We need judges like this!
11-14-2010, 03:42 PM
#1
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We need judges like this!
Reuters · Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010
A German judge has shot to popularity after letting 42 speeding drivers off without charges in the last week because he thinks speed controls merely serve to fill the state's coffers rather than prevent accidents.
Bernd Kahre, spokesman for the court at Herford in northwestern Germany where judge Helmut Knoener works, said the 62-year-old wanted to make a stand against the current practice of prosecuting speeders. The judge believes speed controls are not conducted to ensure greater road safety, but rather to provide the cash-strapped state with an additional source of income. He sees no legal justification for using photos in speeding-related court cases and is calling for clearer regulation.
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Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-p...#ixzz15HsWIZ3O
A German judge has shot to popularity after letting 42 speeding drivers off without charges in the last week because he thinks speed controls merely serve to fill the state's coffers rather than prevent accidents.
Bernd Kahre, spokesman for the court at Herford in northwestern Germany where judge Helmut Knoener works, said the 62-year-old wanted to make a stand against the current practice of prosecuting speeders. The judge believes speed controls are not conducted to ensure greater road safety, but rather to provide the cash-strapped state with an additional source of income. He sees no legal justification for using photos in speeding-related court cases and is calling for clearer regulation..
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-p...#ixzz15HsWIZ3O
11-14-2010, 05:54 PM
#3
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While the judge is entitled to his opinion, he's charged with enforcing the law. While I too agree that speed traps are designed to fund municipalities vs. reducing accidents, I don't violate the law nor would I fail to enforce it as judge. There are proper means to protest/change laws. Failing to perform your sworn duty is grounds for termination and disbarment - as it should be.
Let's be honest, people who speed know they are violating law and are subject to a ticket/fine/loss of license. They make a conscious decision to speed. Thus they need to accept responsibility and punishment for their actions - just as this judge should when he's terminated.
Let's be honest, people who speed know they are violating law and are subject to a ticket/fine/loss of license. They make a conscious decision to speed. Thus they need to accept responsibility and punishment for their actions - just as this judge should when he's terminated.
11-15-2010, 01:12 AM
#5
While the judge is entitled to his opinion, he's charged with enforcing the law. While I too agree that speed traps are designed to fund municipalities vs. reducing accidents, I don't violate the law nor would I fail to enforce it as judge. There are proper means to protest/change laws. Failing to perform your sworn duty is grounds for termination and disbarment - as it should be.
Let's be honest, people who speed know they are violating law and are subject to a ticket/fine/loss of license. They make a conscious decision to speed. Thus they need to accept responsibility and punishment for their actions - just as this judge should when he's terminated.
Let's be honest, people who speed know they are violating law and are subject to a ticket/fine/loss of license. They make a conscious decision to speed. Thus they need to accept responsibility and punishment for their actions - just as this judge should when he's terminated.
Laws shouldn't be written and enforced that serve only to generate revenue. Nor should laws be written that trump common sense. And finally, these days, too many municipalities are enforcing the letter of the law rather than the spirit, i.e. ticketing for driving 38mph in a 35mph zone. Yes, that's speeding, but folks traveling 3mph were not the targets that these laws were designed to punish.
Although these speeders may have violated legal law, the government is violating moral law when it preys and extorts monies from it's citizenry, especially when the reason why they've reduced themselves to extortion is because of their own fiscal incompetence.
11-15-2010, 08:42 AM
#6
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Speed "laws" are based on rules set by traffic engineers for the safe movement of the population on a public roadway.
I'd say from this tidbit, that the Judge ruled that "technology" (i.e. photos from speed cameras) isn't the same as police officers doing the ticketing. Seems well within the legal purview of a Judge to rule and still follow the law.
He sees no legal justification for using photos in speeding-related court cases and is calling for clearer regulation.
11-15-2010, 05:44 PM
#7
Race Car
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While the judge is entitled to his opinion, he's charged with enforcing the law. While I too agree that speed traps are designed to fund municipalities vs. reducing accidents, I don't violate the law nor would I fail to enforce it as judge. There are proper means to protest/change laws. Failing to perform your sworn duty is grounds for termination and disbarment - as it should be.
Let's be honest, people who speed know they are violating law and are subject to a ticket/fine/loss of license. They make a conscious decision to speed. Thus they need to accept responsibility and punishment for their actions - just as this judge should when he's terminated.
Let's be honest, people who speed know they are violating law and are subject to a ticket/fine/loss of license. They make a conscious decision to speed. Thus they need to accept responsibility and punishment for their actions - just as this judge should when he's terminated.
