Category: New Year

Look out America!  Indiana is at it again. DEC. 2008.  Indianapolis Indiana. We all know if we have had too much to drink.  We also know what the Public Service Announcements, (PSA)  tell us to do in this situation.  Have a DESIGNATED DRIVER. One night in INDIANA a lady after parytying too hard found her in the situation she knew she could not drive, (legally or possibly anyway).  Being responsible enough to seek out someone to drive her home, she found a volunteer. And now, as Paul Harvey would say, is the rest of the story. As this lady and her designated driver were on the way to her hone,  an officer of the law noticed the vehicle had a license plate light out,  Of course he had to pull the car over.   That is when he discovered the driver’s license was not valid, (perhaps, expired, or not issued, I don’t know.  This lady admitted she had too much to drink couldn’t drive.  The officer had no choice to arrest her for PUBLIC INTOXICATION .  Now let’s back  up here a minute.  This means if you are sitting in your car (which is private property,  you are actually not in private property but public property????, I’m not a real drinker only maybe have one beer when with friends,  usually I drink my Coca-Cola.  But this doesn’t seem right to me.  On a side note I know of one poor chap who was having a halloween poker party,  He had a car for sale which was sitting on his property near the highway.  Kids came by and were throwing eggs at the car.  He of course had been drinking while playing cards.  He decided he would move the car.  Only thing someone had siphoned off the gas.  he left the keys in the car, went to his garage to get some gas. Put about a gallon in the tank.  as he approached the car door a State or County Mountie pulled up with lights flashing and proceeded to issue him a DUI.  (He was at his car with the ignition key in the car not running, as he has just put gas in it.  On his own propery) Another unconfirmed story I heard of in this same county.  A guy was riding his lawnmower, mowing his own yard.  When an officer, came up to him and issued him a ticket for violation of the” open container law”  while  being on his mower.   If you aren’t aware of the open container law. It means no alcoholic beveridge  can be in a moving vehicle unless it is in the trunk or some where the driver cannot reach. Any way back to the story.  The lady was convicted of Public Intoxication.  She appealed this ruling.  The Indiana Supreme Court ruled 4-1  to uphold the conviction.  According to their ruling the justices stated the conviction followed the law.  Because she admitted to being Drunk.  Cars traveling on public roads are considered to be public places. According to the case prosecutor The Supreme Court made the right ruling.  The law needs changing. I think it was a miscarriage of justice.  She did what the government’s PSA said by getting a designated driver.  So what does this mean?  We all know the police need no real reason to pull you over.  But what about real public transportation like Taxi’s.  It seems to me come New Year’s any Taxi can be pulled over and the responsible person who called the cab to help save his and other people’s lives could end up in jail for PUBLIC INTOXICATION. This year Indiana enacted 300 laws.  My sources tell me the local newspapers nor TV stations have listed them.  But the state will tell you ignorance is no excuse.  If you had 300 new laws dumped on you, could you remember them all. In closing I ask YOU.  Is it fair for the GOVERNMENT to instruct you to do something in a particular circumstance the arrest you for doing it? That Is How I See It Views: 661