Welcome to Texas justice: You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride.
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- Blawg Wisdom
- Evan Smith, Editor-in-chief and publisher, The Texas Tribune
- The Austin Chronicle
- Emily Bazelon, Slate
- San Antonio Current
- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic
- Erica Grieder, The Economist
- Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly
- Doug Berman, Sentencing Law & Policy
- Marie Gottschalk, author of 'Caught'
- DallasBlog
- Scott Medlock, Texas Civil Rights Project
- Solomon Moore, NY Times criminal justice correspondent
- Donald Lee, Texas Conference of Urban Counties
-Attorney Bob Mabry, Conroe
- Corey Yung, Sex Crimes Blog
Tommy Adkisson,
Bexar County Commissioner
- Dirty Third Streets
- Texas Public Policy Foundation
David Jennings, aka "Big Jolly"
John Bradley,
Former Williamson County District Attorney, now former Attorney General of Palau
- To the People
Contact: gritsforbreakfast AT gmail.com
4 comments:
Here's a tip for not getting the ticket after you've been stopped...
When the officer asks for proof of insurance, ALWAYS say you can't find it, even if you have it and know where it is.
A citation for no insurance coverage is one of the highest. Unless you did something really really bad to get stopped, the officer will almost always cite you for no insurance and let you slide on the other offense.
The insurance citation will be dismissed by presenting your proof of insurance to traffic court. Dismissal fee is around $10.
It's worth risking $10 considering what a speeding ticket will do to your insurance premium.
(my success rate using this tip has been 100%)
And for God's sake be polite. It can't hurt.
I'm sure this can be construed as "confrontational" but I always request that the police officer identifies himself. It has had a chilling effect - at least with some police. I am usually stopped by more than one police person and if one of them gets confrontational I want a name. The reason to be polite is to assume - until proven otherwise - that the police have a legitimate reason for stopping you.
And the reason the 'proof of insurance' gambit works is because a police person on a fisthing expedition always needs to justify his intrusion. If you fumble for insurance, that gives him an easy out. Assuming that a burglar has entered your house by mistake is also a way to avoid that potentially violent confrontation. Admittedly, I've only done that once and even offered to help him find the right house[of course, my offer wasn't accepted].
800,
Polite = Not calling the cop a dick. Questions are okay.
Catonya,
Nice trick. Watch out for those juridictions that make arrests and/or impound your vehicle for no insurance as part of their policy.
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