In the U.S. we are used to so-called celebrities and the well-heeled receiving preferential treatment in the legal system. It appears to be no different in England as Tony Pulis, manager of the Stoke City football club, has evaded a driving suspension with the defense that his employer and the community may suffer because a suspension could result in relegation for the club from the Premier League.
The club is currently safely in the mid-table at 37 points ? 14 points clear of the relegation zone ? with nine matches remaining. The rule of thumb in the Premier League is that 40 points will keep a club from relegation.
It is an odd defense this. Pulis received too many points on his record with a speeding violation back in November but has not had his license suspended as the law requires. Pulis managed to convince the court that the suspension ? which is intended to punish Pulis ? will ultimately punish the public at large much more because his club could not function without him may suffer relegation and would cause harm to local citizens and businesses. A ?Don?t punish me because it will punish others? defense or a ?I?m too important to punish? defense, a close relation to the ?too big to fail? defense/reasoning. Stunning that the court would accept this for a simple driving license suspension the result of speeding. Justice this is not.
Now why would driving hurt Pulis so much? He says drives about 64,000 miles a year commuting from his family home in Bournemouth to Stoke-on-Trent. A nearly four-hour commute. However, he doesn?t always make this commute as he has an apartment in Stoke where he sometimes works from 7 a.m. to midnight.
I might suggest that perhaps being stuck in Stoke for more time where he could work those same hours might be more beneficial to the club than letting Mr. Pulis drive. Or he could hire a chauffeur.
But, no, a chauffeur cannot work for Mr. Pulis because he has many phone conversations that must be kept absolutely confidential. He couldn?t make these calls from his apartment where he would be safely ensconced since he couldn?t drive anywhere? Or he couldn?t get a car with a privacy window?
Big shots do get better results in court because they can afford more creative defenses that may require more time and effort from an attorney (which will cost more money). But, the brazenness of this defense and the court?s acceptance is something else. Even when we see Lindsay Lohan repeatedly violate her probation terms and lie to the court only to receive slaps on the wrist, we don?t see her saying to the court that she is too important to punish because her mom couldn?t earn a living with her in jail or the paparazzi couldn?t earn money without her going out to the clubs to get drunk and then let them take pictures of her hoo-hah. That would be ridiculous. Not in Stoke-on-Trent though where public safety laws are ignored in favor of ostensibly helping the local sports team and related businesses.
Lady Justice may be blind but she still likes to see her local sports team succeed.
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Jakob Anthony was a founding contributor of the dearly departed soccer blog UnprofessionalFoul.com under the pen name of ?The Fan?s Attic.? He has also contributed works to Goal.com and MLSsoccer.com. You can follow him on twitter @TheFansAttic. In the spirit of full disclosure of potential biases, Jakob fervently supports the Portland Timbers, Liverpool FC, and the US Men?s National Team.
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