Is this Legal/Ethical?

[MasterOfWorlds]

First off, there is a big difference between legality and being ethical. While there is some overlap, just because something is legal doesn't make it ethcal and visa versa.

Second, I think this cop is a dick for doing that. It was three minutes. Especially if the cop was following him and he didn't break any traffic laws in the process of heading home.

Cops are allowed to follow people if they think that they are likely to break the law, for example, the person may be driving eratically for a little bit, but may straighten out, but the cop follows them for a bit to see if they do anything else strange.

I don't know the whole story here though. I don't know what the laws regarding 16 year old drivers and what times they may and may not drive are. I remember driving home between 12AM and 1AM plenty of times when I was 17, but then, I drive carefully and made sure not to do anything stupid if I saw cops around. I think the cop should have had a bit of a heart, but he was technically enforcing the law.

However, since I see that you live in the US like myself, and keep in mind that laws like this can vary from state to state, so Florida may not have had the curfew. The only curfew I know of regarding driving time is in regards to people with permits.

Anyway, your neighbor can fight the ticket. Bring it to court and have them explain things to the judge. Be prepared for a fight though, because cops hate being wrong. I guess it depends on if you think it's worth that cop possibly having a grudge against you or having your license. I'd fight it, but mostly because the cop needs to learn to have a heart, especially over three minutes. Thirty, I could understand.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

WTF is this curfew?

They don't have that in England. That's beyond ridiculous. Setting a curfew for drivers just because of their age. And a 2 year ban for 3 minutes over it is exceedingly harsh. I don't think anyone could justify that to me.

Personally. I'd be so pissed off, I'd likely follow the cop to his house and curl out a steamer on his doorstep.

Yes, there is no curfew here in England but 16 year olds cannot get a full license here either.

 

[awmperry]

Police in many jurisdictions have "discretion", meaning that they can choose to ignore minor infractions. Most officers I know would, if they're satisfied that the person has made a reasonable attempt to comply with the conditions, choose to use their discretion and let them off.

Personally, I don't think 16 is old enough to drive (on the open road; they should get to start learning on safe areas); I'm not even happy about 17-year-olds getting licenced in the UK. But if they're trusted to drive at all, why not trust them to get on with it? So what's the point of the curfew?

Anyway, yeah. Legally precise, but excessive, picky and unnecessary.

 

[sunburst]

For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to assume your friend was driving like a dumbass thus proving that he's a danger to himself and others. When he pulled up to his house, the cop found he was also under age and chose to give him the most appropriate punishment available out of all the laws he had broken which is the 2 year license suspension for breaking curfew. That would be a responsible use of discretion.

 

[bassdrum]

What the cop did was a bit of a dick move, and it's kind of obnoxious, but there's nothing illegal on unethical about it. Your neighbor broke curfew, even if only by a few minutes, and so the cop had every right to call him on it. I can't say that I agree with the cop that a three minute infraction is worth suspending a license over, but it's entirely his call (your neighbor did technically break the law, after all).

 

[-Samurai-]

It's the end of the year. Most Police Departments haven't met their ticket quota, so they start acting like pricks.

He should have let the kid go. Three minutes is nothing, and the officer certainly has better things to do with his time. I'm sure if the kid challenged it, he would win.

How is it that we can trust 16 year olds behind the wheel of a speeding metal death machine that weighs tons, but we can't trust them to be outside after midnight? The world is a fickle thing.

 

[zombie711]

the cop was right but really 3 minutes is kinda pushy

 

[willsham45]

You should have some lee way in that sort of situation not everyone's clock is right but curfew always sucks where has curfew.

 

[Baldry]

Cop was in the right.

Neighbor was in the wrong.

This. Still a bit of a dick move on behalf of the cop.

 

[Thedarkness77]

i do think this was uncalled for. 2 years is a serious long time for 3 mins, and this curfew i have never heard of before. Why was the cop following him home in the first place?

 

[Demgar]

"To Protect and Serve"

This accomplishes neither.

 

[ChaoticLegion]

I would refer you to the phrase "Dura lex sed lex" - The law is hard, but it is the law.

 

[Sodoff]

Curfew?

Where do you live? :O

 

[Unesh52]

To the people saying it's ethical because the cop's just following the letter of the law, haven't you ever been late to class? Yes, there's a punishment for that, but it's not freaking summer school. And even if you're a good student who does his best to get to class on time, you've probably lost track of time, or misjudged how long you'd be in the bathroom, or just goofed off too long and been late. How would you feel if that minor, anomalous slip up cost you your entire summer? Or if you had to go to correctional school over it? The issue of ethics here comes in the disproportion between the scale of the offense and that of the punishment. The guy was barely within the scope of the statute and ostensibly trying to respect it. Unless he's a repeat offender, I think he should've just gotten a warning, or a few weeks suspension at very worst.

I just can't see the justice in "making an example" out of an almost completely innocent person.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

WTF is this curfew?

Most states have laws that require anyone under the age of 18 to not drive after midnight.

 

[Unesh52]

The reason why our society is so bad right now is because we have completely removed the concept of common sense.

...The common sense that you should be in way before curfew, or the common sense that you shouldn't take someone's driver's license away when they're clearly not a danger, despite the letter of the law?

Or were you just saying?

 

[ParkourMcGhee]

I'm seriously disturbed by the amount of Lawfulness in this thread - considering half the people are marijuana users.

3 minutes past can't be deduced correctly! Every watch has a margin of error of 5 minutes! It's unfair to do this to someone.

 

[Beliyal]

Well, according to the law and the curfew, it is legal, but I personally think it's a bit extreme to do that to a young driver. Maybe he did head home in time, but with traffic, you never know what obstacle are you going to run into that will prolong your journey. Maybe he got held at traffic lights, or by stopping for pedestrians, or by not speeding, or by being careful... So, let's punish him for obeying all those, more important, laws and being late for 3 minutes. It would be different if he got home 2 hours late, but it's clear that he was trying to get home in time. I would personally rather be late even 15 minutes, but drive carefully (and my parents would agree). And two years is a bit harsh; he'll probably lose his driving skills and will need extra time later to get those skills back. Unless you live in a impossibly law-obeying town, I believe there are far more important things a police should be doing than severely punishing a kid for being late for 3 minutes. Though, yeah; it is legal nonetheless. But hey, it is also legal for police to shoot people, but they are not going to do it if they can avoid it :/

 

[Mortons4ck]

Legal? Yes.
Dick move? Oh yeah.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

Obivious law is law.

Just because it's 2-3 minuites doesn't mean you've escaped, you've still breached the curfew.