Jason Brown may be only 36 but he has just racked up his 41st driving offense in operating a vehicle on a suspended license. That’s right, 41 times. This time he was pulled over after police said that he was driving erratically and they found marijuana in the car as well as heroin and cocaine on his person.
Brown from Long Island allegedly gave a false name at first but was soon in the books with what must be close to a record for such violations. He now faces charges of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, criminal impersonation, unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance. The concept of an “aggravated” unlicensed operation is a bit new to me but I suppose if there is such a thing it would occur sometime before a 41st arrest.
The case illustrates the difficulty in dealing with recidivists of such minor offenses. Society does not want to jail such individuals long-term for minor violations but there is clearly no deterrent for people like Brown in the existing punishment. (I am also curious when a license stops being “suspended” and someone like Brown simply has no license).
Bill, you are the only person I have seen who thinks that ANY person here said the guy was an illegal. The observation was that the guy simply was doing what over 8 million illegals are doing RIGHT NOW! Thanks for opening your mouth and removing ALL doubt about your intellect.
randyjet
As a firm advocate of ‘pay at the pump’ in cases that slip out of the perimeters of common responsibility, confiscate the car. If it is his car, then he takes the bus. If a friend loaned him the car then that will stop once it becomes publicized. No need to put him in jail. The only point here is driving privileges. If he doesn’t have a car then he can’t drive. If he wants to drive then he must follow the rules.
In California and other states for some time if not still, street racing was becoming a dangerous fad. Then confiscating the cars came into practice. I believe the practice was curtailed. Also opportunities were created for kids to safely race their cars, out on Highway 49, near Dead Man’s Curve.
just curious how everyone here decided this guy was an illegal?
on the drugs, some jail time may be due (although we all know what a loser the war on drugs has been) – but jail for driving without a license? this board always cracks me up.
As you might expect, many of the people I conduct surveillance on for insurance fraud are no accounts. It’s not unusual for the attorney who represents these plaintiffs on personal injury suits is also their criminal attorney. I often suspect some unholy alliance. I do background checks on subjects of my surveillance. I have followed hundreds of people over my career, driving, often fast and recklessly, who I know have no driver’s license. The problem is rampant.
randyjet – my coworkers with work visas came from far away places like Laos. It was very expensive of them to return home, and then they were stuck there for months while they renewed. They had to take months away from their US girlfriends or boyfriends, as well as their work, which made it very disruptive.
What boggles my mind is Obama making it easier for illegal aliens to come here and work, at a time when black unemployment is at 26%. And yet they voted for him overwhelmingly. That didn’t work out so well for them, did it?
Karen, There is already a bipartisan plan for immigration reform, it is called the Jordan commission on immigration which was a bipartisan unanimous recommendation one set up under Clinton. I FULLY support that reform. Barbara Jordan was an outstanding black, liberal, lesbian legislator who was such a respected an loved person in Texas that the redneck majority of that legislature not only carved out a Congressional district for her, but made her governor of Texas for a period when the Governor was out of state. She was also a fierce defender of the US Constitution who made her name during the Watergate hearings. There is NO person on Earth who doubted her passion she displayed there. Too bad her current successor does not share her passion and position on this subject of immigration. I hope that ALL who are concerned on this topic will go to the internet and learn about it.
Oh, and loitering laws should be abolished, since illegal aliens are allowed to break those laws and congregate in front of businesses, looking for day labor work. They drive those businesses out of business. And why bother getting licensed, bonded, and insured, and have work comp in a home improvement business? The illegal aliens crew have none of that, and undercut the bids of legitimate companies.
Nothing happens to the homeowners that hire day laborers, paying them in cash. People vote for higher minimum wage, regulations, and expensive business requirements like work comp, but then they hire illegal aliens who fail to follow each and every one. I guess it’s OK to vote for other people to spend more money, but not themselves?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/national/10depot.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Since we have so many rules that enable people to break the law and come here illegally, can we please have rules that enable us to cheat on our taxes?
Here are some examples in CA:
– Police are prohibited from turning over arrestees to ICE
– They passed a law granting illegal aliens the ability to get drivers license, which makes it even easier for people to break our immigration laws. Those who will not or cannot provide a real ID to DMV will be interviewed by a DMV employee to see if they qualify, whatever that means.
– Dem State Sen Ricardo Lara proposed the inevitable Health for All Act (which has stalled), which would allow illegal aliens Medicaid or Insurance exchange coverage.
– Dem Gov Jerry Brown signed a law that provides financial aid to illegal aliens attending college (taking this aid away from legal residents.)
– Illegal aliens often work on a cash basis, and pay no taxes. Otherwise, they steal someone’s identity to get a SSN.
http://nation.time.com/2014/02/18/undocumented-immigrants-could-get-health-insurance-in-california/
Honestly, if we’re going to pass laws that enable people to break federal laws, then to be fair, similar laws should be passed that will allow us to live here without paying taxes, but still get benefits. If the illegal aliens are allowed to do it, then we all should be allowed to as well. We should all be granted the rights and privileges to break the law that illegal aliens enjoy.
Our politicians should pass a bill! Let’s call it the Equality for All Bill!
randyjet – those who do not live in border states, or anywhere with a high illegal alien population, have absolutely NO IDEA about the negative consequences of the US being a de facto “region” instead of a “nation.”
