Speaker Naifeh’s speeding ticket dismissed by jolly judge

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh says it was a coincidence that he happened to be in a Nashville courtroom on the day a judge decided to dismiss more than 70 tickets.

The Covington Democrat said he was in General Session Judge Casey Moreland’s courtroom on Feb. 16 to plead guilty to a December speeding ticket.

But instead of asking the judge if he could take traffic school in Tipton County, Naifeh — and more than 70 others — had their tickets cleared.

Naifeh remembered the judge telling the packed courtroom that “‘I’m a very happy man today, and I just found out at 12 o’clock today that I have no opposition and that I’m going to be re-elected judge.

“‘And I feel so good about it that I’m going to dismiss every citation today,'” Naifeh said.

Moreland told The Tennessean newspaper that Naifeh received no special treatment.

“It just happened to be 30 minutes after the qualifying deadline, and he was dealt with like everyone else in there,” Moreland said.

Naifeh said he does not know Moreland and had not spoken to him other than to say hello before the hearing. He also shrugged off comparisons to Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley, whose February 2004 speeding ticket was dismissed through the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Cooley said he didn’t ask for any special consideration, but a videotape of the traffic stop from the patrol car showed Cooley handing the trooper his business card, which Cooley said he did reflexively as a courtesy.

“I think it’s obvious that I wasn’t trying to get out of a ticket,” Naifeh said. “I was ready to pay my fine and go to driving school.”