desperately need legal help/law enforcement input

[SilverSleeper]

Guys, here goes....

Roll clock back to 01, I got 2 speeding tickets in the T. I hired a lawyer to take care of them. The second of the 2 tickets was taken care of immediately. The first dragged on. And dragged on. Fast forward to end of 04. I get a notice from my lawyer that the ticket #1 is still pending, and he is waiting to hear back from the DA on the plea. Fast forward a couple months. Lawyer sends me a form to fill out to plea down the ticket. I fill it out and send it to him.
Wednesday night, I got pulled over for a past inspection (when youre getting laid off in a few weeks, your car inspection is not at the top of your to do list!) I worked all day the next 2 days. I went into work this saturday, and on my way in a NYS trooper pulls me over. Asks me if I know why, of course I tell him the inspection, and that I already got a ticket. He makes me sit there, then comes back later on, and tells me my licenses comes back as suspended! That it was suspended for failure to appear before the court on the ticket. He calls the judge, (who luckily wasnt home, because he was supposed to arrest me right there.) Writes me a ticket for the inspection, and one for a misdemeanor, unlicensed operation. Says I know you need to put money in your wallet, I have a call I need to go to, Im going the other way. What you do now is up to you.
I drove to work. (Which is about 30 miles away.) With an upcoming layoff in a few weeks, not showing up means getting fired, and losing my unemployment.
Im taking monday off to get the car inspected, but what do I do now?
I mean, I have to confront the lawyer, but do I have any recourse, and whats going to happen now?
I try to keep my nose clean, and this idiot screws up, and now I could go to jail for it, lose my job, my cars, everything. Im at a loss. How do I handle this whole mess?
Anyone, epecially law enforcement or those with legal knowledge I would greatly appreciate your input. I havent slept since friday...I just cant.

 

[QTRMILER]

Its actually more than your making it out to be. Call the court and either pay your bail or set a court date or see if you can go in and pay fine if you want. Explain your situation with the lawyer etc to the clerk and see what you can do to get the license restored. The ticket for unlicensed/suspended can go away in court if you provide proof of a "mess up" and that the problem has since been corrected. Call the lawyer and ask him WTF and see what he says, maybe they never noticed him as your representation or maybe he dropped the ball. Nothing a few phone calls and a little time should not be able to take care of. In the interim, dont drive until you get it sorted out or you'll assist yourself in getting deeper into trouble if something goes wrong (accident, pulled over etc.) Good Luck. Mike.

 

[85HOT-T]

Honestly i would not worry much, sounds more like a clarical error at the courthouse. Of course im on probation for dope so anything is better lol.

Seriously though, I bet its a clerical error. i dought you will even hear the word jail.

 

[TexasT]

I would deffinately hit this head on

Make some calls. Find out where you stand and get a plan together. Letting it lay, it will get worse.

Rich

 

[SilverSleeper]

Already did.

The car got inspected today, needed a few minor things, but it passed. So now I can take care of the inspection tickets.
I called my lawyer, and he says that at that point the case was being handled, the court was going through a change in judges, and in small town courts, they do their own paperwork, etc. So, the paperwork that we had signed with the DA pleading guilty to a lesser charge, was never processed by the court. So its actually the courts fault. He is going to call them and get my license reinstated, then we can take care of the misdemeanor charge, which my lawyer says should be dropped completely because it was due to a clerical error, and was not my fault at all.
I honestly thought he dropped the ball, and he was gonna be a jerk about it and not work with me. Thats what I was worried about, was having to fight my old lawyer about wether he did his job or not. But I guess it should work out.
Right now, I cant afford to be without a license. With my layoff in a few weeks, I have been out job hunting and putting in applications. So, to just sit here and not be able to go on interview and stuff really sucks. Hopefully he will be able to get my license reinstated really soon.

 

[85HOT-T]

Gotta love those courthouse clerical errors

 

[B.B.]

Gotta love those courthouse clerical errors

Yeah, I had a run in with a officer one night around 1 AM b/c he had a warrent for my arrest for not completing my community service. He let me go when I showed him my paperwork showing I HAD finished it. Then I went to the courthouse to have the warrents taken off of me and at first they said I WAS GONNA HAVE TO PAY to get it taken off!!!!! So, finally the cleck went to the judge and he signed it blah blah blah.....

