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LETTERS9232 P, Plantation Key Courthouse, Judge Albury presiding).I pled not guilty and managed to prevail. I’m attemptingto allow interested folks who might be ticketed by bullyingFWC officers to get some insight into their dubioustactics, which included the following:• Cite you for one paragraph of the statute [327.53(1)], andthen on the court date, amend it to another paragraph[327.53(2)], hoping you aren’t prepared for it.• Hope you have to take a continuance because of theamended charge you aren’t prepared to litigate and hopeyou won’t bother fighting any longer especially if you arecruising out of the area soon.• After being granted the amended charge [327.53(2)] by thejudge—because I said I was prepared to defend against theamended charge—then attempt to bring up another paragraphof the statutes that he did not specify in the amendment[327.53(5)]—a clear violation of due process rights.• Then hand the court a cropped version of the Code ofFederal Regulations to which that sub paragraph (5) refers,which cropped version conveniently leaves out half the CFRthat proves your vessel is in compliance. (To Judge Albury’scredit, he pretty much ignored this and later rebuked theofficer by saying he couldn’t even consider subparagraph 5because it would involve due process issues.)• When the state failed to prevail on its trickery, it then wentback to the “original” sub paragraph (1) and pursued that,even though it said it was amending the charges to subparagraph (2) because it wrote the wrong sub-paragraph (1)number on the citation.• Then go off on a tangent and attempt to prosecute on personalhygiene habits when the statute in question is onlyabout vessel waste equipment requirements.• Attempt to redefine what a houseboat is [327.02(13)] byconveniently leaving out the part after the “and” that saysto be a houseboat, it must be lived aboard for a minimum of21 days per month “AND” said vessel must have some conditionthat “precludes” its use as a means of transportation.Then the judge asks for a dictionary to look up the definitionof “preclude” even after I stated the definition.(Preclude: to prevent or make impossible.)• Then the judge begrudgingly admitting he had to find menot guilty but suggesting that the FWC/state should try toget the statutory definition of “houseboat” changed byeliminating the part about any condition that precludes itsuse as a means of transportation.It all smacks of a kangaroo court.Capt. Neal WarrenFlorida KeysNeal,I would say it smacks of the Keystone cops, too. My complimentsto you for your success in standing your ground and standing upto the FWC, who really tried to stretch the law.I decided to listen to the official voice recording of Neal’sHOBIE CATSUNFISHLASER420OPTIMISTPRECISIONWAKEBOARDSSKIMBOARDSWATERSKISWE SELL FUNHOBIE MIRAGE SPORTPedal KayakLargest Dive Shopon the West Coast727-546-5080800-537-6099www.tackleshack.comWe’ll be on-siteat your regatta with Parts,Accessories & SupportOR STOP BY THE STORE:7801 66th St. NorthPinellas Park, FL 33781KAYAKSThe World is a Waterpark. Since 1962, we have sold the best rides!For more information, e-mail andy@tackleshack.com8 June 2012 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com
court proceedings (available on the SOUTHWINDS website at thevery bottom of the page at www.southwindsmagazine.com/waterways.php.)It went as Neal describes it above, but what amazed mewas the judge’s lack of knowledge about boat waste. I understandhow a judge must decide issues in thousands of cases—and howdifficult that is—but he knew nothing about marine sanitationdevices (MSDs) and No-Discharge Zones (NDZs).The judge didn’t know what a Type I, II or III MSD was, nordid he know what a NDZ was. From his comments—even afterNeal told him otherwise—he was under the impression that theentire state was a NDZ, never grasping that a Type I can be dischargedin most of the state’s waters—and that it’s safe and clean.Neal’s defense entailed stating that his Type I was not operationalbecause he had the overboard discharge valve locked closed. WhenNeal stated that a Type I is a sewage treatment plant, the judgeinterrupted him and said, “But you don’t have a sewage treatmentplant.” Neal surprised him by saying that yes he did have one.Neal stated that while in the NDZ (in the Keys MarineSanctuary), he goes ashore to relieve himself. The judge said hefound it hard to believe that he went ashore every time he wantedto relieve himself, obviously referring to urinating—somethingmillions of people do regularly at the beach when they swim inFlorida—which is harmless. The judge was convinced that Nealmust be opening the discharge valve when no one was looking andusing it. He treated Neal like he was immoral if he was dumpinghis waste, making no distinction between urine and solid waste,implying that one must relieve oneself several times a day.To the judge’s credit, he agreed that the definition of “houseboat”that the FWC was trying to stretch to their liking waswrong, finding Neal not guilty. After the decision, a discussionensued among Neal, the FWC and the judge about waste. Nealtold the judge that raw sewage can be dumped outside 3-miles inthe Atlantic. The judge asked the FWC, “Is that true?” “Yes,”said the officer. “Wow,” said the judge.No one told the judge that cruise ships that are three miles outcan legally dump raw sewage (cruise lines have agreed, informally,to dump outside 12 miles off Florida), and that a typical cruise shipwill dump 30,000 gallons a day of raw sewage and 360,000 gallonsa day of gray water waste in the ocean—just 12 miles off the Keys.No one told the judge that Neal’s Type I MSD costs about$1000 uninstalled—much more than a holding tank costs—and itis far superior than 90 percent of the boats out there that have holdingtanks, many of which dump real raw sewage—not treated likeNeal’s—inside the 3-mile limit (6 miles in the Gulf) on a regularbasis, unseen by the police. Nor did anyone tell the judge thatmunicipal sewage treatment plants “accidentally” spill millions ofgallons of raw sewage into Florida waters annually, and that almostevery bit of coliform bacteria found in the Keys waters comes fromland-based spills and old, seeping cesspools and leach fields—alllocated in the Keys.During the entire proceedings, Neal was polite, informed,calm and courteous. I can think of some people who would havegotten down on their hands and knees and barked and growled atthe FWC officer who tried to call Neal’s 26’ 8” sailboat that he regularlytravels in, a houseboat.EditorNews & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS June 2012 9
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