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More people are getting arrested and going to jail for more trivial things than ever before. Last time I did jury duty it was not a stabbing or drug addict it w

More people are getting arrested and going to jail for more trivial things than ever before. Last time I did jury duty it was not a stabbing or drug addict it was a woman who's home had an overhang on the roof that was 3 inches past the legal limit based on the zoning code. She was facing up to 5 years in state prison over something that 20 years ago would have gotten her maybe a $1000 fine.

rangibaby 9y ago
If that’s not a case for jury nullification I don’t know what is
mirimir 9y ago
Huh? There's prison time for building code violations?
- user5994461 9y ago
  I assume there are everywhere in the western world. Don't think they are enforced though.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Usually there's some blanked law about how a certain class of crimes or beyond a certain fine amount prison time is an option. Progressive states and cities like to have lots a laws about little things like building code vehicle inspections, how you're allowed to store trash, etc, etc that make it a NicePlaceToLive(TM). They attach $50-$500 fines to violations of these small laws. Obviously there's additional compounding fines for nonpayment. Something like an unpaid parking ticket that got sent to your old address can easily turn into jail time if when you're arrested out of the blue (for having a few grand in unpaid fines) and can't write a check or hire a lawyer to solve the problem then and there. Basically laws are passed with good intentions and the negative externalities and edge cases do not affect the ruling class so they never get changed. So yes, violate building code on your own property and don't address the situation the first time they bother you about it and you could very well wind up in prison.
- ufmace 9y ago
  I think there may be a case of plea bargaining behind that, assuming it's true. Many prosecutors like to offer suspects the option of pleading to a minor crime with minor punishment versus going to trial for a more serious crime. In the ideal case, if the suspect is actually guilty, they save the prosecutors office time and money in actually preparing the case for trial, and the defendant gets a lesser punishment and doesn't spend their money on a trial defense either. In the less ideal case, say if the suspect is actually innocent but is not believed or can't prove it easily, the suspects are put in a tough position - plead guilty to something they didn't do, or a long and expensive trial with uncertain outcome. It gets particularly dubious when the prosecutors try to tilt the scales towards the plea side by threatening to go for the max punishment on the most serious crime they could possibly charge if the suspect chooses a trial. It sounds like this could be a case where this threat was carried out and the prosecutor is going for a knowingly over the top punishment to punish them for daring to not take a guilty plea.
gamblor956 9y ago
it was a woman who's home had an overhang on the roof that was 3 inches past the legal limit based on the zoning code. She was facing up to 5 years in state prison over something that 20 years ago would have gotten her maybe a $1000 fine. Going to call BS on that one. Zoning code violations are not felonies in any state in the U.S. The punishment for a zoning code violation is a fine or a court order to remove/rebuild the offending structure.

rangibaby 9y ago

If that’s not a case for jury nullification I don’t know what is

mirimir 9y ago

Huh? There's prison time for building code violations?

user5994461 9y ago
I assume there are everywhere in the western world. Don't think they are enforced though.
dsfyu404ed 9y ago
Usually there's some blanked law about how a certain class of crimes or beyond a certain fine amount prison time is an option. Progressive states and cities like to have lots a laws about little things like building code vehicle inspections, how you're allowed to store trash, etc, etc that make it a NicePlaceToLive(TM). They attach $50-$500 fines to violations of these small laws. Obviously there's additional compounding fines for nonpayment. Something like an unpaid parking ticket that got sent to your old address can easily turn into jail time if when you're arrested out of the blue (for having a few grand in unpaid fines) and can't write a check or hire a lawyer to solve the problem then and there. Basically laws are passed with good intentions and the negative externalities and edge cases do not affect the ruling class so they never get changed. So yes, violate building code on your own property and don't address the situation the first time they bother you about it and you could very well wind up in prison.
ufmace 9y ago
I think there may be a case of plea bargaining behind that, assuming it's true. Many prosecutors like to offer suspects the option of pleading to a minor crime with minor punishment versus going to trial for a more serious crime. In the ideal case, if the suspect is actually guilty, they save the prosecutors office time and money in actually preparing the case for trial, and the defendant gets a lesser punishment and doesn't spend their money on a trial defense either. In the less ideal case, say if the suspect is actually innocent but is not believed or can't prove it easily, the suspects are put in a tough position - plead guilty to something they didn't do, or a long and expensive trial with uncertain outcome. It gets particularly dubious when the prosecutors try to tilt the scales towards the plea side by threatening to go for the max punishment on the most serious crime they could possibly charge if the suspect chooses a trial. It sounds like this could be a case where this threat was carried out and the prosecutor is going for a knowingly over the top punishment to punish them for daring to not take a guilty plea.

gamblor956 9y ago

it was a woman who's home had an overhang on the roof that was 3 inches past the legal limit based on the zoning code. She was facing up to 5 years in state prison over something that 20 years ago would have gotten her maybe a $1000 fine. Going to call BS on that one. Zoning code violations are not felonies in any state in the U.S. The punishment for a zoning code violation is a fine or a court order to remove/rebuild the offending structure.