Anyway, good luck to you!!

 

[SilverSleeper]

Well, the results are in....Im screwed.

I went to court tonight on the 3rd degree a.u.o., and the judge didnt want to see any of my paperwork showing how badly my lawyer screwed up. He didnt want to hear about the 911 change of address which caused me not to get the notice of suspenion (since they arent forwarded). First thing he asks who my lawyer is...I tell him, and he goes...OH! I know John. Not like (oh that schmuck) more like (hey I just played poker with him last night). So from then on, everytime I tried to point out a mistake John made, the judge would just say nope its your fault. even how John held onto the paper work for 3 months before getting them to the court, which happened 5 days after they suspended my license for failure to appear. Nope. again, must be my fault! How John got a letter from the court that my license was suspended, yet he didnt bother to inform me of it. yep, my fault again.
The judge in my old case (where I had to go to get my license back), said hed thrown it out if it were up to him.
But, now Im stuck with unlicensed operation on my driving record. Thats the lowest plea the judge would take, and I have a $300 fine to pay. Hes like, you were facing 30+ days in jail and $1000 fine. Id say you were lucky.
He was hearing cases on weapons charges, DWIs, multiple harrassment charges, and he was fine to all of them, but a jerk to me. I was calm and just wanted to state the facts, and all he wanted was to go home (since I was nearly the last one there.)
My question is, what the heck does this mean for my license? He wouldnt explain what it means, Ive googled for the last hour with no luck. Anyone got any idea? Points? Insurance? etc?
I had to drink 2 beers when I got home just to calm myself down after throwing stuff. I was so ticked off over this.
Lawyers suck!

 

[85HOT-T]

sounds like you got the worse of his bad day. Welcome to the club of getting dicked over by the pissy judge. F em!

 

[PhilM]

I had to get a lawyer for my suspension but in the end, I was 500$ in the hole for his fees and he did absolutely nothing. He didn't even show up for the court hearing and had to handle it all myself anyways. The only thing I think that getting a lawyer shows is that you are more serious about getting it handled and have paid out the wazzuu for his costs. Who knows. I try and play it cool now... avoid the law at all costs (ie. drive nicer, less speeding more acceleration, etc...).

When I lost my license for 30days, I looked at the bright side and did some mods to the car to make it faster.

Sorry bout the job situation... I know what it's like to be broke and pressed for money, especially when there are a ton of surcharges, fees, and fines on your tail...

Phil

 

[SilverSleeper]

What really ticks me off...
is that for someone elses screw ups, now I have a bad driving record.
Which really hurt me more than you can imagine. Any of the places around here I was thinking about trying to get a job for, they require a clean driving record. I actually have an "in" at an auto parts store around here (former boss is the district manager) but now I cant get hired there because of my record. I cant even go wash cars at the dealership without a clean license. Working around cars/car parts,etc was where my next move was going to be if I do end up losing my job (which could happen any day now.) So basically they just took away my biggest chance of getting a job

 

[PhilM]

Well for future reference, just don't get speeding tickets and you'll avoid all of this...

BTW, in NJ here, they have a deal where you show upto court and plea for a lesser (nonpoints) violation but the fine is doubled... either way its worth not having any points regaurdless of the increased cost. They let me do that 3 times... after that I got points like a normal fooo. I'm sure officers like JBenn wouldn't lemme off the hook though




he'd ask to drive the car

Phil

 

[Little6pack]

The part that is fuzzy to me is WHY did you hire a lawyer for traffic tickets?

Why did you not just pay them?

PS when you get stopped for an inspection sitcker.
USE this line (works for me) most of the time

Officer my car is old & the parts are on back order once they are in I am scheduled to do an inspection.

 

[SilverSleeper]

1. The speeding tickets were pretty bad, just short of 20 over. Which is BS, but I didnt want to risk a reckless driving charge back then. Plus the original judge in the case I knew, and I knew he was gonna stick it to me if I showed up on my own.

2. I was driving the PT when I was stopped for inspection, so unfortunately the line doesnt apply. The whole "Im facing a layoff in a month and Ive been out doing job interview and applying while working 45-50 hour weeks, so I totally forgot with all thats going on" didnt seem to carry any sympathy from the Po Po either.

