Truly a YGTBSM moment…
Got this from a friend in MD this morning via email…
A Maryland judge issued an $85 fine to the owner of a Pontiac G8 GT for illegal tail lights, despite being factory-installed and approved by the US Department of Transportation.
She’s promised to keep fining him. Judicial activism, FTL!
A forum member on G8.com was ticketed by a Maryland officer who claimed he was sporting illegal tail lights. After amassing a healthy amount of evidence proving he hadn’t modified his car and it was approved for sale by the Department of Transportation, he went to court confident the ticket would be dismissed, only to find the contrary. We’ll let him tell you how it all went down:
Went to court for my clear tail lights on my car and was found guilty!
The judge actualy told me she didn’t care what the manufacturer said, what the federal govt said, what the DOT # stamped onto my taillights said if the officer says my lights aren’t legal then they’re not legal. I took the G8 sales brochure in along with pics of my car and other G8 GT’s and the VIN trace by 3 different dealers saying my lights were factory none of it mattered she found me guilty of failing to display or reflect red light on the rear of the car. Didn’t matter the reflecters were in the bumper, didn’t matter where the light is has that little red circle, the whole lens isn’t red so they’re not legal. Also where the back-up and turn signals are should be the reflectors according to the cop so the V6 cars lights aren’t legal either.
Judge stupid went on to tell me that maybe I should consider trading in or selling the car since its not legal in MD and that I’m going to continue to get the $60 tickets till I get rid of the car.
So I contacted Pontiac’s 1-800 # and I have an apt next friday to have my car looked at by them and see if they can help or at least repay me the $85.50 fine and court costs.
I honestly don’t know what else I can do. The cop was ALL smiles afterwards and winked at me! WTF! Now I’m screwed! How do I go to work now? I drive right thru where he works!! So this ass nuget can make up **** randomly for any car he gets a hard on for and nothing can be done to fight it!
This is BS.
The problem centers around the clear lens tail lights and bumper-mounted reflectors of the Pontiac G8 GT model. Because the red area in the lenses is reduced in the G8 GT, there are reflectors mounted in the bumper to reflect additional light and bring the reflective requirements into spec. Th officer and by extension the judge considered them illegal.
Now, we can understand Mr. Xxxxx’x momentary lack of respect for the legal system above — this is B.S., but he’s got legitimate cause to be pissed. He bought a car he assumed to fall within the operations laws of all states and which was in reality approved for nationwide sale by the government. According to the Judge, the opinion of an Officer of the Law supersedes what the Federal government approved for sale and the design somehow doesn’t jive with what the State of Maryland considers legal.
One of the other forum members has offered up legal service to fight the fine, but it makes us wonder if all the G8 GT drivers in Maryland now have something to worry about. Should motorists who’ve bought a car approved by the Federal government be worried about being arbitrarily fined by a Judge who seems to side with the opinion of an officer over the law.
And something tells me we are going to see more and more of this under this administration and the “new” judicial mentality… sigh…
I’m outta here for about three weeks of fun and games
Y’all have fun, and I’ll try to get the occasional post up.
Unbelievable.
Enjoy your trip.
Truly unbelievable – the stupid, it BURNS. Sigh.
Have a safe trip – we’ll leave the light on for ya!
This is not right! I guess the judges think they can just do what they want, and so do the cops.
Have fun!
This has more to do with the jurisdiction collecting money but just as bad when done so illegally by the court itself.
They got him on a constitutional technicality, according to which the sheriff of any county is final authority in that locality: If (s)he or an authorized deputy acting in their stead deems something legal/illegal in that county, that is it. This is probably what the judge is basing the ruling on…Sucks, but there it is – What a cluster****, and all on account of some asshat throwing his weight around!
Wow…. no new pontiac for me!
Have a fabulous three weeks and I look forward to your sparse postings!
Gia
Sure to enhance local respect, admiration, and support for the justice system. Where is the DA Office on this?
Time to make an ethics charge to the state BAR association and the State Supreme Court.
He will more than likely back down rather than be sanctioned.
Worked well on an idiot here in KY.
Gerry
All- Yep it’s really stoopid… sigh…
DA’s office actually do work? I don’t think so, they wouldn’t want to piss off the judge…
Makes you wonder just what the hell is going on.
I’ve lived in Maryland all my life (except 4 yrs in the Army). NOTHING that goes on here surprises me. The government at all levels is thoroughly corrupt and/or blindlingly stupid. And don’t get me started on the cops here . . .
on jalopnik they are saying that they have this person talking about how he modded two sets of tail lights, and while the bulbs are stock, and they have the look of stock they are not stock and thus the DOT cert on them is not valid.
It comes under the heading of “What ya gonna do about it, punk?”
The officer is legally protected from his actions, and can’t be charged for them. The worst that can realistically happen to the judge would an overturn on appeal, and they know darn well the kid hasn’t got the money to go that route.
Sanction from the BAR or a panel of judges? I suspect there is less than 0.0001% chance of that. They protect their own fiercely.
It’s situations like this that fueled the book ‘Unintended Consequences’. When folks have nowhere left to a turn from a corrupt authority…..
I could easily see that case going up to the Maryland Supreme Court and perhaps even farther.
Additionally, there are a HOST of OTHER cars with similar taillight sections, including Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Mercedes, Toyota, BMW. . .
Is this the NEXT STEP in Revenue Generation Schemes?
BTW, I AM a cop myself and THIS is just WRONG.
BZ
Must be a left wing, commie, obammy loving dirtbag.
Holy WTF Batman. That is insanity.
I hope he sues Pontica the Federal government and DOT for allowing a car to be sold that doesn’t fit Maryland law. Of coursw we both know that won’t happen.