On Legitimacy

We are taught in the United States that legitimate political power derives from the 'consent of the governed'.  It is this 'legitimacy' that makes our country work so well:  we trust our government and therefore freely cooperate with it.  The people who work for the state are 'public servants' serving us.  When this breaks down and legitimacy is lost all hell breaks loose, just ask the Afghanis or Iraqis.  So it is with some distress that I must describe the behavior of a certain aspect of the legal system in the State of Missouri, my home state that I believe in a small but important way damages the State's claim to legitimacy.

In Missouri traffic fines are a source of revenue for local municipalities.  The way the system works is a driver is given a ticket for a traffic infraction.  The driver then goes to his friendly lawyer who 'fixes' the ticket with the local 'judge'.  The fines are rather large and the defendant also pays the lawyer or incurs an obligation to him for future work.  In exchange for these payments and obligations no 'points' are assessed on the defendant's license.

There are a few results of such a peculiar system:
1. "Public Safety Officers" become tax collectors:  I have been stopped 13 times in the last 33 years for traffic infractions:  Seven in Missouri, six outside - in Texas or Oklahoma (and believe it or not, in my family I'm known as the 'pokey' driver).  In TX and OK two of the six stops resulted in fines: one for the princely sum of $10 ($2 discount if you mail it in within 2 weeks) the other $20 (the TX State Policeman drove with me to a post office and I deposited the cash in a fine envelope and dropped it into the mail box).  By contrast, in Missouri I have been stopped 7 times:  twice in my home town and not fined (it isn't good politics to fine the voters) and 5 times outside with each time resulting in a substantial fine for infractions that might have gotten me a good talking to elsewhere.  The TX and OK officers were clearly focused on public safety, the MO ones?  on the fine - they'd been turned into tax collectors.

2. My experience tells me that Policemen in Missouri stop more cars and spend more time on the side of the road processing profitable paperwork.  Because the 'points' are 'fixed' the police can nick more drivers more of the time without fear of taking away their right to drive.  The key is to maximize the shear without bloodying the sheep.

3. Policemen get a reputation for being ticket hounds and are treated accordingly.  I would not have believed had I not seen with my own eyes the anger and contempt that St. Louis drivers show for the traffic police giving them tickets.  On multiple occasions I have seen drivers on the side of the road in Rock Hill shouting at the police, red faced, enraged.  I am ashamed to confess that I too am less polite to Missouri traffic cops than others because I resent the system they are enforcing.

4. And finally and most importantly, the law's reputation is damaged:  It would be hard to imagine a more effective way to discredit a legal system than to make day to day transactions with it depend not on what someone has done but upon who they know and what they pay.

And I don't know why the legal establishment lets such a corrosive 'tradition' persist:  other than this I've found Missouri government to be honest and relatively light of touch.  But this in your face, day to day 'fixing' ruins all that.  The state's legitimacy rests on it's reputation for impartiality and fair dealing.  When we lose trust in our government everything gets harder and uglier and crueler.