What do you do when you have a suspended license and no license plate. If you ask Amanda Schweickert, 28, the answer is found in some markers and a piece of cardboard. Schweickert was stopped while driving around with this fake license plate on the back of her car. The case raises some interesting legal issues.
Schweickert was driving on a suspended registration with no insurance. She now faces charges of possession of a forged instrument, driving with a suspended registration and ticketed for three traffic infractions. The possession of a forged instrument is a felony. However, it is only a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with a suspended registration.
The forged instrument charge is interesting. The charge indicates that a license plate meets the definition of “part of an issue of money, stamps, securities or other valuable instruments issued by a government or governmental instrumentality.” If this is correct, the license must be either a stamp or “other valuable instrument.”
Of course the good news is that if the definition fits, she can make actual license plates.
S 170.15 Forgery in the first degree.
A person is guilty of forgery in the first degree when, with intent to
defraud, deceive or injure another, he falsely makes, completes or
alters a written instrument which is or purports to be, or which is
calculated to become or to represent if completed:
1. Part of an issue of money, stamps, securities or other valuable
instruments issued by a government or governmental instrumentality; or
2. Part of an issue of stock, bonds or other instruments representing
interests in or claims against a corporate or other organization or its
property.
Forgery in the first degree is a class C felony.S 170.20 Criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a forged instrument in
the third degree when, with knowledge that it is forged and with intent
to defraud, deceive or injure another, he utters or possesses a forged
instrument.
Criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree is a
class A misdemeanor.S 170.25 Criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a forged instrument in
the second degree when, with knowledge that it is forged and with intent
to defraud, deceive or injure another, he utters or possesses any forged
instrument of a kind specified in section 170.10.
Criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree is a
class D felony.
I blame society and government for not providing this model citizen free tuition at the art school of her choice.
Good thing she didn’t try to draw a vanity or “picture” plate like these (http://dmv.ny.gov/custom-plates/nys-i-love-ny-adventure-plates-gallery) – although her stick figure rendition of a buck might have been quite humorous.
Hey Renegade – The sky’s are not that free. I have a pilots license as well I doubt we will be seeing people carrying Quadcopters very soon. I fly more RC model craft these days then full size machines and I’ve been forced to attach a registration number on them by the FAA.
You make my point. Indeed the skies are not free just as driving a vehicle anywhere but on your private property is not free (although being restricted to your property is a restriction in itself.) But, judiciary seems to be saying that the roads don’t require licensing because of a freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. The Framers had no idea of the coming mass transit but the evolved methods are covered. So too, by extension, would movement by air. Since a maritime precedence applies to the ground, even more so re. freedom of movement in the air.
I too have a RC registration but it isn’t for my travel. As for people movers, we are on the cusp of air traffic in the same manner as the beginning of the automobile era. Only the well-to–do had one. In some locales, couldn’t go faster than a man could walk, others required a person with a red flag to precede it and until Eisenhower tried to take his troops on a cross country convoy we were stuck with no unifying vision of a need and method for land based cross country transportation.
Terrafugia and another company have FAA full sized “flying cars” (not models) units which comply with both air and road federal requirements. These aren’t the Pinto with “strap-on wings crash near LA ” version.
GPS and fly by wire tech takes inherently unstable aircraft and makes them usable (I.e. F-16, 18, 117 and successors)
Jets ons in my lifetime?? Naah…but large scale soon? Yeah.
It is impossible to be less attractive than Lena Dunham.
I would claim it was a work of art that I had on the back of the car. Andy Warhol set the standard for this. Then I would take the heat for driving with a suspended licence and no plates on the car.
Back to art class.
An “instrument” in legal lingo only refers to money, coins, or monetary documents not a friggin license plate on a car. She is only guilty of driving without a license plate. Maybe they do not have a statute for that.
jischinger,
I believe the unalienable right that SCOTUS was identifying is the right to “travel” on public roadways, etc. The moment she makes the choice to do so other than by what God gave her, then the state has the power to regulate that “means” of travel.
Was she Italian? Is this more discrimination against Italians?
She looks like Lena Dunham’s slightly less unattractive sister.
Widespread adoption of flying cars will never happen. Two reasons: Liability and the fact that few individuals are willing to maintain the vehicles properly as is necessary in the case of aircraft.
Notice the number of junker cars broken down on the side of the road; they would be impacted into rooftops if they could fly.
These are both reasons I highly doubt driverless cars will become mainstream in the foreseeable future.
Having read a related article which further enumerated more than enough (in my mind) answers to questions I may never have considered, it occurs to me to ask: how is it that the federal govt requires a license and medical certificate to fly an airplane for non-commercial purposes?
