Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/605409
Law 101 Trucking by Jim C. Klepper - Attorney at Law 800-333-DRIVE www.interstatetrucker.com www.driverslegalplan.com 16 www.studentdriverplacement.com December '15 Affi rmative Defense My brother's son is in law school and told me that I should use an 'af- fi rmative defense' to the overweight ticket I received. Here is what hap- pened; I went over a bridge in a small town only to meet the local constable on the other side of the bridge who waived me over and put me on his portable scales. Yep, I was over- weight on his scales and was given a ticket for $830. Is the kid right about this affi rmative defense and if not what can I do? – John C., OK The defendant (you) would admit guilt to being overweight with an af- fi rmative defense but you can plead not guilty with a negating defense. Simply put the fi rst one is I did it but please don't punish me because I have an excuse, while the second one is I didn't do it and you can't prove I did. Let's look at both to determine which may work best for you. In any crime, and traffi c tickets are treated as crimes, the prosecutor must prove all the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt in order for you to be found guilty. You just do the prosecutor's job for him when you plead guilty, he then just asks the judge to punish you with either a fi ne or jail or both depending upon the crime so that is seldom a good option. Considering the affi rmative defense fi rst, you would need to admit your guilt but have an affi rmative defense to bring in additional facts or an expla- nation to justify your conduct. Some of the usual affi rmative defenses are; Mental Illness, self-defense, intoxica- tion, duress, mistake of fact or even entrapment. If you can convince the judge your actions were justifi ed then you may be exonerated or have your liability reduced. In your case an affi rmative defense could be you had an overweight permit allowing you to haul extra weight, or you were a utility vehicle and exempted by state statute during an emergency, or the bridge was not posted for a lesser weight than the highway you were on or the posting was not visible upon approaching the bridge. Of course you could allege entrapment where the offi cer sug- gested or ordered you to go over the bridge or you were following DETOUR signs or self-defense as if you went over the bridge to escape zombies hot on your tail. You could allege duress