Win one for the speeders! Judge: 128mph NOT wreckless!!!

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. - Speeding is not necessarily reckless, even at 128 mph, a judge ruled in the case of a motorcyclist who tried to flee from state troopers.

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With some reluctance, County Judge John Steinheider ruled last week that Jacob H. Carman, 20, was not guilty of reckless driving on Sept. 5, when he was spotted by a trooper who then chased him at the top speed of his cruiser's odometer — 128 mph.

"As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving," the judge told Carman on Friday. "If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction. If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would've went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you."

Otoe County prosecutor David Partsch acknowledged that Carman could have been charged with speeding but, "We felt that the manner in which he was operating the motorcycle was reckless."

Carman didn't get off entirely. He was fined $300 for expired tags and other violations.

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Thank you Judge! I am glad to see his reasoning behind the ruling!

It reminds me of the many stories friends have told me of getting pulled over for going 80+mph in a 70mph zone on a DESERTED stretch of road where the cop gives them a ticket for speeding AND wreckless operation.

Hopefully this deters officers in the future from tacking on frivolous charges.

Justice!


And before anybody comes in and whines about their family being on the road and people weaving in and out of traffic, those circumstances do not apply to this type of charge(i.e., given when nobody else is around whatsoever).

 

Hey, Judge nor police though 120mph in a Volvo was wreckless.....

 

You obviously don't understand the point to modern "society":

Success is evil, because it makes all the "normal" people feel bad.

The charge is against "wreckless driving".

The law that gives CAFE and safety waivers to oversized SUVs and fills the roads with blind merges isn't actually working for your safety, you know.

You're not supposed to be able to drive at 70 mph without a wreck. You're supposed to trash your vehicle at 10 mph.

Competence is elitist.

 

Can't resist!!

Wreck-less driving? You be charged if no one had a wreck? Do you get off if someone DOES pile it up? It all sounds legally reckless to me.

 

QUICK QUESTION... What were the other violations??? Any violations related to the operation of the motorcycle, like speeding or excessive speed?? Was evading the Police a charge?? Engaging Police in pursuit?? Just curious... This will still cost the kid quite a bit of $$$ when it's all said and done. But to him it is a victory only because it could have been a much worse outcome.

 

Uh, only in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

 

I'm pack'en up and moving to Nebraska!

 

Pete: you gotta exceed the limit first!

--Dan

 

And we know from the "slowest" Ferrari thread that will take him around 8 seconds. If ever!

 

Oh ****, Tillman is gonna laugh his ass off when he sees this post, we already had one spat over this very mistake! DAMN IT!

 

Ryan, this ruling came down from the U.S. Supreme Court, I don't know what you are talking about

Ok ok, maybe not!

 

if I ever get a similar ticket could I sight this as case law as a way to get out of it if similar circumstances apply???

 

License plate/registration fees run pretty high up in that part of the country. (Maybe that's why the guy had expired plates to begin with!)

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85226&highlight=nebraska

 

Speeding does NOT constitute reckless driving!!! Totally seperate charge and very hard to prove. Negligent is much easier to prove.