Swift Justice: New Appellate Judge Courts Trouble With Traffic Cops

[mahatmakanejeeves]

David Fahrenthold Retweeted:

A new federal appellate justice has no prior experience as a judge, but he’s no stranger to traffic courts, with at least 28 citations in 2 decades. https://www.wsj.com/articles/rush-to-judgment-new-appellate-justice-courts-trouble-with-traffic-cops-1539964281 … via @WSJ

Link to tweet

A-HED

Swift Justice: New Appellate Judge Courts Trouble With Traffic Cops

Ryan Nelson has racked up more than a dozen speeding tickets; “maybe he will bring a little bit of empathy to recidivists”

By James V. Grimaldi and Alexa Corse

https://twitter.com/jamesvgrimaldi
https://twitter.com/alexacorse

Oct. 19, 2018 11:51 a.m. ET

Ryan D. Nelson is a man in a hurry—really, in a hurry. ... It’s not just that Mr. Nelson, an Idaho attorney, has leapfrogged over the U.S. District Court bench to garner President Trump’s lifetime appointment to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.



Swift justice

Mr. Nelson also has been cited for speeding a dozen times over the past two decades—eight times in the past seven years in his home state of Idaho, where he worked as general counsel for a nutritional-supplements firm. ... Mr. Nelson has no prior experience as a judge, but he’s no stranger to traffic courts. Mr. Nelson has received at least 28 traffic citations over the past two decades, and was found or pleaded guilty in about two-thirds of those cases, paying more than $1,300 in fines, court records show—a far higher rate than most Idahoans and nationwide. ... He’s gotten tickets for speeding, disobeying traffic lights and signs, illegal turns, seat-belt violations, not carrying proof of insurance, skipping an auto inspection and not registering his vehicle. He’s been cited on his boat as well. In some cases, he fought the law and the law lost. ... After his confirmation hearing in July, Mr. Nelson didn’t respond to a question about the traffic and speeding tickets. Reached by telephone last month, Mr. Nelson referred questions to the Justice Department.
....

While living in Alexandria, Va., Mr. Nelson had several run-ins with local traffic cops. In October 2003, he was driving a 1995 Ford station wagon not far from his home after radar tracked him going 50 mph, double the posted 25 mph speed limit. He also got a ticket for driving on an expired driver’s license. ... Two days later, Mr. Nelson obtained a new driver’s license, according to a court filing. ... But as he returned from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Mr. Nelson got nabbed again, going 45 mph in the same 25 mph residential zone. ... Because Mr. Nelson was traveling more than 15 mph over the speed limit, he was charged with reckless driving as well, in accordance with Virginia law. ... After conviction, Mr. Nelson moved to take both tickets to trial, and the prosecutor agreed to dismiss one of the two.

During a boating excursion on Lake Anna, Va., in May 2008, Mr. Nelson received tickets for failing to have enough life jackets on his 18-foot Bayliner recreational boat and for failing to register his boat, court records show. He initially was found guilty on both, but appealed the latter and that charge was dropped. ... Retired Idaho Magistrate Judge Stephen J. Clark handled two tickets involving Mr. Nelson in 2010 and 2011, including one where Mr. Nelson was cited for going 77 mph in a 35 mph zone in Idaho Falls. ... Said Judge Clark: “You hope the person who is wearing the robe is going to follow the law.”
....

[delisen]

1. Wonder what he did or promised to do as appeals court judge nt

[justhanginon]

2. So now republicans are appointing scofflaws to the appellate court!

And respect for the judiciary in this country falls another few notches. There is nothing in the government that this walking piece of orange feces has not degraded in some manner.