The majority of people who watched Andy and Barney every week for years during prime time and then later on during reruns, never believed that what was being depicted on the show (the sheriff also being the Justice of the Peace who was legally allowed to try the same people he had either cited or arrested on minor criminal charges i.e. usually crimes that carried no more then a maximum penalty of 30 - 90 days in jail), was actually taking place during the time that the show ran. As a matter of fact, it only stopped during the 1970's, when the US Supreme Court basically ruled in a manner that was pretty much stated to Andy by the "Woman Speeder". But, when she told Andy what she thought of Mayberry's "Fool Proof System", it resulted in Andy determining that she had "insulted the dignity of his robe", but based on the circumstances that transpired around her and others being cited, arrested and then also tried and convicted by the same representative of the government during the process from start to finish, it also resulted in the United States of America's highest court pretty much stating the same thing she did, which is basically this: Common sense alone tells you that anytime a person who accuses another person of a crime is allowed to determine rather you are guilty or innocent of those charges is, at a minimum a clear and concise appearance of impropriety, and that goes for Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry as well! CASE DISMISSED!