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11-16-2010, 09:44 AM
#8
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While the judge is entitled to his opinion, he's charged with enforcing the law. While I too agree that speed traps are designed to fund municipalities vs. reducing accidents, I don't violate the law nor would I fail to enforce it as judge. There are proper means to protest/change laws. Failing to perform your sworn duty is grounds for termination and disbarment - as it should be.
11-16-2010, 10:18 AM
#9
who knew this would get so political. I would personally love to have this judge in any of my surrounding towns. When has anyone ever had a pleasant experience being pulled over by a cop. Has anyone ever really thought, jeez - "I was really being a danger to society driving 72 in a 55?"
Thankfully with a little technology and preparedness you can still drive from NY to LA in 31 hours & 4 minutes (avg 90+ mph for 2800 miles) without any interaction with the cops.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pImIwAQcrI
Thankfully with a little technology and preparedness you can still drive from NY to LA in 31 hours & 4 minutes (avg 90+ mph for 2800 miles) without any interaction with the cops.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pImIwAQcrI
11-16-2010, 10:26 AM
#10
Not to mention current vehicles are also capable of much greater speeds and shorter stopping distances than they were in the 70's. I'm all for safe driving in rural areas & communities & cities with unpredictable elements, but have you ever drivin the I-10 across texas???
11-16-2010, 10:57 AM
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Lets face it, we all speed. And its illegal. And if you do it enough, you get a ticket. Amortize that one ticket over all the times that you speed and get away with it, and it's actually pretty cheap! You have to be philosophical. The cop is doing his job. The judge should be doing his duty. And you can be indignant if you want.
You guys should worry more about your gun laws than your speed limits! (now this will really "fire" it up!)
You guys should worry more about your gun laws than your speed limits! (now this will really "fire" it up!)
11-18-2010, 10:55 PM
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Our gun laws kept the U.S. from being invaded by the Japanese in WW2. They are a fundamental part of our nation; and they were based on a very germane series of events. The good with the bad...but no apologies.
11-26-2010, 01:07 AM
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The answer to the issue at hand is found and explained in Philip Hamburger's, "Law and Judicial Duty," an extraordinary work of importance which every judge should read - before thinking about becoming a judge.
12-18-2010, 02:46 PM
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Another angle on speed law enforcement: Chinese Maoists during the Cultural Revolution used Jiǎntǎo, or self-criticism, to purge counter-revolutionaries. Now, it's a go-to punishment for young rich kids who get busted flogging Lambos, Benzes and Porsches.
ChinaHush.com's "How a highway chase ends in China, writing self-criticisms"
Sichuan Online reported on the night of December 14, 4 drivers, Yin, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu each drove their newly bought Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and two Porsche 911s and past a traffic police on duty. The police conducted ordered them to each write a self-criticism.
After taking the mug shots, police further investigated drivers’ identities and found Yin, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu, whose parents are all very influential businessmen in Chongqing.
According to the report, 4 of them each drove their newly bought luxury sports cars (total worth about 10 million yuan, that’s 1.5 million USD).
In the police station, the police conducted a 3-hour long safety warning education on these “second generation rich” kids, and also carried out the punishment according to the law: 4 drivers were fined 150 yuan (that’s about 20 USD) with 3 points on their driving record; the Lamborghini driver was fined 150 yuan with 6 points for not having a license plate in front of the car.
After accepting their punishment, Yin, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu all had to write a self-criticism on the hood of their cars.
ChinaHush.com's "How a highway chase ends in China, writing self-criticisms"
Originally Posted by Key
Sichuan Online reported on the night of December 14, 4 drivers, Yin, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu each drove their newly bought Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and two Porsche 911s and past a traffic police on duty. The police conducted ordered them to each write a self-criticism.
After taking the mug shots, police further investigated drivers’ identities and found Yin, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu, whose parents are all very influential businessmen in Chongqing.
According to the report, 4 of them each drove their newly bought luxury sports cars (total worth about 10 million yuan, that’s 1.5 million USD).
In the police station, the police conducted a 3-hour long safety warning education on these “second generation rich” kids, and also carried out the punishment according to the law: 4 drivers were fined 150 yuan (that’s about 20 USD) with 3 points on their driving record; the Lamborghini driver was fined 150 yuan with 6 points for not having a license plate in front of the car.
After accepting their punishment, Yin, Zhou, Zhang and Zhu all had to write a self-criticism on the hood of their cars.
