Don't sign the ticket and you're going to jail. It is as simple as that. I don't have the statute you are looking for.
And, that is precisely my point. This matter has never been pushed to the Supreme Court and I hope I never have to be the first to make that happen. But, the reason you can't provide such a statute, is simply because such a statue does not exist and never has. Why? Because, failure to sign a Class-A/B Misdemeanor civil citation has never and will never be a criminal act, nor will any court ever be able to recognize it as having potential criminal intent.
Surely, you might "physically" take someone into custody, but if that person has the resources, he/she can make the remainder of your days on the force a living nightmare and ultimately you'll end up like Van Ader, Lang and Furman - just to name a few.
In most jurisdictions, the officer has another choice. The officer can simply (in a professional manner) insert the unsigned citation into the vehicle itself and then leave the matter to the courts. Ultimately, if the courts decides, it (the court) will issue a Warrant for arrest. The matter of arresting someone simply because they refuse to sign a Misdemeanor issuance - again - has never been pushed to the USSC. That's why there is still so much debate on this subject and why law enforcement jurisdictions around the country are still making this mistake. When someone finally decides to push this matter to the USSC, a new precedent will be finally established. Until then, police officers will always think they are acting within their authority and ignorant citizens will always believe the same false premise. I (personally) have more than enough capital resources to test it, I just don't have the time to test it.
I agree with you 110% in regards to attitude in law enforcement. As everyone knows there are plenty of people in law enforcement that should not be. They are the ones who make the news and regardless of how many good things an officer can do, the general public will remember the bad ones.
I will always support good cops - we desperately need them. So much so, that I once considered Federal Law Enformcement as a career, until my Wife found out what I was doing - she simply won't allow it. She's always been too afraid and I don't blame her. So, I'm not anti-cop - nor am I anti-authority.
But, out here where I live, we just had BART police officer shoot an unarmed, non-resistant, compliant citizen, in the back with his revolver at point-blank range. The next day, he "retired" and drove to rural Nevada in an attempt to hide. He was later picked-up by Nevada authorities and brought back to the Bay Area, where he is now being charged with murder.
Bad cops need to be weeded out. Attitude, is one of the first detectable signs, but it can be covered for quite sometime by the bad cop trying to hide his/her true nature. Thus, IMO - there needs to be an ongoing "weeding" and "sifting" process evern after one is swarn in, given a badge and a weapon. There are far more good than bad cops, but all it takes is a band of rebels to cause rioting in the streets - and nobody wants that - or needs that.
ZapBrannigan:
There are two reason why you take time off to deal with this matter:
1) You value principle over time spent and integrity over circumstance.
2) The fine (amount) is so aggregious as to cause you such financial hardship, that not taking the time-off to deal with the matter is actually increases your financial hardship.
Which - is only something that you can decide for yourself. Only you know your salary, bosses probable reaction and current personal houshold budget requirements. Run the numbers, estimate your bosses reply and know whether or not something in your personal budget will get left behind temporarily as you recovery financial from the lost pay.
If you actually have a case, it could be worth the effort. If you case is weak, you could be wasting your time and your money.