I have a private pilot license for single engine land aircraft. It was issued in 1967 and the only limiting issue is the every 3 yr medical exam. If I owned an airplane, there would be nothing to stop me from flying when and where I desired. But I rent. The rental company will not let me rent without a flight review, a current physical and sufficient insurance. In this case, the real issue comes down to insurance. Its the insurance which actually drives the other requirements. Have an accident of any kind and the insurance is void if the pilot is missing any of the requirements.
Now the skies are even more open and available to travel than public roads.. Soon people-carrying quadra-copters will be available. Given the legal arguments against road travel licensing, wouldn’t the reasoning apply even more so to the skies?
It seems to me that the true regulators in all this are the insurance companies.
I can operate a boat without a “pilot’s” license.
Evidently don’t really need a driver’s license for a car–legally that is.
But the skies require a license and periodic medical ($300 and up)—legally as of now.
The FAA medical is age restricting, arbitrary as to health issues–i.e. can take one antidepressant but not two, only one blood pressure med., maybe a pacemaker but not an ICD, (All of these and more are disqualifying even with a three year period of stability,) But, there is no breathalyzer test before takeoff and no open container law. (yes, there is a license for recreational use of a two seat airplane, gross weight of 1320LBS including a 100 hp engine. Full tanks allow for 400 LBS of people. Idea is that low weight and light aircraft yields small crash site. Terminal velocity is 120 MPH. Compared to two 3400 cars with closing velocity of 140 MPH or one at 70 MPH. Do the math F=M(A squared) A is the speed at impact. F is force.
A/C 3.6 tons ( more and more private a/c have a/c parachutes.)
1 car 5.4 tons
2 cars 11 tons
Again the real arbitrator is the insurance company for which an appellant process is virtually non-existent. Now I won’t be surprised by comments about falling out of the skies.
Of course one can pull to the side of the road but not a cloud. I’ve had two very close calls because the other persons were either on a wrong heading or wrong altitude. I can’t count the number of fender benders and near misses while driving a car. I got caught on a black ice road and the end result wasn’t pretty…thankfully none of us were hurt,,,including the other two cars which plowed into the “scrum.”
Adjudication??? The insurance companies used their formularies. Glad I had uninsured motorist coverage as two had none.
Could the rulings regarding right of use also apply to HOV lanes and interstate toll lanes? The govt is providing a privilege to those who have more than one person (including infants) in the car and tolling provides a privilege (faster passage around Seattle) to those who can afford it.
Interesting. If I understand the issue, she could be not guilty of fraud as the decorated cardboard was not sold or otherwise cost the State anything. The real issue is whether or not the fees were current which a license plate represents. On the other hand, the cardboard is a personal work of art not unlike Warhol and hung on her car. It also is not an accurate duplication, but rather an artistic interpretation? Now aren’t we delving into a freedom of speech? I wonder what the letters and numbers could mean as a vanity plate?. Hhhhmmmmm
Hmmm. What is is?
“The right of a citizen to travel upon the public highways and to transport his property thereon, by horsedrawn carriage, wagon, or automobile, is not a mere privilege which may be permitted or prohibited at will, but a common right which he has under his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Under this constitutional guaranty one may, therefore, under normal conditions, travel at his inclination along the public highways or in public places, and while conducting himself in an orderly and decent manner, neither interfering with nor disturbing another’s rights, he will be protected, not only in his person, but in his safe conduct.”
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-supreme-court-says-license-necessary-drive-public-letennier
didn’t the SCOTUS say you don’t need a licenses to drive or register a car – that it violated interstate commerce?
@Bams
LOL. Or computers. Geeesh, she could have printed out a fake tag that looked better than that. Or a set of dealer tags.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeky
She wasn’t spending money on shirts.
Forgery? What at maroon. When they take the tags your are supposed to put a sign in the rear window ‘Tags Stolen’. Then when you’re pulled over you can explain you haven’t had a chance to file a police report yet, or you think your mother reported it but you’ll have to check.
That way, worst case you get the car impounded. But a cute girl like that and some tears ought to at least get to drive her beater back to her house and nothing more than a lecture – once, maybe twice, even three times.
Why does it look like she doesn’t have a shirt on in the mugshot? Either that’s a mugshot or her profile photo for eharmony.
I wonder what her financial circumstances were, and why. Is this a case like where somebody steals food because they are hungry, and she did this because she needed to drive to make a living, but couldn’t afford all the licensing stuff? Or, was blowing her money on drugs? It makes a difference to me.
Like Eric Garner selling loosies. Heck, at least was trying to support his family.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter