Pay the Two Dollars
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 1:26 pm
California man getting a year in prison because he tried to beat a traffic ticket. From today's NY Times Lede blog:
How Not to Beat a Ticket
By Mike Nizza
In March 2004, Andrew Bamberg faced an all-too-familiar problem: He received a citation for running a stop sign in Redwood City, Calif., an infraction that ordinarily draws a fine of $215.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced in San Mateo County Court to a year in prison.
What happened in between appears to be a noteworthy lesson in how to make a $215 problem immeasurably worse. From The San Francisco Chronicle:
He was accused of trying to deceive the traffic magistrate by presenting photographs in court from a different intersection, then lying about the photos in separate proceedings.
A jury convicted him of those charges in February 2007, along with a misdemeanor charge of destroying or concealing evidence for failing to bring the original photos back to court.
The prosecutor suspected that Mr. Bamberg, 42, a former car salesman, had also switched street signs in the midst of the court proceedings in a further effort to beat the ticket. But Mr. Bamberg wasn’t convicted for that, and his lawyer denied that accusation as well as the three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge on which he was convicted.
His motion for release on bail while he appeals was denied. With good behavior, the Chronicle reports, Mr. Bamberg could be out in eight months.
How Not to Beat a Ticket
By Mike Nizza
In March 2004, Andrew Bamberg faced an all-too-familiar problem: He received a citation for running a stop sign in Redwood City, Calif., an infraction that ordinarily draws a fine of $215.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced in San Mateo County Court to a year in prison.
What happened in between appears to be a noteworthy lesson in how to make a $215 problem immeasurably worse. From The San Francisco Chronicle:
He was accused of trying to deceive the traffic magistrate by presenting photographs in court from a different intersection, then lying about the photos in separate proceedings.
A jury convicted him of those charges in February 2007, along with a misdemeanor charge of destroying or concealing evidence for failing to bring the original photos back to court.
The prosecutor suspected that Mr. Bamberg, 42, a former car salesman, had also switched street signs in the midst of the court proceedings in a further effort to beat the ticket. But Mr. Bamberg wasn’t convicted for that, and his lawyer denied that accusation as well as the three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge on which he was convicted.
His motion for release on bail while he appeals was denied. With good behavior, the Chronicle reports, Mr. Bamberg could be out in eight months.