A Scot friend sent me this email humour today

[Marshal Moroni]

Nice to see a joke heard in California (and our California Stops) with another accent.

Cheers,

Marshal Moroni

[Jock Scot]

He He He!

[O'Callaghan]

Now, all joking aside, in English law you actually don't have to stop at a Stop sign if there is no-one coming, so our English lawyer would have been quite correct ... if he had been in England, which he wasn't. Of course, your story is set in Scotland, and I have no idea what the law is there.

England and Scotland have entirely different legal systems altogether. England invented the common law system, which applies in most of the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and 49 states of the US plus DC also. OTOH, Scotland, the Channel Islands, all of continental Europe and, believe it or not, the state of Louisiana, still follow the civil law system that was invented by the ancient Romans.

The basic type of legal system of course has little to do with the traffic laws. There again, each time HM government passes a bill for England they have to pass a separate one to change Scottish law. So perhaps you really do have to stop when there is no traffic coming, unlike South of the border? I wonder?

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer.

[highlander_Daz]

the fact the cop asks for licence and registration suggests its a joke originating in the states altered slightly, as well as that in the UK you rarely see police officers. In the UK a police officer can check via radio all the details relating to a vehicle and there is no requirement for a motorist to carry any form of documentation, a police officer will issue a HORT1 form that requires a motorist to produce documents within 7 days.

funny joke though

[Sionnach]

Made my afternoon when I read it, I had to practice it aloud a couple of times so thatI could retell it well.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Don't remember when I first heard that joke, or the version, but like old Scotch, it is still good!

[Howard Clark]

We all laugh because it is a lawyer joke. It does not matter where it is set.

[SteveB]

Also the Londoner would be called a "Solicitor" and we know what a solicitor gets in the U.S. (Think telemarketer)

[Streetcar]

Now, all joking aside, in English law you actually don't have to stop at a Stop sign if there is no-one coming, so our English lawyer would have been quite correct ... if he had been in England, which he wasn't. Of course, your story is set in Scotland, and I have no idea what the law is there.

England and Scotland have entirely different legal systems altogether. England invented the common law system, which applies in most of the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and 49 states of the US plus DC also. OTOH, Scotland, the Channel Islands, all of continental Europe and, believe it or not, the state of Louisiana, still follow the civil law system that was invented by the ancient Romans.

The basic type of legal system of course has little to do with the traffic laws. There again, each time HM government passes a bill for England they have to pass a separate one to change Scottish law. So perhaps you really do have to stop when there is no traffic coming, unlike South of the border? I wonder?

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer.

It's a JOKE...