Court Opinion

ID: 9845447
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:22:06.33198+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:08.101047
License: Public Domain

BROWN, Justice,
specially concurring.
I do not have any substantial disagreement with what has been said by the majority nor the concurring opinions. It is obvious that there is a need to extricate ourselves from the ridiculous situation requiring a jury trial for offenses calling for a fine of a few dollars. Unless remedial action is taken, enforcement of traffic regulations will be rendered impotent. As a practical matter law enforcement officials are not going to spend several hundred dollars for a jury to collect a fine of a few dollars.
The concurring opinions suggest action that may be taken. In the alternative, the legislature may want to consider classifying certain petty offenses as noncriminal and provide for a small fine. It may want to classify these offenses as petty offenses, infractions, violations or some similar noncriminal appellation. Other states have gone this route. For example, New York does not consider certain “traffic infractions” misdemeanors. People v. Gilberg, Sp.Sess., 21 N.Y.S.2d 920 (1940); and Tozzi v. Doherty, 262 N.Y.S.2d 1017, 47 Misc.2d 740 (1965).
Reclassifying certain minor offenses as noncriminal makes sense. Under present Wyoming law, if a person is convicted for driving 56 miles an hour on the interstate, technically he has a criminal misdemeanor conviction. Some people probably have a long criminal record consisting only of minor traffic violations.
In Wyoming and elsewhere, conviction of minor traffic offenses is not really considered a crime, even though the statute says it is. For example, in making application for employment, a question on the application form usually asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime “except minor traffic offenses.”
What is suggested here, of course, would not apply to vehicular homicide, DWUI, or other serious traffic violations.