TexasCHLforum.com

srothstein wrote:

steveincowtown wrote:If an LEO wants to arrest me for failing to signal, I hope he doesn't mind my laughter on the ride, the Judges laughter in court, or his peer's laughter for the next few days at work.

Grow up and don't waste your time, the courts time, or my time. Focus. Find criminals. De-poof chest.

I will be fairly happy to put up with your laughter since you will also have to put up with mine. The judge won't be laughing and neither will my peers. Just so you know, this has already been done and fought all the way to SCOTUS. In the case of Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, an officer arrested a woman for failing to have her children in a seat belt and booked her into the jail. Atwater was released on bond and later paid the $50 fine for the ticket. She then filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officer and the city claiming that arresting a person for an offense that is punishable only by a fine is an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. District Court dismissed the case on summary judgment in favor of the city. Fifth Circuit affirmed that the case had no merit. SCOTUS said it had no merit also.

And the only one left laughing was the officer. The rumor going around was that Atwater and the PD had been in a feud for a while, which is why she got arrested instead of cited. Guess who ended up winning the feud, if there really was one.

I will be the first to admit that this appears to be an abuse of the discretion the officer has under the law, but Texas law explicitly makes traffic violations crimes (class C misdemeanors). And Texas law explicitly says an officer may arrest for these offenses. There are only two cases where the discretion has been reduced. If the ticket is for speeding or for having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, the officer must offer the chance to sign the ticket first. But he only has to offer that one time and then he can arrest for those offenses too. So the moral of the story is to not argue with officers about traffic offenses when they stop you. He is the one deciding if you continue on your way or not.


For those concerned, you may read the actual case here: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/g ... ol=99-1408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;