COOPERTOWN — The Clarksville attorney who helped bring into question interstate traffic tickets issued in 2008 by Coopertown police has offered to settle with the town to avoid a class-action lawsuit.

Coopertown City Judge Earl Porter dismissed a ticket last week against Cumberland Furnace resident Jeff Davis when his attorney, Greg Smith, demonstrated that the city had not given a required annual notice to the state of its intent to patrol the interstate.

Coopertown's mayor and police chief have since asked Porter to dismiss pending tickets issued before June 5 that have not been paid or heard in court.

City officials have said paid tickets will not be refunded, but in a letter dated June 6 to Coopertown Mayor Danny Crosby, Smith said the town must refund all tickets issued without proper jurisdiction to avoid a class-action lawsuit.

In his letter, Smith stipulated that Coopertown:

• use an independent agency or auditor to determine which tickets were issued without proper jurisdiction,

• refund all funds associated with those tickets, including driving school fees, and

• cease issuing tickets on Interstate 24 "or the bridges that are part of I-24 for the rest of 2008."

Approval in hand
Coopertown police did not patrol the interstate for one day last week while they waited for the Department of Safety to approve the notification.

With that approval in hand, the department resumed interstate patrols Friday.

A Tennessee Department of Safety spokesperson said last week Coopertown has regained its interstate ticketing authority.

Smith argues in his letter, however, that Coopertown's recent approval should only be valid for 2009 because the Department of Safety requires such notification by Jan. 1.

"Ben Franklin had a theory about holes," Smith wrote in his letter. "Dr. Franklin said, 'If one is in a hole and wishes to get out of it ... quit digging.'

"You should probably consider Dr. Franklin's advice before resuming issuing interstate tickets in 2008."

If the mayor of Coopertown agrees to the terms, Smith said he will not seek "attorney fees, litigation costs or punitive damages."

Otherwise, those "will probably be included in the complaint," Smith wrote.

Crosby, the mayor, reached on his cell phone Monday while working in his hay field, declined to comment, saying he had not seen Smith's letter.

Crosby said he will review the offer with Coopertown's city attorney and "follow the steps of the law that we're supposed to follow."

Porter, the Coopertown city judge, said paid tickets or other judgments already made may not be repealable through a class-action suit.

Porter called the jurisdiction issue "an affirmative defense" that must be raised before the tickets are considered in court.

"If they don't raise (the issue of jurisdiction), then they waive that (defense)," Porter said. "I think that's probably what my decision will be in court."

Smith, who serves as a city judge in Pleasant View, disagreed with Porter's assessment.

"If they didn't have the power to get it (ticket fines) to begin with, it's not an affirmative defense," Smith said.

In the last paragraph of his letter, Smith wrote that "the potential litigants that have already contacted me may be willing to reduce their sentence demand" if Coopertown agreed "to a permanent injunction to not issue any future traffic citations on any part of the national system of interstate and defense highways."

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The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum. Adlai E. Stevenson American Lawyer, Politician.

The City of Coopertown has responded to attorney Greg Smith’s demands in order to avoid class action litigation. This lawsuit was threatened after Smith successfully had a ticket dismissed for his client, Jeff Davis, on the grounds that Coopertown was operating police vehicles on I-24 without certification by the state.

In a letter dated June 11, Coopertown city attorney John Holt replied saying basically, “No deal.”

He then illustrates that, according to further research, Coopertown has actually never been out of compliance with the Rule 1340-3-4.01 of the Department of Safety. This rule is contained in the Municipal Enforcement of Rules of the Road, which was created on December 6, 2004.

Instead, according to Smith’s own interpretation of the statute, the city has been in full compliance since the requirement for notification took effect in April of 2005. Smith’s argument had basically been that since the rule required notification be made to the state on or before January 1 of each year, and since Coopertown had not filed notice until June, 2008, that this notice provided compliance for the following year, 2009, but not the remainder of 2008.

Smith stated this in his letter to Coopertown, dated June 6, 2008, where he said, “Simply put, the certification Coopertown obtained today [June 6, 2008] to issue traffic citations on the interstate systems could perhaps be valid for 2009, but not 2008.”

Holt’s reply is, “You are correct as to the certification for 2009. However, the remainder of your analysis fails to consider the certification obtained by Chief Dave Berrera on January 16, 2007, which brought Coopertown into compliance for 2008.”

Holt further states, “…Coopertown has at all times been in full compliance with the rules promulgated by the commissioner of safety to regulate enforcement. In short, Coopertown has been filing their annual Notice well in advance of the deadlines since the creation of this particular requirement. The Notice has been required for three (3) years, and Coopertown has already filed four (4) notices.”

Holt congratulated Smith on getting the ticket dismissed for Mr. Davis before the full information came to light. He also declined to accept Smith’s offer to settle a class action suit and expressed regrets that Smith had been provided inaccurate information.

Late in the day, Wednesday, June 11, Smith confirmed receipt of Holt’s letter and said he is waiting for confirmation of information from the State Records Custodian before taking any further action.

Coopertown Mayor, Danny Crosby and Police Chief, Jesse Burchwell had asked the city judge to dismiss all outstanding tickets based on their prior understanding that the city was not in compliance. Burchwell confirmed on Thursday, June 12, that despite the news from their city attorney demonstrating uninterrupted compliance, the city would stand by their request to dismiss outstanding citations because, “…that was our public response and it’s only right to follow through.”

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The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum. Adlai E. Stevenson American Lawyer, Politician.

And this came from the same lawyer who said Danny Crosby and Friends could spend the donated Landfill money and Hands Up To Coopertown money anyway they wish. Of course Peggy Ruth had an opposing opinion from three other lawyers who said they could only use it for the reasons the money were donated. So it's another lawsuit for Coopertown, let the courts decide who is right. November can not get here quick enough!

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The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum. Adlai E. Stevenson American Lawyer, Politician.

Why do Coopertown police issue interstate traffic tickets? The Interstate 24 patrols have nothing to do with traffic safety in Coopertown, and everything to do with filling the town's coffers with speed trap revenue.

Moreover, for years, these patrols have been accused of specifically targeting Fort Campbell drivers and racial minorities for tickets.

Motorists should rejoice that someone is challenging the system. Clarksville attorney Greg Smith is seeking refunds for all interstate traffic tickets issued this year because Coopertown didn't give its yearly notification to the state to patrol I-24. If the refunds don't materialize, a class-action lawsuit may follow.

Once the oversight became public, Coopertown applied to the Department of Safety to regain its interstate ticketing authority, which was granted.

Smith challenges that as well. He said the approval should not go into effect until 2009 because the department requires such notification by Jan. 1.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Smith said potential litigants in a class-action lawsuit might be willing to reduce their sentence demand if a permanent injunction against Coopertown patrols on the interstate were instituted.

That's the best idea yet. Let's leave the interstate to the State Highway Patrol. If Coopertown wants to patrol, it should stick to keeping its own streets safe.

The Leaf Chronicle

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The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum. Adlai E. Stevenson American Lawyer, Politician.