So I recently got a traffic ticket. Usually, those are fun because I have gotten very good at beating them in Court. Half the time, the cop doesn't show up and even when he does, I can usually still find a way out of it by tripping the state up on discovery requests and other assorted bullshit, or catching them not filing something on time.
Well, a couple of weeks ago, I got pulled over for (allegedly) Following Too Closely, in violation of
O.S. §11-310(a). I take my ticket, don't argue with the cop and it'll be the same old thing, right? Well, not exactly. As the court date starts to come around, I call the clerk to get the case number so I can start filing my blizzard of motions and discovery requests and so on. And I find out that the case is on the fucking Misdemeanor Docket. According to
O.S. §17-101(a) and O.S. §17-101(b), this is actually a criminal offense, max penalty for your first conviction up to $500 fine and up to 10 days in jail.
So I called the DA and asked him what he is planning to do. His response was that his office has a no breaks for anyone policy "for the safety of the public", of course. They are actually gonna try and stick me in jail for 10 days because some stupid fucking cop thinks I was following too close. What other state puts people in jail for fucking stupid ass shit like this? What a waste of taxpayer money. The good thing is that since its a criminal offense I can get a jury trial (that should be fun for the whole family, I can't wait) and the burden of proof is raised from preponderance of the evidence to guilty beyond a reasonable doubt the state is gonna have to work hard for their ticket money this time. I still should be able to lick this.
Absolutely fucking insane. Does any other state do this?