4588686 Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) I got a speeding ticket a while ago. I went to court to try to get the charges reduced. The line took a little over two hours just to get to my spot. The judge was incredibly long winded. It wasn't long before I started making fun of how Kafkaesque the scene was. A judge rambling on to a sophomore at the local party school about his his possession charge could stop him from getting some great job in the future that requires a security clearance even though nobody believed that the kid was either repentant or capable of landing a job that took background checks seriously. Me and this hipster girl were laughing about it and making the surrounding people laugh for about 30 minutes before some woman who had undoubtedly volunteered a lot to be hall monitor in grade school turned around and told us 'just so we'd know' that we could be found in contempt of court. The judge didn't seem to give a duck. Eventually my turn came. I got the Assistant District Attorney to reduce the charge. The judge asked me how I wanted to plead. I said, 'guilty.' He asked if I had anything to say on my behalf before the sentence. I smiled and said 'no, thanks.' Nobody else had done that in the two hours I was there and he seemed to appreciate the brief break in the theatrics and laughed and smiled and said "sometimes there's just nothing to say." I paid my fine and left. It was about $50 cheaper than the original charge and now it shouldn't impact my insurance. I do regret not talking more with the hipster girl. Edited February 13, 2013 by Hasan
Autumn Dusk Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Hassan, it sounds as if you were a bit rude. It's not a fun job to make decisions about speeding tickets all day. I've been to a speeding ticket hearing before. Apparently I missed the 3 houses that made up a town and I should of divined to go slower, and the cop was a part of male anatomy. I'd actually slowed and started to turn around because I was lost and had seen the cop and wanted to ask for help. The cop never told me where I was, and I ended up finding a UPS driver who helped me out. The judge let me off and the cop got a warning that he better not appear in front of a court like this again or he'd be charging the officer.
4588686 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Posted February 13, 2013 Hassan, it sounds as if you were a bit rude. It's not a fun job to make decisions about speeding tickets all day. I guess I find it ruder that North Carolina uses traffic tickets for revenue rather than safety. I think that it's somewhat rude for the state of North Carolina to charge me $178. I wasn't rude to the judge. I'm sure it's not a fun job but he is well paid for a pretty mundane job so I don't feel terrible for him. I don't have any animosity towards the judge. I just didn't see any need to publicly flagellate myself.
Nihil Obstat Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Good story. I was not sure where the sarcasm began or ended, which always makes for a fun read. 10/10, would read again. In my experience, it seems that the majority of cops really do not care what you are doing as long as they do not think you are disrespecting them. If they do, they can be rather vindictive.
Lil Red Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 i would have loved to be a fly on the wall for this. :)
Brother Adam Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Was it worth the $25 an hour to stand in a line? I think I would have just paid it.
fides' Jack Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Good story. I was not sure where the sarcasm began or ended, which always makes for a fun read. 10/10, would read again. In my experience, it seems that the majority of cops really do not care what you are doing as long as they do not think you are disrespecting them. If they do, they can be rather vindictive. If you're stupid enough to be disrespectful to a cop, you deserve a little vindictiveness. This reminded me about the time I went to one of those. It took about an hour to get through the line, and most people were just pleading guilty and having their "sentences" reduced.
Papist Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 I guess I find it ruder that North Carolina uses traffic tickets for revenue rather than safety. I think that it's somewhat rude for the state of North Carolina to charge me $178. I wasn't rude to the judge. I'm sure it's not a fun job but he is well paid for a pretty mundane job so I don't feel terrible for him. I don't have any animosity towards the judge. I just didn't see any need to publicly flagellate myself. I-85 can take you out of North Carolina. If that helps.
Nihil Obstat Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 If you're stupid enough to be disrespectful to a cop, you deserve a little vindictiveness. This reminded me about the time I went to one of those. It took about an hour to get through the line, and most people were just pleading guilty and having their "sentences" reduced. :idontknow: It is not unusual that a cop is inclined, for whatever reason, to be a jerk, just because they can. Yet if you do not respond with perfect deference, you get squished. I am not ok with that, just because they have a shiny badge. That is the way it is, but that does not mean I have to appreciate it.
MIKolbe Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Next time don't anger me Hasan, and I won't have to reach into my deep pocket of 'friends' to teach you a lesson. Live and learn, young pup....I love you anyways.
Nihil Obstat Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Next time don't anger me Hasan, and I won't have to reach into my deep pocket of 'friends' to teach you a lesson. Live and learn, young pup....I love you anyways. If thou stretchest forth thy hand, we promise amendment; if thou withholdest the sword, we keep not our promise. If thou strikest, we cry out for mercy: if thou sparest, we again provoke thee to strike.
r2Dtoo Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) I guess I find it ruder that North Carolina uses traffic tickets for revenue rather than safety. I think that it's somewhat rude for the state of North Carolina to charge me $178. I wasn't rude to the judge. I'm sure it's not a fun job but he is well paid for a pretty mundane job so I don't feel terrible for him. I don't have any animosity towards the judge. I just didn't see any need to publicly flagellate myself. You're complaining over $178? My last speeding ticket that I got in VA cost over $300, and it didn't even affect my insurance. Edited February 13, 2013 by r2Dtoo
4588686 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Posted February 13, 2013 Was it worth the $25 an hour to stand in a line? I think I would have just paid it. That's a lot more than I get paid. Plus what it saves in insurance. Yes. It definitely was.
Nihil Obstat Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 You're complaining over $178? My last speeding ticket that I got in VA cost over $300, and it didn't even affect my insurance. Your ticket would probably not have been so expensive, if you had not insisted on exposing your naked posterior out your window in the direction of the cop car as you sped by.
r2Dtoo Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 Your ticket would probably not have been so expensive, if you had not insisted on exposing your naked posterior out your window in the direction of the cop car as you sped by. I suppose it would have been better had I used my superb talents as a driver to pull this off for something else. Ah, the silliness of youth. A word to wise: don't speed at all along I-95 through Emporia. There are tons of places for cops to hide, and they'll charge you an arm an leg just for going 10 over. Oh and one more thing, Norfolk, VA claims to have cameras on their street lights that are supposed to take a pic of your license plate if you run a red light and send you a ticket in the mail. They don't work. I've run a red light in Norfolk and got nothing in the mail. They're just cute little flashy things.
4588686 Posted February 13, 2013 Author Posted February 13, 2013 I-85 can take you out of North Carolina. If that helps. It's not my opinion that NC uses tickets as a revenue scheme. That's been pretty well documented in a number of studies. That fact is not enough to make me leave NC. I think that their racket is tolerable. That doesn't mean I need to wax poetic about how 'once I was lost but now I'm found.'
r2Dtoo Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 It's not my opinion that NC uses tickets as a revenue scheme. That's been pretty well documented in a number of studies. That fact is not enough to make me leave NC. I think that their racket is tolerable. That doesn't mean I need to wax poetic about how 'once I was lost but now I'm found.' It's called death and taxes. I can't really care about a $200 plus speeding ticket with some of the stuff I've paid.
Papist Posted February 13, 2013 Posted February 13, 2013 It's not my opinion that NC uses tickets as a revenue scheme. That's been pretty well documented in a number of studies. That fact is not enough to make me leave NC. I think that their racket is tolerable. That doesn't mean I need to wax poetic about how 'once I was lost but now I'm found.' What would it take for you to leave NC? You know NC shot down the gay marriage?
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