Jiang will have to pay a $500 fine and court fees and costs of $158, as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors, Bruce said. He also will have to perform 100 hours of community service.Which would indicate that "Defiant Trespass" rates somewhere between jaywalking and passing a stopped school bus at 10 miles-per over the limit, the latter offense of which will score you Double Secret Probation in many states.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Major victory for ironclad airport security!
Haisong Jiang, a PhD candidate who moved to America from China, perhaps to get away from a paranoid, control-freak government, has plead guilty to "Defiant Trespass" for stepping under a velvet rope at an airport and setting off a Keystone Kops carnival of terminal closings and flight delays.
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12 comments:
A great example of a Malum prohibitum law. "It's wrong because we say it's wrong."
Traditionally, velvet ropes just mean "the line is here." I've certainly never taken them to mean: "Passage beyond this point is verboten!
Now, if you want a Malum in se law, you could point to the opposite of what he did: line jumping. I don't necessarily think that line jumping should be a hanging offense, but definitely a highest misdemeanor should be charged, and any citizen should be allowed to make the arrest on sight.
Unmentioned is the coup he scored on the TSA and their security theater.
That was a priceless.
Gmac
The real guilty party is the member of the TSA who left his post unattended.
Deserting one's post in the military is a serious crime. For the TSA...not so much?
In the story linked, Lautenberg wants to introduce legislation making what he did a crime punishable by up to 10 years. Wow.
"Defiant" Trespass
What the heck? Defiant in my universe means you get told not to and do anyway, or actively cross major barriers, not wander unopposed over and around some lame crowd channeling ropes.
Lautenberg is a demagogue and an idiot.
"In the story linked, Lautenberg wants to introduce legislation making what he did a crime punishable by up to 10 years. Wow"
Wow, indeed. When are we going to learn that the answer is not to create more felonies? Average cost to house a federal prisoner is well north of $40k/year. 10 years = about 1/2 million dollars, above and beyond taking a person's freedom. For ducking a rope?!?
Man I've stepped under velvet ropes all the damn time at airports. Granted it was early in the morning and outside the "Secure Zone", at the ticket counter because I'm cranky at airports and didn't feel like running the rat maze to deal with the glassy-eyed person who has no idea what to do when I say "I'd like to check a firearm".
I guess I'm lucky I'm not farting Vaseline...
“Defiant Trespass”? My geriatric Senator should make a law against what is really is – “Embarrassing a Bureaucrat.”
Catch a TSA agent napping – 8 years
Point out an error made by the IRS – 10 years, $30k
Laugh at the ATF for seizing toy guns – 12 years
Making fun of the hypocritical Senator – priceless.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2722179/lautenberg_hypocrisy_ambulance_that.html?cat=75
At least these morons don't have real power, like the ability to detain people without due process or torture them to get confessions.
Oh, wait.
In the article the poor guy says "he learned an important lesson." Which is, obviously, don't think you've gotten out of a Stalinist Police Bureaucracy just becuase you moved from China to the US.
Don't think much of TSA but as someone who's traveled throughout Asia and had folks of Chinese persuasion slide into the 1' of space I left between me and the guy in front of me, I say tough titty.
passing a stopped school bus at 10 miles-per over the limit
Double Secret Probation? How about just 'dragged from the car and beaten to death'?
Also, 'defiant' trespass? What about 'casual' trespass, or 'existentially weary of lines' trespass? Is ennui a mitigating or aggravating circumstance?
wv: squier - Skynet is apparently developing a sense of musical taste.
I don't even blame the TSA grunt; he was apparently called away to another duty from the local news reports.
I blame a security plan that doesn't have the capability to deal with one lost {sheep|goat} without going straight to lockdown; and that had no defense in depth for the TSA grunt.
And yay for showing that second fact all over the world, dudes.
Theatre of Security Administration indeed. It's like movie security, which exists to let the lead characters in via a cinematic method.
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