#39 I Mean, He Gave Him A Choice
I was waiting to be tried in traffic court before Earl Warren Jr., the son of the great Earl Warren of Supreme Court fame. The guy before me was being tried for reckless driving. When it got down to sentencing, Earl Warren Jr. ordered some nominal fine and traffic school for the defendant. The defendant got all upset and began ranting how he didn’t need to go to traffic school.
As the defendant slowed down, Earl Warren Jr. calmly stated, “Well sir, I cannot make you attend traffic school. I can only issue the order for you to attend. If I find after two weeks you have not attended, I will issue a warrant for your arrest and place you in the county jail for 30 days. At the end of which I will renew the order for you to attend traffic school. So we can keep you going in and out of jail until you decide to attend traffic school.” The guy just grumbled and walked out of court. I don’t know if he did go. I certainly did when I got a similar sentence.
Credit: tminus7700
