I can't say I follow your example, gfretwell. I know that here in Nevada such a ticket would not hold up, assuming the vehicle has not been signifigantly altered (to the point DMV has to re-certify it). And, in meighboring California, they are not able to apply current air pollution regs to older vehicles; they can only require them to meet factory specs when they were made.
Now, if you are saying that courts are unreliable, unfair, and illogical, and sometimes overstep their bounds....well, that's such a classic complaint Solomon put it in the Bible. That doesn't take away the fact that "no retroactive laws" is one of our basic principles.
Which is why I fight such attempts whenever I can.
