Screwy Justice! Hey Utah, I Want My Money Back

In 1983, I got a ticket for going 69 miles per hour on the I-15 freeway in the south part of the Salt Lake Valley.

A little bit young (I was 17), a little bit stupid and a little bit of a lead foot led to the infraction and subsequent financial penalty.

The speeding ticket also went on my driving record, and a few years later, after another couple of tickets, I forked out the big bucks to attend traffic school so I could keep my license and avoid more insurance hikes.

I knew the speed limit, and I knew the ultimate consequence, but I chose to speed anyway.

That was a long time ago and I've slowed way down, both physically and in the way that I drive. But a piece on the news wire this morning got me to thinking about those old tickets.

This is from our news service, 24/7 News Source:

"Over 175-thousand marijuana convictions in Maryland have been pardoned. Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the executive order issuing the pardons Monday. He called it "the most sweeping state-level pardon in any state in American history." He went on to say the pardons won't "turn back the clock on decades of harm that was caused by this war on drugs." Cannabis was made legal for recreational use for adults in Maryland last July.."

So let's see, if a law the governor didn't like has been changed, and the governor overturned all the convictions of people who previously broke that law, he's basically saying the lawbreakers were never wrong in the first place.

The speed limit in the Salt Lake Valley is 70 MPH now. That is 1 MPH higher than what I was ticketed for in 1983.

So do I get my money back? Do I get the insurance money back as the insurer raised my premium after the ticket? Do I get the money for the traffic class back? What about the time and effort it took to take that traffic class?

Who knows, maybe I would have taken that money and invested in Apple, Inc., and would now be a billionaire.

Of course, the answer is no to all those questions.

It would be silly to expect any other outcome.

Except in Maryland, I guess.

Get our free mobile app

Best Looking State Patrol Cars In (Almost) Every State

For the past 10 years, the American Association of State Troopers has held a contest to determine which state has the best looking patrol cruiser. Nearly every state police agency submits their best photo of their sharpest patrol vehicle a chance to win the coveted cover photo on the association's annual calendar. From cop cars rushing through blizzards to vehicles on the Grand Ole Opry stage, here are this year's nominees.

Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll

LOOK: Stunning, historic hotels from every state and the stories behind them

Stacker curated this list of stunning, historic hotels from every state. To be considered for inclusion, the structure must be more than 50 years old. Many of the selected hotels are listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and several are purported to be haunted.

Gallery Credit: Erin Joslyn