FOLLOW UP TO:
Ah, Nutz! Not Again
More Nutz
Driving Me Nutz
Today is D-Day. Today is the day that a 67 year old woman who displayed plastic, red bulls testicles from the bumper of her truck goes on trial for an alleged obscenity violation.
Police Chief Franco Fudo of the Bonneau, SC police dept. played Mr. Morality and found an antiquated traffic law to cite Virginia Tice with, handing her a summons with a bond amount of $445.00. All because she was exercising her rights under the 1st Amendment. No, Truck Nutz or Bulls Balls, are not illegal anywhere in the continental US.
The legislation in SC is written as:
SC Code of Laws 56-5-3885 - "A sticker, decal, emblem, or device is indecent when taken as a whole, it describes, in a patently offensive way, as determined by contemporary community standards, sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body."
Most police departments in the area have indicated it's a waste of time. Police have better things to do. Also, no one has been prosecuted with this offense since the late 90's when the ACLU stepped in and managed to get the charge dismissed. The law has just never been repealed.
Chief Fuda apparently has too much time on his hands that he must be memorizing the V & T code book.
A rather prestigious law firm in Charleston, SC got wind of Ms. Tice's predicament and offered to represent her pro bono. Ms. Tice's attorney was about to ask for a jury trial, when it was discovered that Police Chief Fuda had already done so, thereby circumventing the defendant's right to choose a jury trial or bench trial.
Today at 10:00 a.m., jury selection begins. The news media, as well as the ACLU, are watching this case closely.
If there isn't another postponement, I'm betting it will be taken care of before jury selection begins. There's too many things wrong with this case to waste the taxpayer's time.
Today's news reports that this trial was postponed yet again because, "not enough potential jurors showed up. What the hell does that mean? You get a subpoena, you go to court. Chief Fuda seems confident that this will proceed to trial as he is emphatic he will not drop the charges. Right now, he's become the 'judge' of the so-called obscenity statute and is standing in the shoes of the 'prosecutor.' It seems to me that the use of a 'jury' is a minor formality that he's trying to manipulate to his advantage.
Ah, Nutz! Not Again
More Nutz
Driving Me Nutz
Today is D-Day. Today is the day that a 67 year old woman who displayed plastic, red bulls testicles from the bumper of her truck goes on trial for an alleged obscenity violation.
Police Chief Franco Fudo of the Bonneau, SC police dept. played Mr. Morality and found an antiquated traffic law to cite Virginia Tice with, handing her a summons with a bond amount of $445.00. All because she was exercising her rights under the 1st Amendment. No, Truck Nutz or Bulls Balls, are not illegal anywhere in the continental US.
The legislation in SC is written as:
SC Code of Laws 56-5-3885 - "A sticker, decal, emblem, or device is indecent when taken as a whole, it describes, in a patently offensive way, as determined by contemporary community standards, sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body."
Most police departments in the area have indicated it's a waste of time. Police have better things to do. Also, no one has been prosecuted with this offense since the late 90's when the ACLU stepped in and managed to get the charge dismissed. The law has just never been repealed.
Chief Fuda apparently has too much time on his hands that he must be memorizing the V & T code book.
A rather prestigious law firm in Charleston, SC got wind of Ms. Tice's predicament and offered to represent her pro bono. Ms. Tice's attorney was about to ask for a jury trial, when it was discovered that Police Chief Fuda had already done so, thereby circumventing the defendant's right to choose a jury trial or bench trial.
Today at 10:00 a.m., jury selection begins. The news media, as well as the ACLU, are watching this case closely.
If there isn't another postponement, I'm betting it will be taken care of before jury selection begins. There's too many things wrong with this case to waste the taxpayer's time.
Today's news reports that this trial was postponed yet again because, "not enough potential jurors showed up. What the hell does that mean? You get a subpoena, you go to court. Chief Fuda seems confident that this will proceed to trial as he is emphatic he will not drop the charges. Right now, he's become the 'judge' of the so-called obscenity statute and is standing in the shoes of the 'prosecutor.' It seems to me that the use of a 'jury' is a minor formality that he's trying to manipulate to his advantage.
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