, if any of the lucky motorists gets another ticket within a year's time, they'll also have to address the ticket that was retired.
"I guess it was Christmas in February," Moreland said of his decision.
The motorists who got the lucky break were on the 12:30 p.m. traffic court docket. Tickets for two motorists were not retired because the police officers in attendance objected.
In one case, Moreland said, the motorist was cited for the same offense two days in a row, prompting the officer's objection. The judge couldn't remember the details about the other case.
Moreland said he didn't know Naifeh, but knew he was going to be on his docket a few minutes beforehand.
Naifeh said that he had met the judge in the hallway outside traffic court shortly before the judge took the bench.
The state house speaker had been driving into Nashville when he was clocked doing 86 mph per hour just outside of Bellevue.
He said he felt "extremely lucky" that he didn't have to pay the fine or go to traffic school.
The wholesale clearance of traffic tickets on a given docket isn't that unusual, the judge said. For example, many judges will dismiss traffic tickets during the Christmas holidays just because they feel like it. Other times judges dismiss all the tickets on dockets on days when the president or vice president is coming to town because police — who are handling security details — don't show up for court and judges don't want to ask people to appear again.
"It's just the luck of the draw," Moreland said.
But clearing entire dockets of accused traffic violators seems counter to the Metro Police Department's crackdown on motorists. Police, however, maintain that such actions are up to the judges.
"The judges have full authority to exercise discretion," Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said. "That's why they're there." •
You making money on that commercial?
I'd care if these people actually committed crimes, instead they were just caught up in a government tax scheme. If police cared about safety they'd send police to high crime areas instead of policing people driving.
Govt. employees, union thugs....
Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?
Traffic tickets are neither criminal nor common law, so the sixth and seventh amendment jury rights do not apply.
And if the citizens cared about crime or safety, we would fire 90% of law enforcement officers, disarm the rest, and arm ourselves.
But, we don't.
More americans are killed in motor vehicle collisions every year than are killed by criminals.
cool. If I understand you mean that we don't have that many criminals. Next you'll tell me we got more heartattacks from hambugers then people killed by criminals too. right? WASSPOINT?
Ban the wheel.
Then, we can deal with saddlestock, which are much more safe and reliable. (/sarcasm)
I'll keep that in mind. Forever.
I also wonder how many people were there w/ tickets for causing accidents!
You can also think about it the next time you get tagged for doing 68 in a 55 on some four lane interstate w/ no one else in view at 3 am.
Oh good, try telling the cop that you may have been driving over the speed limit, but it isn't a crime. Where did you get your law degree?
It is actually old news.
If a judge had an argument with his wife or girlfriend they take it out on the unlucky in front of him.
If this buffoon is to be believed, if he DID draw opposition he would have ordered the 72 executed?
This stinks.
What I'm thinking is... if he does this when he's in a good mood, what happens to folks when he's in a bad mood?
You beat me too it!
For traffic offenses, the operative phrase should be "finds someone innocent". There is an automatic assumption of guilt, and you can be found innocent if and only if you are able to prove it to be so by discrediting the words or actions of the arresting officer.
It isn't. It's an infraction. Read your state's statutes. Speeding et. al are not listed as misdemeanors nor felonies.
The judge said he was in a buoyant mood after learning he would be running unopposed in this year's election.
Freepers never get traffic citations, doncha' know? ;)
You understand incorrectly. The rest of your note is irrelevant. Dats duh point.
Another person incapable of seeing the obvious. No wonder there are so many laws.
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