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I ended up leaving a tad later than I had wanted, and hit more traffic on the way to the courthouse than I had expected, so I made it to the designated area just a tad bit later than I had planned. (i.e. I was late.) Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I had never done this before so I wasn't actually sure what I was supposed to do when I got there. So I wandered around a bit. I found a list of names posted and noticed that my name was on that list. Eventually, i found my way to the right court room, and one of the officers standing in front asked me if I knew where I was going. I showed him my slip and asked him if I was in the right place. He looked at me and said,
"I'm the guy who charged you."
Now isn't that convenient? So we walked outside and he took a look at the muffler. I reved the engine and he was satisfied with the change, so we went back in to widthdraw the charge.
Unfortunately, I still had to wait until my name was called before I could go home, so I sat down and waited for the proceedings to start. Even though I was basically the last one to get in line, we waited a long time before the judge appeared. (All rise. Please be seated..)
The first few people to go up were agents and representatives for some of the defendants. I was a bit taken aback by how quickly they spoke, how non-chalant and monotonic they were, and the language they used. It all seemed so rehearsed. But they basically came up, blabbed a bit, and then walked away. Just like that. Even the people representing themselves went through the grinder pretty quickly. (Charges widthdrawn, or pleading guilty, etc.) I was so amazed by the efficiency of this court, that I didn't realize that I was the last one in the room. Then my name was called.
I got up, said my name, and went through the motions of listening to the charges being widthdrawn, and then was allowed to leave. Just like that. Pretty painless huh?
Monday, December 22, 2003 at 19:52:39 (UTC)
It's interesting how "Mea Culpa" goes a long way at these Traffic Courts! My dad got caught speeding and he was thinking of denying everything. I think we got a handout or something but my dad basically plead guilty, explained what happened (got caught at the bottom of a hill, slippery day, etc.) and the judge basically handed out a small fine, no demerits, nothing. We watched everybody else do the same thing..."Mea Culpa" "Okay, here's your $30 fine, no demerits, etc.".
Grinning Reaper
Monday, December 22, 2003 at 20:01:08 (UTC)
Well, when I got the ticket the officer told me that he'd drop the charges if I had the muffler replaced. So that's what I did.
QYV