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my day in court
One morning back in June a police officer stopped me, said I hadn't
stopped "long enough" at a stop sign (he didn't say I ran it), and gave
me a ticket. He also told me that he was being ultra-picky because
there had been complaints in the neighborhood, he didn't think highly of
his current assignment, and if I were to plead "not guilty" he wouldn't
show up in traffic court unless specifically ordered to. O...kay. Not
how I particularly wanted to spend a couple hours, but my unblemished
record and exaggerated fees were at stake, so I did that. (Traffic tickets
are kind of like phone bills, apparently -- $20 or so base cost plus $100 or more
in fees...)
My hearing was this morning and, as expected, was successful. Most hearings took about a minute: the clerk tells the judge what the charge is, the judge says "talk to me" after swearing you in, you tell your story, and he either says "ok" or "no" and sends you on your way. I didn't say anything about what the officer had told me, of course; I merely said (honestly) that I had stopped, that the officer had an obstructed view (he was on a narrow side street behind another car, with buildings going almost to the street), and that I've never had a moving violation in (mumble) years of driving. That was sufficient.
What was interesting were the cases that weren't so straightforward. These were generally the ones that people brought lawyers for. These included:
- A charge of driving on a suspended license. There was a quiet, heated exchange, and after the judge ruled the defendant guilty I heard his lawyer say "I need to talk to you right now". Sounds like somebody wasn't completely straight with his counsel...
- A charge of an illegal turn (admitted) with an add-on of reckless endangerment. The lawyer argued that the latter requires intent and this wasn't intentional; the defendant hadn't seen the sign -- and also, this would carry six points. The judge asked the police officer if he was ok with that, there was a huddle, and the officer agreed.
- Aside: that police officer stayed there for three cases in a row all at that same intersection. I couldn't tell if they were on the same day, but I assume so. (Locals: a no-left-turn sign at the five-way intersection on Blvd of the Allies.)
- One defendant said it was his car but he wasn't the driver. The officer said something like "I always process these the same day; either he has a twin out there or it was him". The judge asked him how confident he was on a scale of 1-10; he said 8. Guilty. (I have no idea what "process" means here.) Since no mention was made of a driver's license having been shown, I suspect this was a case where the driver didn't stop and the ticket was issued based on the plates.
- One defendant was initially stopped for an expired inspection sticker, which led to the discovery that he was driving on a suspended license. The defendant said he had borrowed the car from a friend and who thinks to check the stickers? (I can sympathize for that part, though not the suspended-license part.) The police officer took a hard line with him, saying that it's his responsibility as a driver to check these things. There was then a discussion I couldn't hear, and I think he was found guilty on all counts. (Aside: how can they even read those stickers on moving cars? They're not big. Are they relying on cameras with zoom or something?)
- A feeble, elderly man who, on being asked how he pled, launched into a long, fairly-incoherent babble about how he's a good driver and not like those reckless kids and blah blah blah, and he's 93 years old and knows how to drive -- and never actually answered the question or said what happened during his traffic stop. The judge just said "ok" and sent him away. Were I that guy, I might have considered paying the ticket by mail even if I wasn't guilty, because the alternative might risk too much scrutiny -- though, demonstrably, his approach can work.
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Stickers: around here, the last digit of your license plate indicates the month your registration will expire. So that plus a quick glimpse of color tells the police if you're expired... no idea if there's a similar system out there.
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The registration sticker is the little one on the license plate. I bet they only pick those up if they're *really* the wrong color, or they're sitting behind the person.
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That's clever. We don't have that here. There's a small sticker on the plate, which specifies when the registration runs out, and separately there's a larger inspection sticker on the windshield (as
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They are in MA... also, ours are in the lower right hand corner of the windscreen. IIRC, PA stickers are in the center near the rear view mirror?
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I'm baffled by the bit about reckless endangerment requiring intent, because I thought the point about recklessness was that even if you didn't intend, you should have been taking more care.
And a bit alarmed about the 93 year old...
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I'm kind of freaked out by the 93-year-old driver, though. Doesn't sound like he should still be on the road. I hope I'm wrong. My father is 70 and stopped driving a few years ago, though in his case medication was a factor in the decision, but he stopped driving voluntarily when he realized he just couldn't do it safely any more. I totally respect him for it.
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Iowa registration stickers are color coded by year, but AFAIK, the expiration month isn't linked to the tag number. In the next couple of years we are due to get new plates for all registered vehicles (as the registration is renewed), so that will make expired registration a bit easier to spot, as the change is happening over two or three years, IIRC.
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I'm more than a bit alarmed about the 93-year-old, and did my best to beat him out of the building and out of downtown. :-)
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My parents are still doing fine with driving and I believe they're both aware enough to know when to stop. But it's also good that they leave nearby and I see them often.
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And, the officer felt sorry for me, but it was a speed trap, and I think he had a quota. Admittedly, I was trying to gently and politely talk it down to a warning. His words to me were "Well, here's what you do. Plead "not guilty" and you'll get a court date. I won't be there." What he was telling me there was that he wouldn't show up for my hearing, and it would be thrown out. He was true to his word, and I think the judge was crusty on purpose to try and get any reason to give me something. I viewed it as a game of "how dumb do ya think I am," and was carefully polite, truthful and concise. I would've been those three anyway, but in this case, it was a small victory. :-)