Rickochet Regarding using the express checkout lane with more than the limit I have often exceeded the limit but only use that aisle if it is open with no one waiting I will ask the clerk first and most often they say yes.
I don't think they are in a position to say no. Still, you are occupying a line you shouldn't and people with very few items could come up any moment and have to wait for you. That person with 35 items probably felt like he/she wasn't inconveniencing anyone either. The line might have been empty when they went in.
Not really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but this thread exists, so it's a big deal to some. It is frustrating when someone bends the rules and other people end up inconvenienced because of it.
A poor result can happen even with non-jackass intentions, like yours. You're not trying to make anyone wait, but it can happen. 35-item-guy might have been two items into his order and all of a sudden three people are stacked up behind him. Whoops. Not his intent maybe, but he shouldn't have been there in the first place.