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Lawson, MO, bicyclist convicted for "pushing bicycle"
Ed Chasteen, a cyclist with multiple sclerosis, was charged with
"pushing a bicycle" in Lawson, Missouri, population 2300, in an area where bicycle travel is prohibited both on the street and the adjacent sidewalks of the business district. Local law forbids even pushing a bike. The judge had taken Ed's case under advisement to study the issues. We just found out yesterday that the verdict came back "guilty". Below is Ed's own version of the story. Below that, contact info for Lawson city officials and links to background info. --- When Law Loses Its Authority By Ed Chasteen When civil authority arbitrarily enforces its laws, those laws loose their claim to justice. When I was allowed for 14 years to ride my bicycle on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lawson and then one morning was told by the Chief of Police that it was illegal under a city ordinance on the books for 34 years, I became a victim of injustice. When the city prosecutor refused to prosecute the ticket I was given and was fired by the mayor and city council, justice was denied. When the new city prosecutor and the judge employed by the city said I was guilty, injustice was done. This is the language of Lawson's city ordinances under which I was given a ticket for "pushing a bicycle" in August 2004: SECTION 225.020: BICYCLE REGULATIONS A That no person shall be permitted to push or ride a bicycle on the sidewalks or streets of Pennsylvania Avenue from fifth Street to the Santa Fe railway tracks. B That any bicycles on the streets after the street lights are turned on in the evening, must be equipped with lights. C That any parent found guilty of permitting any of the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined an amount not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00). Ord. No. KK169-3,7-7-70 I fist rode my bicycle up Pennsylvania Avenue in the summer of 1990. If I had been stopped by the police on this ride and told that I was doing something illegal, I would not have done it again. If I had been told at anytime over the next few months, I would have stopped and made no complaint. But when after 14 years I was told, my sense of justice was offended. When I was allowed for 14 years to violate a law that had been on the books for 20 years when I first rode into town, that law lost its moral and legal authority. When law is enforced arbitrarily, it ceases to be law and becomes a tool used by those in authority to maintain their power. If law does not apply all the time to all the people, if it is not enforced every time its violation is known, then we must cease to call it law and know it by what it has become. When I hear that some of my friends in Lawson are verbally abused because I protest the arbitrary application of law, I am heartsick and sad. I want to give up. But I cannot quite bring myself to surrender. If I lose respect for myself, how can I expect others to respect the notions of justice I hold dear? The heart of my objection to the charge against me is that the 14-year failure to enforce the law rendered its eventual enforcement immoral and unjust. But I also have lesser objections. For one, there are no railway tracks that cross Pennsylvania Avenue. So it is not possible to know where bicycles are prohibited. Secondly, the only penalty called for is that the parent of the offending party be fined. My 91-year old mother has a second floor walk up in a Corpus Christi, Texas condo. No elevator. She has a new car. She's never home when I call her. She holds numerous offices in various lodges and churches. According to the ordinance I've been found guilty of violating, she is liable for the $75.00 fine and court costs I have been assessed. She has a will of iron and could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. I doubt she would pay the fine. The amount of money I have been asked to pay is small. Why not pay it and move on? Against all the troubles and injustice in the world, a fine for "pushing a bicycle" hardly registers. When I was a boy in Texas in the 1950s, Kitty Kallen had a hit song called, "Little Things Mean Alot." She was on to more than she likely knew. Mighty canyons have their origin in single drops of water. Over time the steady drip of single drops erode the earth. So do single laws misapplied. Having said all this and having now talked to my wife and my bike riding friends, I have decided to pay the $97.50. I will not in the near future ride to Lawson. More friendly places beckon. What the mayor and the police chief have won I'm not sure. But they did win. My hat's off to them. --- Ed's email is hatebuster [at] aol.com Contact info for Lawson city officials: John Tracy, City Manager City of Lawson PO Box 185 Lawson, MO 64062 Phone: 816-580-3217 Fax: 816-296-4013 Email: lawsoncityclerk [at] aol.com George Green, Mayor City of Lawson PO Box 185 Lawson, MO 64062 More info about the case: http://www.mobikefed.org/2005/01/cyc...sclerosis.html http://www.mobikefed.org/2005/01/nat...-story-on.html --- --Brent brent [at] brenthugh.com |
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#2
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He violated the law plain and simple
When civil authority arbitrarily enforces its laws, those laws loose their claim to justice. When I was allowed for 14 years to ride my bicycle on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lawson and then one morning was told by the Chief of Police that it was illegal under a city ordinance on the books for 34 years, I became a victim of injustice It doesn't matter if they didn't enforce it for 14 years, my guess is many cops didn't know the law existed wrote in message oups.com... Ed Chasteen, a cyclist with multiple sclerosis, was charged with "pushing a bicycle" in Lawson, Missouri, population 2300, in an area where bicycle travel is prohibited both on the street and the adjacent sidewalks of the business district. Local law forbids even pushing a bike. The judge had taken Ed's case under advisement to study the issues. We just found out yesterday that the verdict came back "guilty". Below is Ed's own version of the story. Below that, contact info for Lawson city officials and links to background