Outmaneuvered!

In short, I just lost my seatbelt ticket case.  That's a shame.

If you've read the previous posts; you know that I argued that the law I was charged with only applied to adults (over the age of 16).  Since my passenger was never identified; I could not be guilty of the offense.

Unfortunately, the state had a surprise for me.  I was *not* charged with a crime.  I was charged with a *violation*.  A violation is not a criminal offense; only civil.  That is deadly important.

With a civil matter, only 51% proof is required for a guilty verdict.  Only "more likely than not" will achieve a guilty verdict.  That's just what happened.

Based on the evidence, the judge said that I would beat a criminal conviction any day of the week.  Unfortunately, for me, this was a civil matter.  Since it was more likely than not that my passenger did not wear a seatbelt; and it was more-likely-than-not that he was an adult; I ended up having to pay the fine.

Actually, losing has not upset me all that much; as they outmaneuvered me.

Not to mention that I wasted enough of the state's time that they couldn't have made a profit on my ticket...