Long story short: Man gets speeding ticket for going 40 in 25 zone. Goes to trial to plead for reduced fine, ends up getting fined $1,000, a year of probation, driving school and a lifetime ban from the county.
At first glance, it’s basically an epically large punishment for a seemingly innocuous 15 mph over the limit offense. Now most people probably wouldn’t really care about getting banned from Walton County, Georgia, considering it’s outside the perimeter, east of Atlanta and really isn’t known for anything other than being a scenic route on the way to Athens. Honestly, in spite of the fact that the punished claims to feel that it’s unfortunate that he can’t legally visit friends he has in Walton County anymore, or capitalize on free babysitting, I can’t imagine the ban is the end of the world for him either.
The thing is however, the probation that he’s put on, which makes him legally incapable of leaving the country during the year in which it’s in effect. Considering he’s a legal US citizen having emigrated from Jamaica, it doesn’t sound like he has a habit of visiting his homeland on a regular basis, but now it’s off the board as an option for the next year; I know people simply don’t like it when the options are taken away from them.
So ultimately, the question is was this punishment justifiable or was it overkill?
