Legal Stupidity

There's a lot of stupid laws in this country. Laws that were written many, many years ago and just aren't worth spending the time to repeal. Like the law that required that anyone driving a car in Pennsylvania must pull well off the road and hide it under "camouflage"  when approached by a horse drawn cart.  There are several types of stupid laws.

Some, like the one mentioned above, were the misguided attempt by some lawmakers to deal with what were significant social issues at the time. When automobiles were first introduced, horses were more common and often got spooked by the backfiring engines. I'm sure people died, goods were destroyed, livestock were lost and maybe the only guy with the car was a rich bastard no one liked who went out of his way to scare the horses with his new-fangled car. We might think that spitting on the sidewalk is no big deal, but in the days of the plague, poor hygiene, porous shoe materials and no antibiotics, it could mean a death sentence for anyone who stepped in it.

There are also what are called blue laws that were put in place for religious reasons. It's illegal for a beer distributor to be open on Sundays before noon in Pennsylvania, a left-over law that was meant to stop people from drinking on the Lord's day. Or at least to encourage them to go to church before they started drinking. Even today there are some businesses who don't open on Sundays. A major fast food chain refuses to open on Sunday because it is a day of rest according to the founder's religious beliefs.

Then there are just stupid laws that were put in place for no apparent good reason. For example, in Augusta, Maine, if you feel like taking a stroll on a nice August night, don't take your violin to play while walking. It's against the law. And you better not run out of gas in Youngstown, Ohio because that too is against the law. If you're looking for a place to sleep in Pennsylvania, don't do it on top of a refrigerator outside or you may wake up in the slammer.(There's a lot of things that are against the law that, IMHO, should not be illegal, like personal drug use, gay marriage, polygamy, etc. but that's another story.)

There are what I consider bad laws: laws that deny equality to certain groups, laws that violate the US Constitution, laws that allow charging minors as adults, laws that don't give judges any leeway in sentencing, laws that allow prosecution of those who were considered mentally incompetent to stand trial until after they've been treated and "cured"....but that too is another story.

But this seems to be one of those laws that just defies logic and reason. Depending on the state, you can be legally liable for "crimes" you committed while asleep. I know a woman who had a sleep disorder and her doctor prescribed a leading sleep medication. After taking the medication, the woman got up in the middle of the night (still sound asleep), got in her car (in her pajamas), and drove all around the small town she lives in, smashing into several parked car. She was charged with several violations and was found guilty, ordered to pay fines and do community service. Say what? How does that even make sense? I agree that her insurance company needs to pay for the damages. But to have charges filed against her? That's utterly ridiculous!

One of the hallmarks of our legal system is (or at least should be) that in order to be charged with a crime or face other charges, we must willfully violate the laws or we must willfully show disregard for the rights of others or their property. How is someone who is sleeping able to willfully do anything? My house burned to the ground after a visiting friend, who was taking both a prescribed sleeping aid and pain medication (for three pulled teeth that had rotted as the result of chemotherapy), went outside and smoked a cigarette on the back deck and then dumped the ashtray into a trashcan. I don't blame her for what happened because of the effect of the medications. She wasn't able to think rationally at the time. My oldest son had night terrors in which he'd be "awake", looking at me, following my directions, but be totally asleep and not remember a single thing that happened during that time because he was sound asleep. When he was in this state, I couldn't hold him responsible for anything he said or did because he didn't even know he was doing it!

I know, the "sleepwalking" defense can be abused. So can the "self-defense" defense or the "battered spouse" defense. But there are ways in which one can determine if a sleep disorder truly exists or if one was truly in danger or had been abused. Unlike the "gay panic" defense, which should NEVER be allowed as a valid defense, there is really such a thing as sleepwalking, self-defense and domestic violence. However, justice is not served by charging someone for something they had no control over.