CBS News v. Broadcast News
An interesting bit of dialogue from Broadcast News (1987):
National Anchor (Jack Nicholson): This is a brutal layoff. And all because they couldn't program Wednesday nights.
News Director: You can make it less brutal by knocking a million or so off your salary... Bad joke, I'm sorry.
posted by LAGuy @ 8:05 AM
1 Comments:
Random off topic legal questions. Has anyone ever made an attempt to challenge the constitutionality of speeding tickets? It seems as though it must have happened and been sharply put down, but I've never heard about it. For brainstorming purposes it would be helpful to hear from attorneys a list of possible attacks of this kind. Not being an attorney but having more than just a theoretical interest in this important legal issue I offer my several (probable legally way-off-base proposals):
1. Federal vs state jurisdiction: Federal highway dollars on interstate so state control is limited. Can states charge a toll on a federal highway? And aren't they in effect doing so when they plan to give tickets to certain quotas?
2. Due process: Most people cannot afford to go to traffic court in another state, so the state needs to provide another method for out of state travelers to make their case in court such as a written appeal. There is probably more here that I am missing. Don't traffic stops presume guilt until innocence is shown. We can send in our check by mail (easy) but not plead our case similarly. Further (and of course purely hypothetically) can a police officer arrest or threaten to arrest a driver for simply questioning the rationale for a ticket or the decision to ticket? Is the same true for all arrest situations or are they given more leniency on the road?
3. Interstate commerce clause. If it can be shown (and I think it can) that a state tickets out of staters disproportionately to the driving population therein, isn't that state interfering with interstate commerce?
4. Unequal enforcement. The system is set up to ticket speeders over other potentially more hazardous driving illegalities. Very few tickets are written for anything but speeding. I know I don't want to encourage a broader diversity of ticket writing, but this seems to highlight the improper rationale behind speeding tickets--revenue generation as opposed to safety>
I realize that the government is very invested financially and otherwise in the idea of stopping for speeding.
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