Few legal terms have found their way into the popular lexicon the way “due process of law” has. When someone complains that he is being denied “due process,” the person is generally expressing a sense of unfairness about the procedures that were, or will be, used to ascertain the truth of charges of misconduct against him.

Recent headlines in CTMirror read, “Builders, trades, launch new ad to push for tolls on CT highways.”  The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Connecticut (HBRA-CT) does not count itself among this coalition nor has it endorsed the implementation of tolls on our highways.  

Last December Elias Roblero, was in the Meriden Court to answer charges of driving under the influence. The hearing was short; the state prosecutor and the public defender agreed that Elías was a family man with no criminal history and did not deserve jail time. The judge concurred, imposing an 11-month suspended sentence and two years of probation. His wife, 15-year old daughter and 17-year old son were waiting for him in the hallway. Elías only needed to check with the parole office, sign some documents, and be released to his family. He never came out.

When the General Assembly approved the Passport to Parks in October 2017, it was great news for the state’s 140 state parks and forests. For the first time, these public lands would have steady and predictable funding to ensure maintenance, staffing and improvements well ahead of the busy summer season.
But this week, the Appropriations Committee voted to support the very action that critics of the program warned about before its passage: taking funds for completely unrelated programs.

I already share the congested Connecticut roads with DUI drivers, people driving with suspended licenses and/or no insurance, joyriders on the roads in stolen cars and others who shouldn’t be behind the wheel of any motor vehicle. I do not want to have to dodge anyone driving while under the influence of recreational marijuana, too!