Patriotdiscussions wrote:IMHO the law is a bill of pains and penalties in that it 1. Is a legislative act that 2. Imposes a punishment (158 dollar fine) 3. On a person or group of people (registered owners) 4. Without judical over site (traffic court is adminastrative here).
It was hard to hear in the recording, but if I'm understanding you correctly, you were (and are) contending that the traffic law in question was/is a bill of attainder. That would be incorrect. A bill of attainder would be, essentially, a statute that identifies a person by name and effectively punishes the person without a judicial trial, or that is applicable to easily ascertainable members of a group and punishes those people without a judicial trial.
Further, the phrase "ascertainable group" does not mean "anyone who drives over the posted speed limit" or "anyone who fails to come to a complete stop."
If you think the Florida traffic law is a bill of attainder, you are reading 'waaaayy too much into the definition of a "bill of attainder."
As glad as I am that I beat the case, he [the judge] does not have to, nor did he provide a reason for the case being dismissed. The reason for the decision is much more important to me then the decision itself.
Yes, and my guess is that you put enough question in his mind as to whether you were actually the one driving the vehicle that he decided that the government had not proved its case.
As I said, I was impressed with the way you handled yourself. Many of your ideas about the law are incorrect, but you presented yourself -- and represented yourself -- more ably than a lot of other people would do in the circumstances. The fact that you came to court prepared may have impressed the judge as well.
I give you a hard time, PD, and you have a lot of incorrect beliefs about the law. But you see I also give you credit where I believe credit is due.
"My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line." -- David Mamet