I was sitting in court the other day listening to the first trial, a man in cuffs and county attire was accused of domestic violence, crack possession, and lewd conduct. I found the case interesting and guiltfully entertaining as I sat and waited my turn.
Next up was a younger male being arraigned for petty theft. It seems he could not afford to pay for the case of Red Bull he attempted to take from a local store, that he was supposed to buy for a graduation party. Unfortunately he also had an illegal pocket knife on him that he "found in the street just moments before his lapse of good judgement regarding the Red Bull", as his lawyer put it. Wow, what a string of 'bad luck' for this guy...
Then they call my name for arraignment. The judge asks me to come to the stand and reads my Misdemeanor charge of failure to wear a USCG approved life jacket while riding a PWC. The ticket states I was wearing a lifejacket, but it was not a USCG approved lifejacket, therefore I am being charged with a Misdemeanor for no lifejacket in accordance with Michigan law. Penalty for this crime is $100 fine and/or 90 days in Jail. I am out on a $1000 personal bond - no joke.
I am a hardened criminal in the eyes of the State of Michigan, facing jail time for grabbing the wrong life jacket. Shame on me. Let this be a lesson to all of you... if you are going to use a non USCG approved lifejacket in Michigan, you might as well smoke crack or steal a case of Monster, since the punishment is no different.
Michigan recently passed a bill (4143) that decriminalizes many PWC infractions, making them a Civil Infraction. Such as: riding in water less than 2' deep, jumping wakes less than 150ft from boat, excessive speed, reckless endangerment of wildife, riding too close to a swim area, etc. Nothing regarding a lifejacket, though.
I'll let you know how it turns out. Have to meet with the prosecutor in 2 weeks, before the trial, in an attempt to get this reduced to a CI and be done with it.
The really sad part is that we were sitting in a shallow area in a no wake zone not bothering anyone, just relaxing. Cop came up and said "let me see your life jacket". From that point on it was like an episode of COPS.
:frown:
Next up was a younger male being arraigned for petty theft. It seems he could not afford to pay for the case of Red Bull he attempted to take from a local store, that he was supposed to buy for a graduation party. Unfortunately he also had an illegal pocket knife on him that he "found in the street just moments before his lapse of good judgement regarding the Red Bull", as his lawyer put it. Wow, what a string of 'bad luck' for this guy...
Then they call my name for arraignment. The judge asks me to come to the stand and reads my Misdemeanor charge of failure to wear a USCG approved life jacket while riding a PWC. The ticket states I was wearing a lifejacket, but it was not a USCG approved lifejacket, therefore I am being charged with a Misdemeanor for no lifejacket in accordance with Michigan law. Penalty for this crime is $100 fine and/or 90 days in Jail. I am out on a $1000 personal bond - no joke.
I am a hardened criminal in the eyes of the State of Michigan, facing jail time for grabbing the wrong life jacket. Shame on me. Let this be a lesson to all of you... if you are going to use a non USCG approved lifejacket in Michigan, you might as well smoke crack or steal a case of Monster, since the punishment is no different.
Michigan recently passed a bill (4143) that decriminalizes many PWC infractions, making them a Civil Infraction. Such as: riding in water less than 2' deep, jumping wakes less than 150ft from boat, excessive speed, reckless endangerment of wildife, riding too close to a swim area, etc. Nothing regarding a lifejacket, though.
I'll let you know how it turns out. Have to meet with the prosecutor in 2 weeks, before the trial, in an attempt to get this reduced to a CI and be done with it.
The really sad part is that we were sitting in a shallow area in a no wake zone not bothering anyone, just relaxing. Cop came up and said "let me see your life jacket". From that point on it was like an episode of COPS.
:frown:
Last edited:
