Richard Keyt, Author at KEYTLaw's Blog

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New York Times Upset Arizona Closed Highway Rest Stops Due to No Money

They say never pick a fight with somebody that buys ink by the barrel. Whoa Nelly, watch out because the New York Times is mad that the $100 million in the red Arizona Department of Transportation closed thirteen of eighteen highway rest stops in Arizona. Recently more that $500 million was diverted from ADOT to the State of Arizona’s general fund to help with Arizona’s fiscal crisis. In addition to the government not understanding economics, the people have the same problem. One resident thinks ADOT closed the rest stops because the ADOT lackeys of the state legislature are laying the road for the legislature to increase taxes. The NYT article contains this sobering statement:

“Arizona has the largest budget gap in the country when measured as a percentage of its overall budget”

The cost to operate each rest stop is approximately $300,000 a year, which is $822 a day. One member of the Arizona legislature says the legislature is considering licensing each rest stop to businesses that will maintain the stops in return for being allowed to sell products to the public. You’d think that a convenience store would jump at the opportunity to be the sole source of food, beverages and other grab and go items at each rest stop.

Police Say Speed & Red-light Cameras Save Lives & Lose Money

Mesa, Arizona, installed thirteen speed cameras and three red-light cameras in 1996. After three years the program was $10,000 in the red. Being a governmental agency, Mesa did not let a small thing like losing money stop it from expanding the program so that taxpayers could lose more money. Mesa had net losses of $281,000 in 2007, $389,307 in 2008 and $436,797 in 2009. Do you see a trend? The City of Mesa doesn’t. That’s $1,107,104 the last three years. Mesa now has 36 red-light cameras and six speed radars. Police say the cameras have reduced the number of accidents and traffic deaths. The city’s contract with the camera provider, American Traffic Solutions, expires in 2012.

Law Professor With Too Much Free Time Writes Scholarly Law Review Article on Middle Finger Law

Finally we have a law review article about a legal issue that might interest lay people. Ira P. Robbins, the Barnard T. Welsh Scholar and a Professor of Law and Justice, at the Washington College of Law of American University published an article in the University of California, Davis Law Review called “Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger and the Law.” The 83 page article contains everything you wanted to know and more about the legalities of flipping the bird. I cannot wait until the movie comes out. The preamble to the article says:

“a number of recent cases demonstrate that those who use the middle finger in public run the risk of being stopped, arrested, prosecuted, fined, and even incarcerated under disorderly conduct or breach-of-peace statutes and ordinances. . . . the pursuit of criminal sanctions for use of the middle finger infringes on First Amendment rights, violates fundamental principles of criminal justice, wastes valuable judicial resources, and defies good sense.”

I learn something new everyday. I’ve been worried about the loss of freedom caused by the food police, the toy police, the noise police, the clown mask police, the elementary school sexual harassment police, the snowball police, the elementary school no-touching the opposite sex police, the elementary school doodling police, the light rail police, the elementary school science project police, the advertising police and just today the billboard police. I did not realize that our freedom is also being threatened by the middle finger police.

Billboard Police Arrest Perp Who Put Ad on a Building

Apparently there is a major new crime wave in the Los Angeles area, but fear not, the billboard police are on it. Kayvan Setareh was arrested and held on $1 million bail for putting up a movie advertisement on an eight story building. I wonder what his bail would have been if he were accused of a more serious crime involving death or injury? The sign perp is accused of violating three City of Los Angeles misdemeanors, two of which are violations of the city sign code. After filing a lawsuit against more than twelve other brazen billboard advertisers, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich warned that “The days of lax and inconsistent enforcement of billboard and outdoor advertising laws in this city are over.”

The Church Bell Tolls for Phoenix

In 2009 Rick Painter, Bishop of the Phoenix, Cathedral of Christ the King was charged with disturbing the peace and given a 10-day suspended jail sentence and three years probation for two counts. His crime – he caused the church’s bells to ring 13 times a day. St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish of Phoenix and First Christian Church of Phoenix joined Christ the King and sued in federal court to over turn the ruling. Last week Judge Susan Bolton ruled that Phoenix could not prevent the church from tolling its bells because the bell ringing is “sound generated in the course of religious expression.” Translation: when the church rings it’s bells it is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Given the severe budget deficit Phoenix now has, I wonder how much time and money the Phoenix sound police has spent to date protecting the public from church bells? Will Phoenix waste more precious resources by appealing the decision?

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