Gone too far?

The front page story of Saturday's Daily Record and Morning News was about Circuit Judge Jay Finch's run from law enforcement when he failed to stop for a pickup truck with a blue light and a driver not wearing a uniform. Briefly noted in the article, but not expounded upon in any way, was the small matter that the law requires constables to be in uniform to effect a traffic stop. Tracy Neal does include this gem in his story that is far too much about Finch and not nearly enough about Constable Craig Milligan. Excerpts are from the Daily Record.

Finch didn't stop and instead drove to his home. Milligan wasn't wearing a uniform as required by state law in order for constable to make traffic stops.

So we've established that state law requires a uniform, which means, by process of elimination, if Milligan wasn't within the constructs of the law, then he was breaking the law. Driving without valid vehicle registration should not be overlooked, but it pales compared to a constable illegally stopping motorists.

Milligan claims Finch told him he wasn't going to stop for someone driving a pickup and not in uniform, according to Milligan's interview with Stone.

This is slightly different than the way Finch put it when speaking with Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone, but if I was Finch, this is how I'd wish I said it. What is the problem in saying I'm not going to accept the authority of someone who is violating the law?
There is one more little gem that appeared only in the Daily Record, apparently hitting the newsroom floor after editing.

A.L. Hollingsworth, president of the Arkansas Constable Association, said he hadn't talked with Milligan about the incident.

"I don't know his side, and until I do I don't want to make a comment about it," Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth said constables are required to wear uniforms, but there may be emergency situations when a constable doesn't have his uniform.

"It's all a judgment call as far as I'm concerned," Hollingsworth said. "I really want to talk to (Milligan)."

Apparently this is not an isolated incident if the president of the Arkansas Constable Association thinks it is acceptable for law enforcement to violate state law. I officially call on Van Stone to set the record straight by filing charges against Milligan for attempting an illegal traffic stop.


Sarcastic finish: Although I did criticize Tracy Neal for sticking it to Judge Finch and all but absolving Milligan, I would be remiss without noting that the high profile mistakes continue. Please understand there is no reason to point this out except that it occurs in the first sentence of the story, the ever-important lead paragraph, and is incorrect in both papers. I'd love to see anyone try to "make a traffic."

BENTONVILLE — A local circuit judge didn't pull his vehicle over recently after a plain-clothes constable attempted to make a traffic.