Seattle City Attorney Hopes People Who Got Pot Tickets "Do Not Pay Them"
Source: The Stranger
What should you do if you were ticketed for smoking marijuana in public by Officer Randy Jokela, the cop who, it recently was revealed, wrote 80 percent of all the city's pot tickets? Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes, the city's chief prosecutor, says, "My hope is that the people who received the tickets do not pay them."
Only 6 percent of the tickets, which are punishable by a $27 fine plus additional fees, have been paid thus far, according to police.
Holmes's office has sole authority to summon suspects to court if they don't pay the fines or get involved if the tickets are contested, but Holmes says he doesn't plan to issue warrants or crack down to collect money. "These are tickets that appear to have been issued for an improper purpose and should not be enforced," Holmes says.
Still, some police officers object. "I think that is a very irresponsible comment from him," says Ron Smith, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, the conservative police union that has long criticized Holmes. "It sends a bad message that an elected prosecutor says, 'Don't pay your tickets.'"
Read more: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/08/07/city-attorney-hopes-people-who-got-pot-tickets-do-not-pay-them
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