In this case, both a cop and a judge managed to behave badly in a single episode.
We meet our hero and protagonist, Tim Panagis, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It’s a Sunday morning, and he’s out for his group cycling ride. The group is riding in pairs, two by two. This is exactly what the law allows. (MCL 257.660b).
Along comes a state trooper. The trooper tells the group of cyclists to ride single file. Even though they don’t have to, they comply. Mr Panagis then passes the others and rides to the front of the pack. Again, Michigan law allows him to do just that. (MCL 257.660a.)
At this point the trooper loses it. He stops the group of cyclists, get out of his car and launches a tirade until he is as blue in the face as his law-enforcement vehicle.
You can watch the rude behavior go down here: (Rude is the polite synonym of the word I really wanted to use.)
The trooper cites Mr. Panagis with impeding traffic. (MCL 257.676b)
Mr. Panagis fights the citation. He arrives at his first court date. There, the prosecutor tells him that if he fights the citation, they’ll charge his cyclist friends with impeding traffic, too. Undeterred, Mr. Panagis insists on those pesky constitutional rights and proceeds to a hearing. The judge orders him to pay the ticket.
Mr. Panagis appeals to the circuit court. There, the judge begins the hearing not by affirming Mr. Panagis’ constitutional right to appeal, but by sneering, “Who appeals a civil infraction?” The judge went even further to scoff at Mr. Panagis for submitting a “$10,000 brief for a $200 citation.” (I’m sorry, is that a judge suggesting that appeal rights ought to be cost prohibitive?)
Ultimately, after listening to the evidence, the appeals judge reached the correct conclusion – that Mr. Panagis didn’t do anything wrong. Ticket dismissed.
Here in Northern Michigan, we have lots of cycling enthusiasts. When they follow the rules of the road, they ought to be treated with courtesy and respect by law enforcement officers.
This trooper like pulls down approximately $62,000 per year, health insurance, and a cozy pension, all thanks to Michigan taxpayers. On this Halloween, that’s really something scary.