Clicking on banner ads enables JWR to constantly improve
Jewish World Review Dec. 13, 2000 / 16 Kislev 5761

Philip Terzian

Terzian
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Cops and soccer moms


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- ALL EYES were fastened on the Supreme Court last week for the obvious reason: The justices might have settled the legal struggle for the presidency, but for various reasons, chose to slap the wrists of their brethren in Florida, and prolong the agony. Yet while Al Gore and George W. Bush garnered attention, a far more interesting, and potentially more significant, case was being argued: Atwater v. Lago Vista.

The plaintiff in this case is a Texas housewife and mother named Gail Atwater. Three years ago she was driving her son and daughter, then aged four and six, home from soccer practice through the quiet residential streets of Lago Vista, near Austin. Her pickup truck, moving along at 15 miles per hour, contained Mrs. Atwater, her two small children and, according to The New York Times, "two tricycles, a bicycle, an Igloo cooler, a bag of charcoal toys, food and two pairs of childrens' shoes. No one in the truck was wearing a seat belt."

It is against the law in Texas to drive without wearing a seat belt, and Mrs. Atwater's unbelted status attracted the attention of a member of the Lago Vista Police Department, one Bart Turek, who stopped her and ordered her out of her truck. Officer Turek screamed at Mrs. Atwater that they had met before, as indeed they had: Some months earlier he had pulled her over, suspecting (wrongly, as it turned out) that her son was not wearing his seat belt. This time, however, he had Mrs. Atwater and her children, and he had them cold. He told Mrs. Atwater that now she was going to jail, and she did.

In front of her two crying, terrified young children, Officer Turek yanked Mrs. Atwater's arms behind her, put her in handcuffs, and took her to the Lago Vista jail, where she languished for an hur before posting bond. A friend was dispatched to retrieve the young boy and girl, and take them home until their mother returned. Mrs. Atwater ultimately pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of neglecting to put on her seat belt, and paid a $50 fine.

Now the genuine legal adventure begins. Mrs. Atwater and her husband, arguing that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure had been abused, brought suit against Officer Turek, the police chief and the city of Lago Vista. The suit was dismissed in federal court in Austin, reinstated by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans, and then thrown out again by the full Fifth Circuit.

When Mrs. Atwater's attorney appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court last week, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor greeted him with the cheery observation that "You've got the perfect case!" But things went downhill from there. The justices were evidently concerned about proportionality -- there was no good reason to handcuff and arrest Gail Atwater, and throw her in jail -- but equally concerned about fashioning a rational solution to the problem of who gets arrested and jailed by cops, and why.

Mrs. Atwater's contention is that police should not arrest and incarcerate people who have committed minor traffic offenses involving fines, and who pose no threat to the public safety or flight from the jurisdiction. But to quote the Times again: "The question of whether the Constitution permits an arrest in such a situation -- complete with handcuffs, booking and impounding and searching the truck -- is surprisingly unresolved."

The justices seemed largely stymied by the prospect of setting some standard that might be difficult to enumerate or hard to enforce. And the state of Texas argued that the police have always enjoyed wide latitude with respect to arrests: Forcing them to meet some test before arresting people who have done nothing serious would needlessly complicate the enforcement of la. Besides, as an assistant attorney general put it, Officer Turek could not be sure if Gail Atwater and her two young children were armed, or otherwise a threat to Lago Vista.

Of course, it is possible that Bart Turek can't tell the difference between a soccer mom and a serial murderer. But the telling detail in this story is the officer's professional attitude: His screaming demeanor, and his anger that Mrs. Atwater had slipped from his grasp some months before. As has often been said, as far as police are concerned, contempt of cop is a serious crime.

Unfortunately, the justices are unlikely to see things Mrs. Atwater's way. After all, as Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "It is not a constitutional violation for a police officer to be a jerk." No, it is not. But it's not much fun to run afoul of a jerk with a badge and gun, either, and the police wield extraordinary power. Why should a law-abiding citizen, guilty of a minor traffic infraction, be treated like a criminal in a police state, or subject to the whims of a violent cop?

"How bad is the problem out there?" asked Justice David Souter. Well, just ask Amadou Diallo -- except that he's dead.



JWR contributor Philip Terzian is associate editor of The Providence Journal. Comment by clicking here.

Up

12/11/00: The 'Net horrifies Stephen King
12/04/00: Downey behind bars
11/29/00: By any means necessary
11/16/00: Government sanctioned historical revisionism?
11/10/00: Breaking news: They don't know
11/09/00: Steve Allen: Smart TV
11/07/00: The November surprise
11/01/00: Take the Lieberman test
10/30/00: P.S. Don't tell Congress!
10/25/00: The election is close, but ...
10/23/00: King or jester?
10/19/00: The Million T-Shirt March
10/16/00: I like (fill in the blank)
10/12/00: Now comes the hard part
10/05/00: Good show, bad sports
10/02/00: It's a wonderful life?
09/28/00: Driving on America's Main Street
09/22/00: Preparing for a new administration
09/20/00: They've got a secret
09/18/00: Today, Dr. Laura. Tomorrow ...
09/12/00: What passes for knowledge
09/05/00: The catcher gets caught
08/31/00: A Golden Age that never was
08/28/00: Blame communism, not Russia
08/24/00: Social progress on one front, regression on the other
08/21/00: The beat goes awry
08/17/00: The unwelcome democrat

© 2000, The Providence Journal