3. and actually the speeding tickets themselves were BS. My speedometer never went past 65 while I was trying to pass a truck on a hill in a breakout lane, yet somehow he managed to clock me at 72. the cop came around the bend and downhill while I was trying to pass the truck. The truck was doing 40 for 15 miles, and the first 4 cars got by him, and I was last in line and running out of breakout lane space to pass him with, and wouldnt have another chance to pass for another 10 miles.

 

[Little6pack]

1. The speeding tickets were pretty bad, just short of 20 over. Which is BS, but I didnt want to risk a reckless driving charge back then. Plus the original judge in the case I knew, and I knew he was gonna stick it to me if I showed up on my own.

2. I was driving the PT when I was stopped for inspection, so unfortunately the line doesnt apply. The whole "Im facing a layoff in a month and Ive been out doing job interview and applying while working 45-50 hour weeks, so I totally forgot with all thats going on" didnt seem to carry any sympathy from the Po Po either.

3. and actually the speeding tickets themselves were BS. My speedometer never went past 65 while I was trying to pass a truck on a hill in a breakout lane, yet somehow he managed to clock me at 72. the cop came around the bend and downhill while I was trying to pass the truck. The truck was doing 40 for 15 miles, and the first 4 cars got by him, and I was last in line and running out of breakout lane space to pass him with, and wouldnt have another chance to pass for another 10 miles.

OK I can see where that Line would not work since the PT is new.

Wow what happens for over 20 in NY state?

here in NH
1 to 10 mph over is $43
11 to 15 $57
16 to 20 $72
20 to up $86 to $115
Over 30 mph appear in court

I remember last year taking the family out to Niagra falls. Come to think of it I saw lots of NY state PD on the road from Albany to Buffalo. They seem to have had a big trap setup near Rochester. You ain't kidding about cow country.

 

[dgreen1069]

What makes you think the speeding ticket's were BS? It sounds like the officer was using moving radar. The radar sends one signal to the ground to track the cruiser's speed and a second signal that tracks oncoming vehicles. The radar unit does all the math and displays the cruisers patrol speed as well as the offenders speed. Radar is dead on accurate.....officers doesn't have to guess, they know your speed better than you do. I understand how nobody likes to get a ticket, but it always amazes me how many people blame the officer instead of themselves. Radar is far more accurate than mechanical speedometers....that is why radar and lidar are prema facia evidence of speed in most courts.

I wouldn't worry too much about the no operators license charge. It would have been far worse if you had been convicted of driving on a suspended license. There is always a chance your insurance company won't even find out. Courts don't notify insurance companies of violations, insurance companies have to check up on you. If you haven't had any problems in the past with your insurance, they may not ever check up on you.

In VA, speeding 20+ is reckless driving and carries 6 points. 10-19 over carries 4 points, and 1-9 over carries 3 points. In VA the fine is $5 for every mile per hour over the limit plus $56 in court costs. I hope this helps.

 

[TexasT]

You Ain't in the Crossbar Hilton

Pay your money and keep your nose clean.

Following that truck for ten miles worth what you're having to deal with? Think about it next time you think you are in a hurry and decide to exceed the limit.

Going to the pokey is NOT fun and games. Be happy he(Judge) didn't send you.

The bright side is you've learned a valuable lesson and in ten years you'll be looking back on this fond memory and laughing about it.

Good Luck and do the probation community service if offered. I went back and explained my situation to the judge and got the fine lowered to a level I could pay and the community service raised to cover the fine(I had to pick up trash on the side of the road and cut grass at the city parks once a month for quite some time).

Rich

 

[SilverSleeper]

Wow, I get more sympathy from the judge in my original speeding case than I get from my Buick brothers on this board

In talking with the judge I had for the original speeding ticket, he said that he would have thrown out the 3rd degree auo altogether, since it was obvious that it was a screw up between my lawyer and the court. The court at the time was going through a change in judges/staff, etc, so a lot got missed when that happened. The evidence is black and white that it wasnt my fault. There is a history of exchanges going back 5 years between my lawyer and the court. I signed the plea deal and my lawyer had it in his possesion for 3 months before mailing it to the court, which showed up about 6 days too late. My lawyer was even mailed a letter from the court that informed him my plea deal didnt get there in time and my license was suspended. do you think he called me or forwarded the letter to me? no.
It took me almost 2.5 weeks to get my license back after I was stopped, because my lawyer supposedly sent the court a letter, then called, but then he went on vacation for 2 weeks, so I couldnt even get my license back until he came back from vacation, because he had possesion of all the forms and paperwork regarding the case!!
The judge in the auo case didnt want to see my paperwork. he didnt want to listen to me. He asked me who my lawyer was, then defended him at every turn, even when looking right at the paperwork I had, he somehow managed to tell me it was my fault that John hadnt gotten the paperwork in, that John hadnt notified me of the details, all that was my fault. He has a reputation around here for favoring certain lawyers, I found that out today. I guess badmouthing John (who is probably one of his favored ones) sealed my fate.

