[Jeff Higgins]

This situation is beginning to infuriate me... Long story, but bear with me:

A young, fresh out of college and newly hired co-worker (who is one hell of a bright kid and just an all-around good guy) got stopped over a month ago for expired tabs (he does, like other kids, somewhat inexplicably ignore the details, or the rules, at times). Turns out the area was under some kind of "emphasis patrol" so the lady cop put him through the field sobriety test, which he passed with flying colors. By then a male cop had shown up as "backup" (this kid is all of 6'2" and fairly stout). The male cop opined that he looked good for the field sobriety, so he was good to go - but the lady cop wanted a breathalyzer.

I dunno, maybe the poor kid has sat with me for too long - he refused. No probable cause. Male cop agreed, female cop hauled him in. When finally under arrest and at the station, he blew less than .01% (our "limit" is .08%). He still spent the night in jail and his car was impounded. Oh, and by the way, his passenger was left on the side of the road to fend for himself - at 1:00 in the morning, over 20 miles from home. "You have a cell phone..." was all the cops had to offer.

In the end, the kid was charged with a "Negligent 1", one step below a DUI. Up to a year in jail, thousands of dollars in fines, and likely cancelled insurance. And he did nothing wrong... The arresting officer even says, in her report, that he was only stopped for the expired tabs, she never mentions that he was driving erratically in any way.

So, he hires our local "top gun" traffic lawyer, who demands $2K up front. She advises him to take an "alcohol evaluation", which he does (killing a Saturday in doing so), and also an "alcohol awareness" class, wherein he got to meet victims hurt by drunk drivers or with relatives killed by drunk drivers. The lawyer says this will all look good in court.

First court date comes, and the prosecutor says he did not have enough time to review the alcohol evaluation, so the trial gets delayed. That's where it sits today.

I guess I find it incredible that the prosecution is moving forward on this. One more bit of pertinent information - the city of Lynnwood does not have its own prosecutor. We hire prosecution out to a local, private firm. My sister the lawyer tells me this is quite common, but it results in a situation where virtually everything that hits their desk gets prosecuted - it's how they make money.

*Sigh*. I guess I'm just venting; there is nothing I can do to help him. I'm seeing a young man, however, who has now lost all respect for the police and the legal system. Surprise surprise... He did nothing wrong other than get lazy about his tabs, and this will cost him thousands in legal fees alone. Welcome to the "system", young man. We're handing you off a very, very broken one...