Hi, was reading this by accident but as I lived in UK and now live in NY , I thought I would contribute the other side. Got nicked once for scalping (innocent disposal of an extra ticket for a game, i did not even know it was illegal) - called here "ticket speculation" (excuse me). I went to court, did not even know I needed an attorney, one volunteered at the bench, and immediately asked for a plea-bargain and was offered disorderly conduct. DC is actually not such a good deal because it is a nasty sort of violation compared to driving offences. SO I was lucky that my lawyer asked for less and I got the blessed ACD (adjournment in consideration of dismissal, explained in http://www.nycdefense.com/dismis...dismissal.html)
and it has many many benefits. Anyway, thought I would share this. The recent arrests for the Republicn convention in NYC of which 95% approx were dismissed or ACD were a good illustration of the process. Enjoy.
Showing you their world is something the Americans are very good at. I have had similar treatment from police in various States. Main thing that came across was that they do not mess about. Anyone who chooses to resist at all or mouth-off gets cuffed straight away. They seem easy going but certainly take prisoners
Bystander, would you say they have taken our system and advanced it? Should we be learning more from them these days?
I'm afraid that I don't know enough to comment. That's not a cop-out, just realism.
Yes, the USA like all anglospher countries have taken our system and advanced and developed it. But it has continued to be developed and advanced on the historic principle of the 'Common Law'.
This is in stark contrast to the system being currently developed by legislation introduced by New Labour and it's vehicle the Department of Constitutional Affairs. We are steadily moving to the European Union system, which is based on the 'Code Napoleon'
its a sack of Bones and Parts
(Warning non-PC comment)
No one likes a fence sitter..
"""Suburban America is totally dependent on the car, and to ban a driver completely might prevent him from working. If he is found anywhere other than on the prescribed route, jail beckons."""
Are threy also allowed to travel to a supermarket? I'd imagine that shopping for food is just as impractical without a car as working. Or do they just have to hope a supermarket is on their way from work to home.
Problem with all generalizations about US courts is that they have 50 different legal systems ... all broadly similar, but varying in important details from state to state. E.g., gun laws in Texas are different from those in Massachusetts.
I was interested in the "partial" driving ban. The ban we give here is not a punishment as such, but an ancillary order reflecting the road-traffic aspect. Hardship to the banned driver (such as no longer being able to drive to work) is specifically excluded by law as a reason not to ban. (Exceptional hardship can be tried, but it's tough to prove ... unless you're a cop in Telford, of course.) People who want to go on commuting by car should think of that when they (e.g.) drink drive, speed through built-up areas, etc.
Interesting, though. I went to the court on the Isle of Wight once. They do things differently there too ...
In a sentence: before about 1820 the US and British systems were very similar, but the essence of the American revolution was democracy, up to and including the election of cops, judges, etc; meanwhile in Blighty the inherited authority of 'the Crown' got into bed with the centralising civil service, and the result was that we expunged the last vestiges of democracy from the CJ system in 1964.
We have 'R'. they have The People. Their system is better and we ought to have it. For a good summary of why, check out Jonathan Freedland's book _Bringing Home the Revolution_.
As with so much of America's inheritance from Britain the origin of their justice system is obviously British, but a lot of detail has changed since 1776.
A masterly understatement. There is a huge difference between the states. Massachusetts, where I live, still remembers the affair of 1776 and, depending on which side their ancestors were on and whether or not they consider themselves Irish, either love or loathe anything and everything British.
Almost couldn't get my driver's licence renewed last year because all I had for supporting documentation was my UK passport (my Green Card being also in the process of renewal).
The partial driving ban reminds me of something I read in the recent articles in British papers about whether elderly drivers should retake their tests. There is an interesting law being tested in New Zealand, just scroll down to the bit about elderly drivers here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A3914066
I believe there is another version of this operating in Australia. There are satellite tracking systems which can easily be installed in cars to enforce partial bans. Might be a problem if there is a spouse who is also allowed to drive the car though, as you would have to prove who was driving.
Thank you for your kind compliment to our welcoming nature.
Commenting by HaloScan
