Police Officers Lie?

A few years ago I was a temporary employee at a police department in the San Gabriel valley.

One of my duties was to file reports.
While I was doing so I came across a file that contained a line-up-card. Line-up-cards display multiple head-shots and are used to make identification of suspects. On the card one of the mug-shots was circled and written next to it were the words: "she's the one". From the appearance of the line-up-card one would assume that a suspect had been identified by the victim or a witness. Not so. In the report the reporting officer explained that he had marked the card and used it to psychologically confront and pressure the suspect in question.

I wonder how many people have made false confessions because of tactics like this.

Racism!

I read yesterday chapter 17 of Ayn Rand's non-fiction work titled The Virtue of Selfishness about racism. 

I thought that it would be interesting to compare what Ayn Rand experienced in 1960s America with what is going on today.  It seems that very little has changed.

I like the fact that Ayn Rand is very thorough.  She shows how she reaches her conclusions and defines her terms.  Pundits and writers today fail to define their terms making debate and reasoned discourse all but impossible.

I do take issue with the title of the book.  The Virtue of Minding Your Own Business would have been better.

Ticket Snipers et.al.

While I was out delivering food I received a traffic ticket (moving violation) from a Pasadena PD officer. 

I decided to fight the ticket and use a company that I had seen advertised on billboard signs called Ticket Snipers. I went online and had my case evaluated.  I was told that Ticket Snipers could help and informed that such help would cost $138.00.  I paid the fee and then filled out information on the web site and spoke to a representative on the phone. 

A few days later I received, in the mail, my defense package.  A form to request trial by "paperwork" and my statement.  I signed the forms and wrote a check for $238.00 (my bail) to L.A. County.  I then waited for the result (it was then late October).

At the end of January 2018 I received the result in the mail from the court.  The judge found me guilty.  A note written by the judge stated that he had "disregarded inadmissible evidence".  I was provided with the verdict a form to request a "trial de novo" (a new trial) that must be submitted by February 15th.

I am now deciding whether to request the new trial.

Over all I am satisfied because I learned things that will last me for the rest of my life such as the ability to go to trial via the mail.