What a fun day I had!! :O Today I had to go to court to fight my speeding ticket that I got.
(I set my cruise at 62 in a 55, the cop pulled me over and said I was doing 71. There was a car passing me as I was passing another car, I was in the middle lane... I told the cop that I had my cruise set at 62, and he just turned and walked away, so, he came back with a ticket.)
I got to the court house about 12:25, and got a parking spot (That was fun...) then went in, and got my name into the computer. The lady at the information desk said they would call my name when it was time. So I got my seat, feeling nervous, but repeating a verse that Dakotah learned, Isiah 41:10, So Do not be afraid, I am with you. There are more and more people coming in and getting a seat and then they had to end up standing because there was no room to sit. I am thinking, ok, this is interesting, because I hear them say the same time as my court time. Then finally at 1:10, the doors opened and it was MAD RUSH to get in there!! I didn't notice from where I was sitting that the doors were open til everyone seriously started RUNNING into the room. So I got in without getting trampled, got a seat and sat some more. It is starting to dawn on my that this isn't a trial to fight my ticket, this is where you say if you are guilty or not guilty, then you go from there. Another 10 minutes pass and the judge walks in the room. He sits down, talks a little, and calls a name. The first lady was in tears before she left. The judge did a VERY good job of making you feel less than 2 inches tall. Her fine was almost 900 bucks, she said she couldn't pay that right now, so the judge asked her how much time she would need. She said atleast 7 months, so he gave her 8 months. The only thing nice about the judge was that he gave the people as much time as they needed to pay off their tickets. As I am sitting there listening to everyone, I am getting a little more nervous, thinking this is just a waste of time. Why did I show up? So my name gets called, I got up and wait til the person is done being called guilty. I go up and he asks if I was guilty or not guilty, I said guilty, but I was not going that fast. I do everything Jason said to do and what not to do I didn't do. After everything was said and done, I plead guilty. Basically the judge told me that it sounded like I wanted to go to trial, and I said yes. He said with everything I told him, they MAY knock of 10 bucks from the ticket, but he HIGHLY doubted it. Plus I would still have to pay the 50 buck court fee, then if I didn't win the trial (If I set a trial date) I would have to pay the ticket, so it would be more time, stress and I would be out $50! So he said what do you plead? I said guilty I guess. So I paid my ticket and left. I am still peeved about it! I am just mad because it seems like it is a way to get more money out of us citizens, you go to a "pre-trial", then if you plead not guilty, you set up a trial date and then go from there. If I had known that I wouldn't have be going to a trial, I probably wouldn't have bothered. It was to much stress for me! So, I ended up paying the ticket and I am GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I so did NOT like saying I was guilty!!!!!!!! I feel like a criminal now!)
I think I also forgot to mention something about this cop. We are going through a new insurance company for home and auto, and we were just getting the rates when I got pulled over, so I called the guy just to let hm know, since he had asked... When the insurance guy came over to give us the quotes he got, he was asking me who the officer was, I said I wasn't sure of his name and the signature was something like BMT... He then was asking me what he looked like, and then asked if he also had some other features, I was like yeah, sounds like him. He said that this officer is known for pulling over his own FAMILY on their way to CHURCH!! He said he is a real jerk, I am thinking, sure sounds like it! Nice huh?
(I set my cruise at 62 in a 55, the cop pulled me over and said I was doing 71. There was a car passing me as I was passing another car, I was in the middle lane... I told the cop that I had my cruise set at 62, and he just turned and walked away, so, he came back with a ticket.)
I got to the court house about 12:25, and got a parking spot (That was fun...) then went in, and got my name into the computer. The lady at the information desk said they would call my name when it was time. So I got my seat, feeling nervous, but repeating a verse that Dakotah learned, Isiah 41:10, So Do not be afraid, I am with you. There are more and more people coming in and getting a seat and then they had to end up standing because there was no room to sit. I am thinking, ok, this is interesting, because I hear them say the same time as my court time. Then finally at 1:10, the doors opened and it was MAD RUSH to get in there!! I didn't notice from where I was sitting that the doors were open til everyone seriously started RUNNING into the room. So I got in without getting trampled, got a seat and sat some more. It is starting to dawn on my that this isn't a trial to fight my ticket, this is where you say if you are guilty or not guilty, then you go from there. Another 10 minutes pass and the judge walks in the room. He sits down, talks a little, and calls a name. The first lady was in tears before she left. The judge did a VERY good job of making you feel less than 2 inches tall. Her fine was almost 900 bucks, she said she couldn't pay that right now, so the judge asked her how much time she would need. She said atleast 7 months, so he gave her 8 months. The only thing nice about the judge was that he gave the people as much time as they needed to pay off their tickets. As I am sitting there listening to everyone, I am getting a little more nervous, thinking this is just a waste of time. Why did I show up? So my name gets called, I got up and wait til the person is done being called guilty. I go up and he asks if I was guilty or not guilty, I said guilty, but I was not going that fast. I do everything Jason said to do and what not to do I didn't do. After everything was said and done, I plead guilty. Basically the judge told me that it sounded like I wanted to go to trial, and I said yes. He said with everything I told him, they MAY knock of 10 bucks from the ticket, but he HIGHLY doubted it. Plus I would still have to pay the 50 buck court fee, then if I didn't win the trial (If I set a trial date) I would have to pay the ticket, so it would be more time, stress and I would be out $50! So he said what do you plead? I said guilty I guess. So I paid my ticket and left. I am still peeved about it! I am just mad because it seems like it is a way to get more money out of us citizens, you go to a "pre-trial", then if you plead not guilty, you set up a trial date and then go from there. If I had known that I wouldn't have be going to a trial, I probably wouldn't have bothered. It was to much stress for me! So, I ended up paying the ticket and I am GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I so did NOT like saying I was guilty!!!!!!!! I feel like a criminal now!)
I think I also forgot to mention something about this cop. We are going through a new insurance company for home and auto, and we were just getting the rates when I got pulled over, so I called the guy just to let hm know, since he had asked... When the insurance guy came over to give us the quotes he got, he was asking me who the officer was, I said I wasn't sure of his name and the signature was something like BMT... He then was asking me what he looked like, and then asked if he also had some other features, I was like yeah, sounds like him. He said that this officer is known for pulling over his own FAMILY on their way to CHURCH!! He said he is a real jerk, I am thinking, sure sounds like it! Nice huh?
Comments
I guess the bright side is that it IS OVER!!
I hate that you had to go through that!