Breedlow's Matchbox car sits in front of his recreated backdrop of the Corcharane place.
On Thursday, a defeat was handed down to the Forkland Department of Public Safety and Transportation when Judge Clyde Hamilton dismissed charges against Dwight Breedlow. "This is a blow to the authority of the FDPST, people like Breedlow should not be allowed to run rampant in our streets and use those kind of gimmicks to escape justice" said James Penson, Director and Chief Executive of the department. The case before Judge Hamilton was a traffic violation that occurred while Breedlow, a library studies graduate student at the University of Alabama, was on an impromptu tour of south Greene County. The incident in question occurred at the town's stop sign, which is located where County Road 69 dead-ends into Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive (Old Highway 43). Penson contends that rather than making a legal stop, Breedlow "…made a Hollywood stop, then preceded onto Old 43 and made as wide a U turn as I've ever seen, almost striking the mailbox of the old Corcharane place, and you know that would have been a Federal offense, hitting a mailbox like that. For the sake of the public, I immediately pulled the driver over and issued him a citation."
Breedlow had nine weeks to prepare for his successful defense. In that time he constructed a scale model of a large portion of Forkland, reproducing each structure within 400 yards of the sign, with accurate renditions of minute architectural details. Each structure was augmented by notes on habitancy and state of disrepair. In the course of the trial, Judge Hamilton had Breedlow trace the path of his vehicle that July afternoon with Matchbox cars, much to the amusement of those in attendance. Before Penson had the opportunity to cross examine Breedlow on his version of the incident, Judge Hamilton dismissed the case, adding "Breedlow, don't you ever come back to Forkland!" before he abruptly retired to his chambers.
In a post-trial interview, Hamilton remarked that "in all my years on the bench I have never seen such verisimilitude in a model. The young man must have absolutely nothing going on in his life, and all that over sixty dollars." When asked why he dismissed the case, the judge responded "This whole thing was just Bucky (Penson) trying to replace that worn out uniform." Breedlow plans to now move on from the trial, stating "I have much to rebuild, this Dostoevskian ordeal has threatened everything I have, even my eighth year of funding through the Shiarpe Junior Fellowship is in peril." When asked about the Judge's warning, Breedlow quipped "I am a free citizen. Like Rousseau's natural man, I will travel whichever roads I choose." When asked to comment on the trial, Penson, who later that afternoon was found changing the oil of the Forkland cruiser, simply stated "This is a tough day for the citizens of Forkland. The FDPST plays a vital role in their defense and protection, and it must be supported by all branches of government."—Washington Greene Marion
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