Go Speed Racer Go!

First a confession. I've had a speeding ticket pled down to faulty equipment in Kansas City. I'm not proud of it. I'm not ashamed either. It was an option available to me at the time and I took it. The advantage is you pay a higher fine for a faulty equipment conviction but it's a non-moving violation so it doesn't show up on your driving record which could lead to your insurance premiums being raised. The rationale is the City gets more money in fines, speeders are still punished and only the insurance companies get duped out of possible revenue increase. Recently the City Council voted to reinstate the practice of allowing defendants to plead down a moving violation to a non-moving violation. There's been a small dust-up over at kc buzz blog regarding the "weak-willed City Council" and the "black hat" defense lawyers. I'm sure we could all argue for days over issues of public safety, ethics, economic disparity and the like. In my opinion I think something is getting lost in the discussion. Whatever happened to prosecutorial and/or judicial discretion? It's up to the prosecutor in each case to negotiate the plea deal. The prosecutor and defense attorney then jointly present the arranged plea to a judge. At this point the deal has gone through two public officials. Do they have no responsibility or accountability? We can pass all the laws we want. In the end it's up to the judiciary to enforce them. Isn't it? A good friend of mine had her vote swayed on election day by a visit from Jolie Justus. It was Jolie's stance on protecting the independent judiciary that cinched the deal. I also give two thumbs up for Jolie's stance on animal welfare too but that's the subject of another post. I agree with the protection of the judiciary, but I want more accountability too. Instead of blaming the defense lawyers for cutting the deals, and the lawmakers for not stopping it, why aren't we criticizing the prosecutors and judges for allowing it?