This is a question I get regularly: [Read more…]

TD;DR: This was a wild case which we got dismissed at a clerk magistrate’s hearing.

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The case of the Transformers fan car that got my client charged with a crime.  It’s hard to believe this really happened.

The police prosecutor wanted the charge to go forward and argued strenuously that my client was a legitimate threat to public safety, and had criminal intent.

I argued that my client did absolutely nothing wrong, and certainly did nothing that met the criminal statute.

Fortunately, the clerk magistrate did not accept the argument of the police officer prosecuting the case, and also did not think that decorating your Maserati in a fashion similar to a police car met the statute for impersonation of a police officer. Dress up is not impersonation.

This is the best possible outcome for the client. A case dropped at a clerk magistrate’s hearing (a show cause hearing) means that no criminal complaint was ever formally issued, and the client will have no record.

And this is a victory for common sense over police authority.

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Is it a crime to decorate your car like a vehicle from one of your favorite movies? This case is definitely  “more than meets the eye.”

Or maybe less. [Read more…]