William Barboza, a 22-year-old Connecticut man, pled guilty to a speeding ticket via mail and, on the traffic ticket, replaced the word “Liberty” with “Tyranny” and added on an accompanying payment form “fuck your shitty town bitches.” Town Justice Brian Rourke rejected the guilty plea and ordered Barboza to appear in court. According to the lawsuit, Rourke then chastised him for the language he used, and had two police officers place him under arrest for aggravated harassment.
Barboza is now suing the two police officers in the Catskill-area village over the arrest claiming in a Federal lawsuit that his free speech rights were violated by the arrest. The lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union says the Barboza was illegally ordered to town court, hand-cuffed and arrested. The lawsuit also argues that the definition of criminal harassment in Penal Law 240.30 — communication ”in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm” — is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.
Starting June 1, 2013, cell phone violations and texting & driving violations now carry 5 points (up from 3). A cell phone violation occurs when a driver uses a phone without a hands-free device. A texting and driving violation occurs when a driver “uses” an electronic device while driving. The terms “use”, “electronic device” and “while driving” are all construed liberally meaning that you cannot even hold your device while behind the wheel of a car that is not parked.
On October 31, 1968, 4-year old Carolee Sadie Ashby was tragically struck and killed as she crossed a street in her upstate New York home of Oswego. Russ Johnson, a dogged, retired Fulton police detective, was able to solve this cold case via a Facebook post with the details of the case.
The National Transportation Safety Board proposed last week that states lower their drinking and driving limits from .08 to .05. Currently, all states criminalize drinking and driving (DWI) for motorists with a blood-alcohol level (BAC) of .08% or more.
Click it or ticket it campaign starts today thru June 2nd. Check points and strict enforcement in NY, CT & NJ.
If you get a pink ticket for reckless driving. You need to know some basic information about this serious charge. Reckless driving is both a crime and a moving violation. VTL § 1212 defines reckless driving as follows:
Last February, I wrote a post entitled “
