In this week’s TheNewspaper.com Roundup!
-Road Salt-Expensive for Car Owners–
-Strip Search over fine overturned in NJ–
-Supreme Court Justice slams CAF–
Friday, March 10, 2017
Road Salt Causes $3 Billion In Vehicle Damage
AAA, one of the nation’s largest automobile insurance companies, raised alarms last month about the overuse of salt and de-icing chemicals used on roads during winter. The brine solution used to treat roads in advance of a snow or ice storm or the road salt used once the bad weather hits accelerates vehicle corrosion.
Thursday, March 9, 2017
New Jersey Court Overturns Strip Search Over $6.50 Traffic Fine
Can police strip search a motorist over an unpaid $6.50 traffic ticket? The New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division said last week that such conduct is unconstitutional. A three-judge panel considered the case of Robert L. Evans, who was subjected to a search on January 4, 2012, after a Vineland police officer saw Evans pulling into, and then out of, a parking spot at the Days Inn.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Supreme Court Justice Slams Civil Forfeiture
The idea that the government can take away someone’s car or cash without due process offends at least one member of the US Supreme Court. In a statement Monday, Justice Clarence Thomas called on his colleagues to revisit civil asset forfeiture, the process that allows prosecutors to go after assets allegedly linked in some way to a crime. The justice argued the system has been widely abused.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Ex-Redflex VP Seeks $2 Million Bounty From Corruption Settlement
Aaron M. Rosenberg encouraged local officials to use red-light cameras and speed cameras by distributing bribes in a dozen states. On Wednesday, he will appear in the Dirksen Federal Court Building before Judge John J. Tharp Jr to demand a cut of the $20 million settlement his former employer, Redflex Traffic Systems, made with Chicago, Illinois for violating the city’s ethics code.
Monday, March 6, 2017
France, The Netherlands, UK: Speed Camera Vigilantes Make A Statement
In Lot-et-Garonne, France, vigilantes used speed cameras to make a political statement last week Tuesday. The devices were covered with color posters depicting French agriculture minister Stephane Le Foll, member of the Socialist Party, as a clown. According to Sud Ouest, the posters carried the headline: “The new spectacle of the Circus Le Foll.” The group Les Canards En Colere (angry ducks) took credit, claiming their motivation was to deprive the government of revenue as payback for its treatment of out-of-work farmers.
