Posted on 09/16/2007 8:15:23 AM PDT by buccaneer81
Man Jailed Over 50-Cent Toll Mass. Resident Considering Lawsuit
POSTED: 6:49 am EDT September 14, 2007 UPDATED: 1:18 pm EDT September 15, 2007
ROCHESTER, N.H. -- A Massachusetts man who insists his New Hampshire highway tokens are still valid just spent three days in jail because he insisted on using two tokens to pay a 50-cent toll.
Thomas Jensen, 68, of Braintree, said the state broke a contract with him and everyone else who bought tokens by refusing to accept them after January of last year. He was convicted of theft of services for continuing to use tokens after they were phased out.
‘‘I gave the state of New Hampshire money for the tokens, and I expect to be able to use them,’’ Jensen told The Patriot Ledger.
Jensen was driving to his New Hampshire summer home when he tried to pay the 50-cent toll with tokens, as he had always done.
The toll worker refused to take them and a state trooper at the plaza gave Jensen a citation.
‘‘(The trooper) said, ‘Just give him the 50 cents.’ I said, ‘I did, I gave him two tokens,’’’ Jensen told the newspaper.
Monday, a judge told Jensen he could pay a $150 fine, do community service or go to jail for three days. He choose jail.
‘‘Over my dead body was I going to give the state another dollar for the tolls,’’ Jensen said.
He told the newspaper that the jail was a clean, new facility and that the food was better than expected. He said he spent his time in jail talking with other inmates.
Jensen never told his wife he was in jail. Beverly Jensen said she only found out when asked by a television news reporter.
After being set free Thursday, Jensen said he's considering a lawsuit. He said the state should just accept tokens until they're all used up.
‘‘I just get offended by people trying to do me wrong,’’ he said. ‘‘They stole the value of these tokens from me.’’
“caused them at least $1870 in costs.” Didn’t know any govt entity had it’s own money. Thought it all came from us, the taxpayers.
In otherwords, you cost yourself and your fellow citizens $1870 in costs.
An admin law judge can not send anyone to jail. They handle civil matters only.
Unless there is some unknown issues here that are not explain one would think he has a good cause for a lawsuit. What they did with the toll is as if the US Gov said they would no longer accept money made years ago that was issued by the Federal government.
They are the ones who said they no longer could be used so why didn’t they just say redeem old tokens for a cash refund? Something smells here and yup it it the state gov
"How is it possible for the state to suspend trial by jury in matters involving incarceration?"
A defendant can waive that right and go for a bench trial, or a legislature can insist only bench trials apply to certain things like traffic tickets. In the case of administrative law, a legislature creates an agency with rulemaking powers, then gives it judicial powers to enforce it's rules. So, essentially, only the agency rules apply, and they are isolated from the legislature and the state courts. Remedies can only be had, by suing the agency, or by changing the composition of the legislature to one that will eliminate, or change the rulemaking powers of the agency.
They can, as I think was done in this case. That's, because toll authorities normally have their own courts, and hte legislature that created the agency, gave them the power to do that.
Sue them.
The man had pre-paid the tax. Then the government decides it doesn’t want to honor those pre-paid taxes...
I wonder how many folks still have the tokens laying around...
Ditto
Not really. A more accurate comparison would be if the U.S. Postal Service suddenly decided not to honor any more of those "Forever" stamps they've been selling for $0.41 these days (where the stamp is supposed to be valid indefinitely).
OK — fine. Let “them” do something about it.
Don't think so.
When the PO sells you a stamp, they sell you a "denomination" which could or could not be the prevailing rate for first class letter.
Just because the "denomination" of a certain stamp isn't enough to buy you first class letter delivery does not negate the stamps face value and aren't good anymore.
The toll authority in CT made money hand over fist selling thousands of tokens that never got used, and NYC was pissed off to no end and demanded that the toll authority had to change the token. Since they had no authority to make such a demand, they had to change the subway tokens instead.
What, you mean you’re not convinced you should turn yourself in?
;-)
Uh, no. LOL.
Wow! You need a course on money. Money is gold and silver stamped into coins. The States are forbidden to coin money by Article I Section 10 of the Constitution. It is true that most people consider the paper stuff we carry around in our pockets these days to be money but really these things are bills of credit, which the States are also prohibited from issuing. Tokens are not "State issued money."
ML/NJ
Well, that may be, but it isn’t an admin law judge by the standards of my state. An admin law judge adjudicates administrative law, not criminal law.
It is. Same as the Sec of the Treasury being given authority to determine "sporting purpose".
How much did it cost these totalitarian fascists to jail him for three days?
Recently in south Atlanta, a McDonalds grill cook was charged cuffed and jailed by a “police officer” for putting too much salt on his burger.
No one should complain though. Presumably we elect this kind of govt. One which today protects the govt, it’s bureaucrats, and it’s enforcers. One which no longer recognizes our Constitutional protections under the rule of law.
It is time for a change. It is time to restore our Constitution, and our liberties, which were once upon a time guaranteed by our Constitution.
A few who believe in freedom will get this. While others will scoff. That’s a given.
That's partially right, they can still hear relevant cases of statutory law. This appears to have been a NH dist court, the charge was probably misdemeanor theft, and the 68y/o was given 1 day for each $50 of fine he refused to pay. In a State where the legislature and "DOJ" created admin law courts to handle this, the petty theft misdemeanor could amount to a large jail term, because the fines were huge and set by the toll authority itself/per violation. Don't know who set the fine in this NH case and what it would be per violation.
The NH turnpike authority and the Governor are the ones that made the law setting the tolls, and rendering the tokens worthless. That's normal for the course of business where RINOs are involved. THe reason for rendering the tokens worthless was that they would cost to service and more importantly, rendering them worthless would wipe out their own debt.
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