Yesterday a judge in a courtroom in the Virginia hinterlands wrote out some nasty doubletalk and upheld a set of draconian penalties Virginia has unleashed upon commuters with jobs in D.C., raising the question once again of why Northern Virginia taxpayers continue to fund a state government run by rural Southerners who hate us and want us to be miserable. Before yesterday’s ruling, the fees had been deemed unconstitutional in district courts in Henrico County and Richmond.

Virginia’s new abusive driver’s fees would range from $750 to $3,000, in addition to previous penalties. The biggest fees are for legitimately dangerous activities, such as drunk driving. The inexpensive $750 offenses include keeping up with traffic twenty miles per hour faster than the pretend speed limit or driving with a suspended license. The fees only apply to Virginia residents.

The Honorable L.A. Harris Jr., in a courtroom just outside Richmond, ruled that the defense had not adequately proven that Virginia residents are the same as everybody else. The ruling left open the possibility for future litigation to show that a traffic law should not target Virginia residents exclusively. The case seems destined to end up in the Virginia Supreme Court, and in the meantime, anti-tax activists have mounted another challenge against the entire transportation bill. Virginia residents have also organized a petition to repeal the fees, which more than 170,000 people have already signed.

Photograph of what you can do about traffic laws by Eli Resnick