Drivers’ ‘zombie’ traffic tickets rise up decades later

[dmcowen674]

4-22-2014

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews...ets-rise-up-decades-later-194111708.html?vp=1

Drivers’ ‘zombie’ traffic tickets rise up decades later



Drivers across New York state are being slapped with fines for decades-old traffic citations and are in danger of losing their licenses. The ‘zombie’ traffic tickets rise back up after years because, as WIVB News 4 reports, there is no time limit for state officials to collect the fines.


While some cases are tickets that were never paid, other motorists say that the citation fines were taken care of years ago when they were originally issued.


Proving decades-old cases like Mr. Fox’s may be hard, according to Williamsville, New York attorney Steve Boyd. “The very bank the check may have been written on may not exist anymore,” explained Boyd. “Most people are supposed to keep records for seven years, so if you’re talking 20 years, it’s going to be really difficult for anyone to prove it.”

 

[dmcowen674]

The old rule of keeping paperwork for seven years is certainly dead.

You have to keep all documentation from birth to death now.

 

[Knowing]

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies.../dp/1594035229

Boston civil-liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate calls his new book "Three Felonies a Day," referring to the number of crimes he estimates the average American now unwittingly commits because of vague laws. New technology adds its own complexity, making innocent activity potentially criminal.

If the government didn't want people to be guilty of nebulous crimes they may or may not have committed decades ago they wouldn't be trying to prosecute.

Thus the questions become: "Why?" and "Cui bono?"