Arrested her and her little dog too...

[SethCohn]

Via LewRockwell's blog @ http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/020366.html

http://thenewspaper.com/news/23/2304.asp

New Hampshire: Grandmother Arrested, Dog Impounded Over Old Parking Tickets
Police in Portsmouth, New Hampshire arrest woman, impound dog over eight year old parking ticket.

Portsmouth, NH - Police in Portsmouth, New Hampshire have a long history of arresting motorists over minor offenses. Despite recent promises of reform, the force on Monday not only threw the book at a 58-year-old woman, but her dog as well. Susan Lehman alleged crime was failure to pay a couple of parking tickets issued eight years ago.

"It wasn't fun," Lehman told the Portsmouth Herald newspaper. "I was totally dumbfounded by the situation."

Police nabbed her in the afternoon as she attempted to refuel her car at the Lafayette Road gas station. The grandmother of three was handcuffed and led away to be booked while her 10-year-old canine companion, Sally, was impounded at the SPCA in Stratham.

Lehman was eventually released after paying a $500 bail bond which allowed her to rescue her dog. She now faces trial on May 19, 2008 for failing to appear in court on June 19, 2000 to answer for $90 in unpaid parking tickets. Although the court had sent Lehman a notice about this court date, it was returned as undeliverable. Lehman had moved into public housing and the letter had been mailed to her old address. Lehman does not recall any details about the old parking tickets.

Last month, Portsmouth police promised to cut back on the practice of arresting motorists over allegations of skipping out on 75 cent tolls in the light of embarrassing news coverage. In January, an innocent motorist was arrested and booked over a bogus accusation that he did not pay a single 75 cent toll. In 2005, an innocent woman was arrested over a $10 "unpaid" parking ticket that had actually been paid in full.

Grandmothers arrest related to 8-year-old parking tickets (Portsmouth Herald (NH), 4/3/2008)

Also:
http://thenewspaper.com/news/22/2275.asp

New Hampshire: Fewer to be Arrested Over Toll Skipping Accusation
To avoid bad publicity, Portsmouth, New Hampshire will no longer automatically arrest motorists accused of skipping a 75 cent toll.

Fewer motorists will be handcuffed and hauled away to jail over toll skipping accusations in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Police Sergeant Corey MacDonald, who serves as the local prosecutor, said it would be up to the discretion of the police officer at the scene to decide whether to arrest someone over a dollar or less in unpaid tolls.

"They can continue to make arrests if an officer sees fit," MacDonald told the Portsmouth Herald newspaper. "But I'm telling them they can issue a summons instead."

In January, an innocent motorist was arrested and booked for failure to pay a single 75 cent toll -- a toll that he had actually paid. Similar errors have caused thousands to be wrongly accused of cheating by the E-ZPass toll transponder system. Still, Portsmouth will continue to impound vehicles whose registrations have been suspended over a cheating accusation.

"It came in as a concern from some of our officers that it's a pretty stiff penalty for an E-ZPass default, which can occur from the machine not reading your transponder," MacDonald told the Herald.

[41mag]

What ever happened to the punishment fitting the "crime"?

[KBCraig]

Related story:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=E-ZPass+proves+to+be+anything+but+for+driver&articleId=cd9a826f-9d6d-4b90-8630-d650b38c77cb

E-ZPass proves to be anything but for driver

By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER – Jeffrey Benoit is an easygoing man with a job as a mechanical engineer, a soft-speaking style, a family of seven grown children, biweekly volunteer responsibilities at the state prison for women - and a recent arrest.

Benoit's woes started last June when his license plate was stolen, attached to a car and driven through a New Hampshire toll, without payment.

For months, Benoit was targeted as a toll scofflaw. He's sent police reports to E-ZPass officials to prove he doesn't owe a toll and administrative fee. He's been stripped of his driving privileges. He spent one morning shuttling between the E-ZPass trailer at the Hooksett tolls to the Division of Motor Vehicles office in Concord. He's been arrested, fingerprinted and photographed.

He has waited for hours at court to have his case decided. As of two weeks ago, Benoit was cleared, but he has heard such assurances before.

"You shouldn't be changing and wrecking people's lives over a 75-cent toll, making them miss work and lose money when times are tough like they are now," he said recently. The problem, he said, is that officials obviously don't talk to one another.

A state official who oversees the DMV said he is not familiar with Benoit's case. But Assistant Safety Commissioner Earl Sweeney said the system will improve if legislation passes to get police out of the job of collecting unpaid tolls.

And toll problems are on the decline as officials refine the E-ZPass camera and collection system, Sweeney said.

"This is a case where we need to determine who knew what and when, so we can put something in place to, hopefully, prevent this from happening again," Sweeney said. He also disputed the contention that DMV and Department of Transportation do not talk to one another.

The two agencies meet monthly to monitor E-ZPass, and officials constantly speak to one another about customer complaints, he said.
License plate stolen

Benoit's wife reported the plate stolen from their Kia Sedona minivan in late June, according to a police report provided by Benoit. The following month, Benoit said he received a notice from DOT that he must pay the toll and a $25 fine. The notice included a picture of his plate on a different vehicle.

Benoit obtained a copy of the police report, sent it to E-ZPass, and they told him via telephone that everything was fine, he said.

Then on Jan. 10 he was pulled over on Elm Street in Manchester. Police said he was driving with a suspended license and refused to let him drive, Benoit said. Police ticketed him, and his wife walked downtown with their 5-year-old granddaughter to drive him home.

Later that day, the Benoits went to Concord, where they bounced between the E-ZPass trailer at the Hooksett tolls and the DMV, he said.

"Initially, they wanted money to make it go away," Benoit said. Many others in similar circumstances paid, he said. He refused, saying he was not at fault. By the end of the day, he thought matters were cleared up.

The DOT wrote Jan. 12 and said the toll violation and administrative fee were dismissed. "No further action is required," the letter read in bold type. On Jan. 10 the DMV wrote to say "our notice is hearby rescinded" and all driving privileges are restored.
Court summons

However, on March 17 Benoit received a default court summons. He went to the Manchester police station, where he was fingerprinted, photographed and charged with failing to appear in court on a charge of driving with a suspended license. Two days later, he attended Manchester District Court, waited a couple of hours and had one charge dropped and the other vacated.

Sweeney expects the system will improve in the future. On March 18 the New Hampshire House passed legislation that would stop the practice of arresting or ticketing drivers who have not paid tolls, Sweeney said. Rather, the new system would require a motorist to pay back tolls when they renew their auto registration.

The legislation is now in a Senate committee.

"The system currently in place uses a law enforcement solution to what is really a business process/fee collection problem," Sweeney said.

[grasshopper]

My friend had a similar casr but it i8nvolved a dfelon and jury duty.  It has been going on for the past 15 years, they NEVER update the system and always put arrest warrents out for him.