The charitable donation is a novel idea. It would ease the sting of a fine somewhat.
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My most contemptible encounter with traffic fines and the local court was quite eye opening. I showed up at court at the date and time that the court demanded and sat for nearly 2 hours waiting for my name to be called. In that time I heard many names called and most didn’t answer and therefore were “guilty by default” Most of those who were present to answer were found guilty and presented with fines they were unable to pay. The system was obviously designed to be as economically stressful as possible to the vast majority of criminals. I was astounded at the number of people who were fined $110 for a tag light not operating. If they showed up for court they likely missed half a day at work, were unable to pay the fine immediately and therefore were required to appear weekly to the court at a designated time to pay a minimum until the total was paid. Anyone who failed to show up at a weekly visit had an arrest warrant issued. Needless to say the situation would cause many to lose their jobs.
I tried to voice my disgust at the situation but was quickly ushered out of the courtroom where I paid the fine to avoid further dealing with the “we gotcha now sucker” kangaroo court.
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I think a tag light being out is a perfect example where an officer could (should) just issue a warning. Then if you get stopped again with it out, that’s on you. Or maybe one of those deals where they cancel the ticket if you have it repaired by a certain date. I’m not sure what the logistics would be in the cancelled ticket scenario. I’m sure the judge isn’t going to want to walk out and inspect your vehicle.
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Should clarify, that going the donation route meant the ticket was nolled, so no conviction or points appear for insurance companies to gouge you on.
I’ve just always mailed in a check so never talked to anyone. Except in Indianapolis though. You could stop by the court house and pay in cash cash which was 500 miles away. Or you could pay on line with a debit card for an extra charge of course. They do not take checks.
That reminds me of a time I just knew I was going to jail I don’t remember what the charge was but I had to post a cash bond went to court was found not guilty as I knew it would be was told to go to clerks office to get bond money back they handed me a check I said i would not take a check they asked why not I said you would not take my check so I will not take yours just cash as I had to give you they said they did not keep cash in the office I told them they needed to find the cash some way as I am not leaving till I get my money back took them about 20 minutes but I got my way.
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not sure if Ohio has this rule but I got one in GA and you claim “nolo contendre” (SP?). Means you’ll pay the ticket but aren’t admitting to guilt. Supposedly, you can do this every 5 years. It won’t show up on your record/insurance but you pay the fine. I know if you go to court, they will reduce the points or fine or both but you have to plead your case and beg.
The man is deceased now but there used to be a high rolling real estate agent here who drove a Rolls Royce. He was speeding all the time and I don’t mean 5 over. It was 90 in a 55, blowing through a school zone at 55, 60 in a 25, and things like that. He received many tickets from state troopers and the local PD department. He never paid one single ticket.
This even made the front page of the local paper once. The agent was non-apologetic and said he was going to continue to speed.
Every ticket that came before the judge was immediately tossed out and most of the time the real estate agent would not even show up for court. The judge would see his name and send the ticket to the trash bin even with the agent being a no-show.
It was discovered that the judge in private practice handled real estate legalities for the agent and still nothing was done. Business as usual and conflict of interest be dxxxxd.
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In Michigan we have what is called a fix it ticket. When you get pulled over for a Bad tail light, head light, blinker or loud exhaust or any car maintenance violation they give you one of these fix it tickets. You then have something like 10 days to get it fixed and bring the vehicle to the station to verify repairs, and it is dismissed. If you don’t, you pay the fine.
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I live in Ga. and agree with you except for the five year part and yes the nolo contendre is a very popular way to go.
Got a fix it ticket in Iowa once from a POed trooper. Guy was coming down the interstate ramp the wrong way at night so I flashed my lights at him. Guess I had used my lights too much coming back from Florida and the high beam was out. I guess I just mailed the thing in after replacing the headlight. Guy was a jerk.
These examples of officers’ anti-social behavior in dealing with the public, lack of compassion, or outright corruption in the case of the judge and real-estate agent are depressing. One would like to think they can get a fair shake from an officer or court. Maybe the type of work grinds a person down to a nasty shell of a human being.
I stumbled across the video linked below a couple of years ago when I was doing a YouTube search for a car repair video. I searched for it now just so I could see an example of a jurist with compassion. Hope it is not simply reality show biz fluff for the cameras.
