A routine news story in today’s edition of The Union about another of our dim-witted local criminals raises an interesting question (at least to me).

The Union reports that Thomas Edward Weed of Grass V alley attracted the attention of Placer County Sheriff’s deputies when he sped past them into the parking lot of the sheriff’s North Tahoe Station, which also contains a courtroom. The guy was apparently late for a court appearance.

The deputies ran a check on his license plate and learned that he was on probation and driving with a suspended license. When Weed emerged from the building, they found drugs and other illegal items in his car. He was arrested on several charges, including “being under the influence of meth,” according to the sheriff’s press release.

If the meth charge is true, that prompts an obvious question: Didn’t anybody in the courtroom notice that Weed was under the influence? The bailiffs? The judge? The clerk? The attorneys?

If I was Weed, I’d call them as witnesses when his case goes to trial.