And the speeding ticket was BS. I have read up on how radar operates. Im not saying it isnt valid because he wasnt sitting. Im saying it wasnt valid because there were many other cars around me, we were not on a level plane, he was going around a curve while I was going straight. I didnt know enough back then to ask to see the radar gun, he coulda put 100mph on there if he wanted to. This officer had a history of harrassment to me personally. I got one of his previous tickets to me thrown out because he screwed up procedure. He stopped me without probable cause that time. I think he pulled me over because I was last in the line, and he knew who I was. There is no way my car could have accelerated from 40 mph to 73 in the time it takes to pass a single axle box truck on an 8% grade. I hadnt even gotten nose to nose with the truck before he put his lights on. Back then, we were talking about the car with a 307, 200-c, and a 2.14 rear gear. Gimme a break.

And, I was convicted of driving on a suspended license...just not "aggrivated in the 3rd degree".

 

[dgreen1069]

There is no doubt that screw ups happen at DMV's and Courts. I can't imagine how mad I would be if I was convicted of something that I did not do. A driving while suspended charge is a big deal to most insurance companies. I would cross my fingers and hope they don't check up on you....as I said before, the courts will not notify your insurance.

As far as the Radar goes, a radar's zone of influence can be as wide as about 4 traffic lanes. The three things that most affect Radar are speed, size, and distance. The Cosine effect discounts any angles between your vehicle and the Radar.....basically, if the Radar is at an angle it will see your car as travelling slower than it actually is. It errors on the side of the violator! If you think the ticket is BS because there were other cars present, you need to ask yourself if any of those cars were travelling faster than you....if not, chances are it was right. The differences caused by elevation differences and curves would only lessen your observed speed from your actual speed.
Not seeing the actual Radar is a non-issue. In VA, you wouldn't be allowed to see your speed.

In VA, nobody sees the Radar because the officer is not allowed to lock the violators speed onto the display. The reason is so the Radar operator can get a tracking history on the observed vehicle. Once the Radar set "sees" a vehicle, it displays the speed and gives off an audible tone called a "dopler tone". As the officer watches the car approach or pass, the tone will change with the violators speed (most people slow down once they see the cruiser). That is how officers know they have the correct car when there are several cars.......they have a tracking history (but it can be very short). I don't know the laws of every state, but I would guess most states have similar rules for Radar operation. The beauty of Lidar (laser) is that is does allow the officer to lock the speed onto the display so it can be shown to the violator.

I hope this information helps you out a bit, and I hope everything works out OK.

I forgot to add, why not go today and get a copy of your driving record? I woudn't suggest lying to a potential employer, but if they only ask to see your driving record you can show them one......sometimes it takes a while for the DMV to add convictions onto your record.

 

[TexasT]

I'm just offering advice

This is the same advice I would give my son or friend. You seem to think that this 'officer' is out to get you. I'm sure he has better things to do with his time than hunt you. The world is not out to get you in particular.

The lesson is that this is your problem and you have to own up. You hired a lawyer, do you ever call him or the court to verify that your problem had been taken care of? I'm sure he is busy and has many clients(If not why are you using him?). He is not the one with the suspended licence or the dings in his driving record. You have to make sure your problem is handled.

Trust me I have been knocked down in life more than once. You have to learn from your mistakes and move on. If this 'officer' is a problem and he is 'hunting' you it might be time to look into moving to another location away from him. Running from the problem is not a solution but sometimes people just don't get along and it is better not to have to deal with them if they can be avoided.

If you go looking for problems more often than not you will find them. Don't go looking for problems. The world and government does not owe you, me or anybody anything. We live in the greatest country ever and opportunity is being provided but you must take advantage of it.

Good Luck

Rich