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I have had a few times that officers looked the other way or only gave a warning though. 78 in a 60 mph zone (that is now a 70 mph zone like everything around it) on my way to work one morning resulted in only a warning. If I’d have gotten ticketed, I wouldn’t have argued.
I guess at the end of the day, if you have faulty equipment or are speeding, it’s (usually) a closed case, so go ahead and pay the fine. Everybody probably has an excuse. Probably 10% are valid reasons, the other 90% are just sorry they got caught.
I do like the “fix it or ticket” plan for the faulty equipment. Unfortunately, all of my violations have been moving violations 
Nothing to be done about it for this ticket, but if you get another ticket someday, if you intend to contest it is a better strategy to not pay the fine prior to the court date. Think about it from the judge’s perspective: If you’ve already paid and the judge says “not guilty”, the judge has more paperwork to do in order to return the fine you paid. Plus the gov’t will have already spent that money, so they’ll have to wheel and deal so they can take it from some other account to pay you back. If you haven’t paid the fine and the verdict is “not guilty” it’s done and over; there’s no further paperwork/logistical complications.
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Last night I was watching a tv show called Counting Cars. First time I’ve seen it. It’s a spin off of Pawn Stars, this one is about Danny, the owner of Counts Classics car restoration shop that the Pawn Star guys use sometimes. Sometimes Danny or his partner is driving around Las Vegas and they notice a cool classic car in the next lane. In this case Danny and his partner were together & noticed a 1956 VW cloth top Beetle, split rear window, with the original Wolves-burgh insignia still on the front. So they wave the VW down, they park, and ask the owner if they can take a peek. The owner was out w/his family but in no particular hurry and obviously liked to talk about his 56 split so he said “ok”, and opened he doors and the engine compartment. Danny was really impressed, inside and out, everything in excellent like-new condition. Danny said “is this car for sale”. The owner said “yes”. Danny: “hey man, I hope this doesn’t insult you, but would you consider $17,000?”. Owner: “no, I couldn’t sell it for less than $25,000”. Danny: “hmmmm … how about $20,000?”. Owner: “no”. Then the owner holds his keys out as if to give them to Danny and says “$24,000”, and the car is yours. Danny, with painful look on his face: “hmmmm, well, hmmm, maybe that could work, hmmm, well…” then Danny’s partner yells at Danny: “What are you thinking? We can’t make a penny on this car at that price!!!”. Danny finally comes to his senses and tells the owner “hey man, $24k is a fair retail price, you know your stuff, but I can’t pay retail, I own a classics car business and I have to make a profit. But thanks for letting us take a look at your 56 split window Beetle”.
lol … that’s a funny story.
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Funny but true the reason I though I was going to jail was they got me a little hot under the collar with their attitude.
Not to continue back and forth on this but I think I have a little experience with tickets. The ticket has a place to sign pleading “guilty” to send the check in with it. It also has a date to appear in court if you don’t want to plead guilty. You don’t really have a choice to pay or not and then go to court. It’s one or the other.
I believe I have been treated a little unfairly a couple of times but I also have been let go a few time too when I didn’t deserve it. I was heading to one of my offices 150 miles away one morning with my trailer for a move. I was going 70 in a 55 on a two lane. I met a highway patrol and he quickly reversed and stopped me. There were two in the car so maybe a training run or had other things on the agenda. At any rate just told me to slow down and I didn’t even get a written warning. You just can’t stereotype police.
And if you think they should be less scared when stopping someone, do you have any idea how fast a guy can pull a gun and trigger 3-4 rounds as the officer approaches? Don’t even have time to pull their weapon out of the holster. Let’s be serious while sitting at a desk pontificating. In not the best part of Minneapolis, I watched three officers approach a car guns drawn once. The fear on their faces was clear. That is not a time to play games and reach for your comb. Yes there is a whole population that has grown up without boundaries or respect for authority and this is the result. There is also whole population of whiners.
It must vary location to location. I’ve paid first, gone to court, ticket dismissed, and court mails me a refund check. I’ve also not paid, gone to court , ticket dismissed, and they just give me a form indicating ticket was dismissed.
Dang, George, sounds like you get out of a lot of tickets 