Child Abuse Case Hinges On Whether 9-Year-Old Really Was 'Driving Good'

By Margaret Hartmann | November 10, 2011 | 2:06am

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As you’ll recall, last month police pulled over a 9-year-old Michigan girl who was acting as her allegedly inebriated father’s designated driver. She told cops, “What did you stop me for? I was driving good,” making this a confusingly adorable criminal act.

Shawn Weimer was charged with felony child abuse in the second degree for allegedly “knowingly or intentionally” committing an act “likely to cause serious physical or mental harm.” Incredibly, his lawyers are now arguing that the case should be treated as a misdemeanor due to the girl’s excellent driving skills. They say Weimer knew his daughter wasn’t likely to hurt anybody when she got on the road, but the fact that the girl maintained the speed limit, used her turn signal, and stopped at intersections indicates that they’ve been practicing a lot and cops just failed to spot them.