You Can't Run from the Law - Part Deux

Speaking of running from the law, I've been doing a little bit of that myself. I spent the day in court yesterday in a plea bargain session.

Since I've been in this lovely state I've been pulled over twice. TWICE. In one week. I mean, doesn't law enforcement have anything better to do than pull over innocent, and hurried drivers? Clearly Utah needs to get a higher crime rate.

In the first "incident" I was pulled over by a woman. Clearly the WORST case scenario. I haven't had a ticket in over 10 years and that's not because I haven't been pulled over. Women are TOUGH. This one was no exception. She pulled me over because I ran a stop sign and didn't even care when I told her it was a genetic problem passed down from my mother. I never even noticed that sign. Then I told her I was lost and talking on my phone which is why I missed it. Bam! She threw the book at me for careless driving because apparently in Utah if you are talking on the phone when pulled over it's a problem. You can talk on the phone while driving, you just can't get pulled over while doing it. Basically, I got punished for telling the truth.

In court yesterday (I wasn't going down easy) they give you a chance for a plea bargain before your case is heard. I told the venerable prosecuter that I was not from Utah, didn't know of that law (which was a ridiculous law anyway) and shouldn't be punished. He said, "ignorance of the law is not an excuse for not abiding by it." Hello? Ignorance of the law is the best excuse for not abiding by it. We argued back and forth for a while about whether or not it was stupid and then finally we agreed to disagree. Turns out he is from Livonia, MI and a fan of the wolverines. We talked a lot about something we could agree on - how much we hated Ohio State - and then he agreed to cut the offense from a $300 dollar reckless driving offense to a $100 running a stop sign offense. I told him I still wasn't happy, but I would accept his offer. I'm sure the other plea-bargainers in the room were all suddenly Michigan fans too, but I didn't stick around to find out.

The moral of this story: Even when you feel like someone is letting you down all the time (the Wolverines) they can still come through for you in the clutch and in an unexpected way. Never give up the love. Think about it.