Cooked Crack Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Quote Reginald Burks doesn’t want to say, “I’m sorry.” Sure, the 39-year-old father and aircraft mechanic said some harsh things to the officer who pulled him over. But even now, almost six months later, Burks said he had the right to speak his mind. Court officials in the small town of Ozark in southeast Alabama don’t agree. Ozark Municipal Court Judge Nicholas Bull ordered Burks to apologize in writing to the officer. Either that or face 10 to 30 days in jail. “What am I going to do? I’m going to jail,” Burks told AL.com. “I ain’t writing no letter. I can’t do it. I don’t see where it’s legal for him to do that.” Quote The trouble started with a traffic stop on Dec. 13, 2023. Burks, who lives in nearby Skipperville, was taking his kids to school when police pulled him over for speeding. The officer said his radar gun was broken, so he used cruise control to estimate the speed, Burks said. “And I told him he was full of crap because there’s no way that he clocked my speed by cruise control,” Burks said. Things went downhill from there. The officer gave Burks the ticket, and then stood in front of his car, Burks said, forcing the driver to back up and go around him. “I said, ‘Get your ass out of the way so I can take my kids to school,’” Burks said. “My daughter’s like, ‘Daddy you cursed.’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry boo.’” Quote Burks is set to go back to court on June 4 for a hearing in the case. That is when he expects to go to jail. He has already arranged with his mother and his children’s mother to take care of them in his absence. His attorney, David Harrison, said in an interview with WTVY that Burks might file a lawsuit in the case. That’s unlikely to happen before his hearing. “If I did something to offend him or bodily harm him in any way, I would apologize,” Burks said. “But I didn’t do anything to this officer besides curse. And there’s no law saying that I can’t curse or speak my mind.” https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/alabama-driver-ordered-to-say-sorry-or-face-jail-for-telling-officer-get-your-ass-out-of-the-way.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 I think my guy is in line for a nice payday if they jail him. I guess I'd like to see the law that they are charging him under, but this sure seems like a First Amendment issue. But, obviously it's Alabama, so black people can't say stuff like that. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 37 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said: I think my guy is in line for a nice payday if they jail him. I guess I'd like to see the law that they are charging him under, but this sure seems like a First Amendment issue. But, obviously it's Alabama, so black people can't say stuff like that. Hey. He didn't get shot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 1 hour ago, PleaseBlitz said: I think my guy is in line for a nice payday if they jail him. I guess I'd like to see the law that they are charging him under, but this sure seems like a First Amendment issue. But, obviously it's Alabama, so black people can't say stuff like that. Reminds me of this: https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/post/court-rules-first-amendment-protects-motorist-who-gave-the-middle-finger-to-police-officer/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 The judge issued the punishment in court. The driver was never charged with anything related such as disorderly conduct. Are judges allowed to make **** up in court and punish a defendant for a bad haircut? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, Corcaigh said: The judge issued the punishment in court. The driver was never charged with anything related such as disorderly conduct. Are judges allowed to make **** up in court and punish a defendant for a bad haircut? Seems to me a lot of (too many?) bad lawyers become bad judges. But maybe PB can correct me on that. Edited May 13 by The Evil Genius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 6 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said: Seems to me a lot of (too many?) bad lawyers become bad judges. But maybe PB can correct me on that. I generally hold the courts in pretty high regard, but I agree that too many bad lawyers become bad judges. 1 hour ago, Renegade7 said: Reminds me of this: https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/post/court-rules-first-amendment-protects-motorist-who-gave-the-middle-finger-to-police-officer/ Reminds me of this: If you don't recognize, this person, Juli Briskman, was riding her bike near Trump's NOVA golf course when his motorcade drove by and she gave THE PRESIDENT the middle finger. And it's completely legal. And now she's on the Board of Supervisors for Loudoun County. https://www.loudoun.gov/2232/Algonkian-Supervisor-Juli-E-Briskman 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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