The very reason why CA requires an “uninsured driver” clause in our insurance is because illegal aliens drive without insurance. So that drives the cost of all of the rest of our insurance up so we can continue to enable them to do so.
I support legal immigration but passionately oppose illegal immigration.
Make it a smoother process to immigrate here legally, and remove the requirement to return to the home country during renewal of a work visa. And make it exponentially more difficult to get across the border and work here illegally. Make the right choice easier and the wrong choice harder.
Honestly, why do otherwise rational people believe that it’s somehow rude, unfair, or racist to expect Mexican immigrants to follow our laws, when poor people from around the world immigrate here legally every single day?
Karen, I work for a Mexican affiliated company and we have a number of Mexican nationals who work here legally and every six months or so, they go back to get renewals. I am ALL in favor of that provision since it makes it harder to hire foreign workers over US ones. It is no hardship for them since we are on the border, but a company further away, it will be a factor.
The immigration system is only broken in that it is not enforced. Admitting over one MILLION LEGAL immigrants/yr is not a broken system. It is a massive functioning system. The last amnesty, which I was in favor of could not and would NOT handle even the estimated one million long term residents. They got over THREE million applicants who were NEVER screened at all because of the massive numbers. So just how will the DHS handle FIVE million illegals when the US could not handle one million last time? It is FAR easier to deport five million than to screen that number since all that deportation needs to know is, are they US citizens.
There are 40 million illegals in this country one of them is from Kenya and claims to be president.
Hop on the bus, Gus! Throw away the key, Lee!
Good for him. He obviously knows that driving is a right and not a bought permission from your master. We need more people like this IMHO.
Nope, hasn’t killed anybody yet so let him go. WTF?
Was he driving without insurance? were there any accidents that we could then point and say that he poses a legitimate danger to the public? Understand there are big spenders who always shout more jails, more bars and more guards. But I’d prefer maybe impounding the car before spending tens of thousands on jail.
Bill, The fact is that CA used to do impounding of illegals cars which had nothing at all. No licensed driver, NO ID, no registration, no inspection, no insurance and they changed that so that they simply get a ticket, which they never are called to account for since they give an alias. So forget about following the law in CA. ALL those citizens when stopped should simply claim they are illegals, give an alias, and false address, get a ticket, and forget about the ticket.
I recommend giving him a job cleaning Blackhawk helicopter parts in the U.A.E.
Laws are for chumps, apparently (i.e., middle class taxpayers).
new york vehicle and traffic law, article 20, section 511, defines “aggravated unlicensed operation” of a motor vehicle.
there is a stepped organization of degrees of offense, running from misdemeanor to E felony. third degree, a misdemeanor, includes knowing operation with a suspended or revoked license. second degree, also a misdemeanor, includes at least one prior third degree conviction within 18 months. first degree, an E felony, includes operation with a suspended or revoked license while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or at least ten prior lesser aggravated offenses.
the final parenthetical sentence of mr. turley’s article does not apply and makes little sense. a license never “stops” being suspended or revoked, unless and until a new one is issued. article 19, section 509 provides that no one shall operate a motor vehicle without a license. penalties include fines up to $300 and imprisonment for up to 15 days. however, this defendant did, indeed, once have a license, but it was suspended long ago. this defendant is already long past section 509.
i once handled a case where the driver was employed by a bar. he became drunk during his shift. when his shift was over, he hung around the bar and drank some more. he then “borrowed” a car owned by the bar, ignored a few traffic lights in mid-manhattan, and clobbered another vehicle operated by a neurosurgeon who had just finished her shift at bellevue, killing her instantly (and leaving three children). the drunk’s license had been revoked for prior dwis. the drunk soon became a permanent guest of the state, with no possiblilty of parole. my client was the bar, and there were all kinds of “dram shop act” issues, besides issues of permissive use.
Well, we have over about 8 million illegals or better who drive without any license, registration, insurance, or inspections. The pro-illegals think that enforcement of our traffic laws are wrong against these people. So I imagine that a good number of our fellow citizens will think that this guy did nothing wrong, but they may since he is not Hispanic, and he should not be exempt. That is reserved for immigrants only. I like the fact, he gave an false name, since he is only doing what illegals do, which is the whole point of being undocumented. To escape tickets and crimes. In fact, CA has banned the use of Secure Com for traffic stops and motor vehicle and other crimes. That system uses fingerprints to ID people so is hard to dodge. Such folks think that criminals should be free from prosecution.
“Much left unsaid – does he have a job? Is he mentally challenged? Does he have a family?”
Yes. “Much left unsaid.” Is he an informant?
Much left unsaid – does he have a job? Is he mentally challenged? Does he have a family? I understand it costs us over One Million a year to house one prisoner. Could that money be used to rehab/educate/teach a skill, etc., outside the prison system?
My guess is he’s not too particular about following any of society’s rules.
What you do with such people in America is catch and release, and then act shocked when he does it again
That is, some of our laws are effectively suggestions.
Please use a driver’s license.
Please be a legal immigrant.
Please follow the Constitution.
Pogo – it is more like:
Please drive without a license
Please be an illegal
Please ignore the Constitution
Maybe it is time to actually send people to prison for this crap.