info. --- When Law Loses Its Authority By Ed Chasteen When civil authority arbitrarily enforces its laws, those laws loose their claim to justice. When I was allowed for 14 years to ride my bicycle on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lawson and then one morning was told by the Chief of Police that it was illegal under a city ordinance on the books for 34 years, I became a victim of injustice. When the city prosecutor refused to prosecute the ticket I was given and was fired by the mayor and city council, justice was denied. When the new city prosecutor and the judge employed by the city said I was guilty, injustice was done. This is the language of Lawson's city ordinances under which I was given a ticket for "pushing a bicycle" in August 2004: SECTION 225.020: BICYCLE REGULATIONS A That no person shall be permitted to push or ride a bicycle on the sidewalks or streets of Pennsylvania Avenue from fifth Street to the Santa Fe railway tracks. B That any bicycles on the streets after the street lights are turned on in the evening, must be equipped with lights. C That any parent found guilty of permitting any of the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined an amount not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00). Ord. No. KK169-3,7-7-70 I fist rode my bicycle up Pennsylvania Avenue in the summer of 1990. If I had been stopped by the police on this ride and told that I was doing something illegal, I would not have done it again. If I had been told at anytime over the next few months, I would have stopped and made no complaint. But when after 14 years I was told, my sense of justice was offended. When I was allowed for 14 years to violate a law that had been on the books for 20 years when I first rode into town, that law lost its moral and legal authority. When law is enforced arbitrarily, it ceases to be law and becomes a tool used by those in authority to maintain their power. If law does not apply all the time to all the people, if it is not enforced every time its violation is known, then we must cease to call it law and know it by what it has become. When I hear that some of my friends in Lawson are verbally abused because I protest the arbitrary application of law, I am heartsick and sad. I want to give up. But I cannot quite bring myself to surrender. If I lose respect for myself, how can I expect others to respect the notions of justice I hold dear? The heart of my objection to the charge against me is that the 14-year failure to enforce the law rendered its eventual enforcement immoral and unjust. But I also have lesser objections. For one, there are no railway tracks that cross Pennsylvania Avenue. So it is not possible to know where bicycles are prohibited. Secondly, the only penalty called for is that the parent of the offending party be fined. My 91-year old mother has a second floor walk up in a Corpus Christi, Texas condo. No elevator. She has a new car. She's never home when I call her. She holds numerous offices in various lodges and churches. According to the ordinance I've been found guilty of violating, she is liable for the $75.00 fine and court costs I have been assessed. She has a will of iron and could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. I doubt she would pay the fine. The amount of money I have been asked to pay is small. Why not pay it and move on? Against all the troubles and injustice in the world, a fine for "pushing a bicycle" hardly registers. When I was a boy in Texas in the 1950s, Kitty Kallen had a hit song called, "Little Things Mean Alot." She was on to more than she likely knew. Mighty canyons have their origin in single drops of water. Over time the steady drip of single drops erode the earth. So do single laws misapplied. Having said all this and having now talked to my wife and my bike riding friends, I have decided to pay the $97.50. I will not in the near future ride to Lawson. More friendly places beckon. What the mayor and the police chief have won I'm not sure. But they did win. My hat's off to them. --- Ed's email is hatebuster [at] aol.com Contact info for Lawson city officials: John Tracy, City Manager City of Lawson PO Box 185 Lawson, MO 64062 Phone: 816-580-3217 Fax: 816-296-4013 Email: lawsoncityclerk [at] aol.com George Green, Mayor City of Lawson PO Box 185 Lawson, MO 64062 More info about the case: http://www.mobikefed.org/2005/01/cyc...sclerosis.html http://www.mobikefed.org/2005/01/nat...-story-on.html --- --Brent brent [at] brenthugh.com |
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wrote in message oups.com... Ed Chasteen, a cyclist with multiple sclerosis, was charged with "pushing a bicycle" in Lawson, Missouri, population 2300, in an area where bicycle travel is prohibited both on the street and the adjacent sidewalks of the business district. Local law forbids even pushing a bike. The judge had taken Ed's case under advisement to study the issues. We just found out yesterday that the verdict came back "guilty". Below is Ed's own version of the story. Below that, contact info for Lawson city officials and links to background info. --- snip details of offense and verdict My 91-year old mother has a second floor walk up in a Corpus Christi, Texas condo. No elevator. She has a new car. She's never home when I call her. She holds numerous offices in various lodges and churches. According to the ordinance I've been found guilty of violating, she is liable for the $75.00 fine and court costs I have been assessed. She has a will of iron and could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. I doubt she would pay the fine. Obviously Ed needs to get this 91 year old mother of his to come up from Corpus Christi and take care of those Missouri *******s who screwed him over. skip |
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Uh, they would know the same way bicyclists are supposed to know,
namely a big sign saying "no bicycles". I'll grant you that most people, and this might include police, too, would assume this means, "don't ride your bicycle on the sidewalk", especially since the signs are posted near the sidewalk and prohibition on riding bicycles on sidewalks in a business district is quite common. --Brent brent [at] brenthugh.com |
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