Speed Detail and other Prosecutorial Ramblings

I am enrolled in a clinic that focuses on prosecution. We take to court small, inconsequential matters and get to experience real court. In September, I prosecuted a guy for urinating in a parking lot. I lost. Part of it was my fault because I barely followed the examination I had planned. Nerves, I'm sure you can imagine. Part of it was because of this defense:

Defendant: "Judge, I have been in this courtroom a lot of times over the years. I have always plead guilty. This time I didn't. Do you know why? It's because I'm not guilty!"

Judge: "That's true, Jim. I've seen you here a lot. I sure wish you would quit drinking." She laughed.

Judge: "I find the defendant in this case not guilty."

So in general my teacher, and my feelings for him, dominate my feelings towards the class. How shall I describe him?

Part of our class is learning how to plea bargain. A few weeks ago a young-thirtiesh couple come in. It's a husband and wife. They've got a very young infant in a stroller. Apparently, she was puled over for speeding on her way to the hospital. To give birth. When she was in labor. The street she got pulled over on was a road that was heading out of town, and the speed limit changed from 30 to 45. She was pulled over for doing 49 in the area of the road right before the limit changed. She told the cop that she was having contractions. The cop gave her the ticket!

So she and her husband show up with the baby, and with a note from the doctor saying that she was in labor. My teacher, who is the city prosecutor, has full discretion to dismiss any ticket for almost any reason. He could dismiss a ticket that doesn't promote justice, for example. When he decides that he isn't going to dismiss the ticket, and tells this couple that they are going to have to pay a fine of about $150 dollars, they ask "how many months can we take to pay this?" Then, because he knows the judge would dismiss it if she knew the truth, when telling the judge that he has given the woman (aka mommy in the happening) a lower penalty (which we do for anyone who wants one), he says it is because of "certain equitable factors." So this guy obviously drives a really big SUV and isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. I hope that description adequately illustrates his personality.

Well, anyways, the unrelated point is that we went out with a cop today and learned how to measure a car's speed. It was kind of fun, and I, as usual, have mixed feelings about whether I should have been a cop (one of the thousands of career paths I contemplated prior to this six figure monstrosity).