Quote:
Originally Posted by MotorCDR
The fine and penalty are determined by the judge, in and only if the jury finds you guilty of the offense.
|
Not trying to start an argument, but the few times I've been to traffic court, it was not a jury trial. It was only me, the prosecutor, the judge, and the issuing officer. Not very good odds. I've found the best bet is to make a deal with the prosecutor (who really doesn't care what your story is -- they want to know what you're offering). Any time I've had an attorney with me, I've walked out of court with court costs and no charges. (This was "driving on suspended license" charge for an unpaid parking ticket. Whoops. DMV never issued notification of suspension, and I walked.)
Quote:
|
That means you've only got to convince ONE PERSON out of THIRTEEN ... and the law says that not only are you not guilty, but the matter ends right then and there, you can't be tried for it again.
|
As far as juries in criminal trials are concerned, I'm not sure if I have a proper understanding about the legal system. My understanding is that one (or more) dissenting jurors results in a hung jury, not an acquittal. You only get off if the state / prosecutor decides it's not worth it to retry your case, and drop charges. Otherwise, you can get into infinite hung jury trials. Until you have unanimity, you don't have freedom or conviction. A pal of mine in FL endured two hung juries before getting a unanimous verdict. My guess is that, under the statute we're discussing, an improperly mounted tag would be treated as criminal rather than civil, like reckless or careless driving.
Much like speeding (not excessive, just simple speeding, which we've probably all done), the license plate violation is intentional. You know it's bad, but you still do it, right along with the other dozens of cars around you. I acknowledge that I am breaking the law by having my license plate improperly placed, but like minor speeding, I certainly don't feel like a felon as a result. I would prefer not to pay the high penalties or suffer a suspended license for what I consider a very very trivial infraction, so instead I would gladly pay my attorney handsomely to make it go away. I'd never in a million years plead guilty to that charge.
Zealous enforcement of laws like this (the license plate thing, not the reckless stuff) must be seen as heavy handed. I'm not picking on MotorCDR here because he has been awesome about demonstrating the placid, functional, almost unassailable position of LEOs and the law. As MotorCDR has shown, LEOs have the ability to look at a law and say, "That's bollocks." But LEOs aren't there to interpret the laws, just to enforce them as written whether they personally agree or disagree.