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Attorney Mark Zaid is best known for his national security and whistleblower work, but he has a particular penchant for at least some traffic court cases. As reported by the Washington Post, he waived his $600/hr fee to fight the traffic ticket of 24-year-old data analyst Jonathan Tishman.
Tishman’s $60 ticket — for improper use of his high beams — is something of a personal crusade for Zaid. Before the case was called in traffic court, he told Tishman, “It’s about what’s right, what’s just, what’s fair. It’s also, for me, what’s fun.” And, Zaid fought a similar ticket he was issued in 2009 (and won, when the trooper failed to show up for the hearing).
So, why was Tishman given the ticket?
The allegations were thus:
About 5:48 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2022, Tishman was driving his Nissan Maxima east on the Capital Beltway, near Wheaton, in the second lane from the left.A slower-moving car, to his left, suddenly cut him off by veering right in front of him, according to Tishman. He hit his brakes and flashed his high beams twice — doing so to both to warn the driver and out of frustration, Tishman said in an interview.
A trooper who was apparently behind him turned on his flashers and pulled Tishman over. The ticket stated his offense: “Driver Failure to Use Multiple-Beam Road Lighting Equipment at Level Required for Safe Driving.”
Zaid was prepared to argue that the trooper in this case misinterpreted the statutory interpretation of “use”:
For Zaid and Tishman, the case came down to the trooper’s misinterpretation of the word “use.” Maryland law, which does indeed speak to high-beam use while behind another motorist, was never written to apply to quick flashes that drivers do all the time, they asserted.
But when the trooper in Tishman’s case also didn’t show up to court, Tishman beat the ticket without having to test Zaid’s legal theory. Which may have been a good thing:
District Judge Michael O. Glynn III finally asked Tishman how he was pleading — not guilty was the answer — and given there was no testimony against Tishman, the judge found him not guilty. His traffic docket done, he and Zaid informally discussed what the attorney was prepared to argue.
“Now that it’s over, what was it?” Glynn asked.
Zaid told him about the briefly flashed high beams, and how it was an awfully quick use of “use.” “Just a flashing?”
Glynn hinted he might have seen things differently.
“Well, we would have fun with it,” Zaid said.
At least for Tishman, getting out of the ticket is probably fun enough.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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