I need help for court

[Ginger]

Alright... so I got pulled over at the begining of the month. I had never gone to the DMV to title and register my CBR F4 so I was running the plates from my VFR on it. A cop ran my plates on a whim and noticed the discrepency. He gave me a ticket for it, but was nice enough to not seize the plate or tow me. All in all it was actually a pretty pleasant experience, as they go with the fuzz.

Here's problem. I would have prepaid the same day, or the next day for the thing, but the citation said it would take nearly two weeks for the information to be entered into the online payment system. Sooo..

I forgot.

I have court tomorrow. I'm guilty, I admit, but it's too late to prepay any more (2 business days prior to trial is the cut off). I don't really know what to go in and say. I'm not going to be able to wear more than a nice button down shirt because all I have is the motorcycle right now.. but what should I say?

"How do you plead?"
"Guilty"
"What are you doing here then?"
*crickets*

I feel a bit like a toolshed for wasting the court's time. I've got myself into a bit of a pickle, does anybody have any suggestions?

[Evan]

if you havent fixed the problem, go to the dmv today and get it registered. Then go into court with the registration and you may actually end up for the better.
Plead guilty, and the judge will most likely ask if you got it fixed (or you could just tell him when you plead guilty)

[.RJ]

"How do you plead?"
"Guilty"
"What are you doing here then?"
*crickets*

Then the judge will slam his gavel on the desk, tell you to go to the cashier to pay your fines, and call up the next case. Thats how it goes.

[Dragon]

"How do you plead?"
"Guilty"
"What are you doing here then?"
*crickets*

Then the judge will slam his gavel on the desk, tell you to go to the cashier to pay your fines, and call up the next case. Thats how it goes.

And then you can ride away on the F4 still sporting the VFR plates because we all know you're too lazy to get it taken care of before court.

[CaptainHenreh]

"How do you plead?"
"Guilty"
"What are you doing here then?"
*crickets*

Then the judge will slam his gavel on the desk, tell you to go to the cashier to pay your fines, and call up the next case. Thats how it goes.

Indeed. Don't worry about it. He *might* give you a funny look, but if he DOES ask you why you're here, just explain that it's your right to appear in court in person, and you're simply excercising that right.

I mean, there's alot less chance of a fuckup with your ticket if the judge slams his gavel, guilty, and you pay the clerk. Besides, you pay court costs either way, might as well give everyone in the courtroom the opportunity to earn it.

In other news, what the hell is wrong with you people? Did my NINE TICKETS IN ONE AFTERNOON, plus having MY cars impounded plus having to spend an afternoon at the police station, plus having to APPEAR IN COURT FOR A CRIMINAL CHARGE not teach you people to A: Register your goddamn vehicles if you're going to drive them and B: Buy trip permits (5 dollars, homie!)

Geez.

[Evan]

In other news, what the hell is wrong with you people? Did my NINE TICKETS IN ONE AFTERNOON, plus having MY cars impounded plus having to spend an afternoon at the police station, plus having to APPEAR IN COURT FOR A CRIMINAL CHARGE not teach you people to A: Register your goddamn vehicles if you're going to drive them and B: Buy trip permits (5 dollars, homie!)

did I miss something?

ps- I finally registered my miata last week after 4 months of driving it on the (oddly still active) racecar's tags.

[CaptainHenreh]

In other news, what the hell is wrong with you people? Did my NINE TICKETS IN ONE AFTERNOON, plus having MY cars impounded plus having to spend an afternoon at the police station, plus having to APPEAR IN COURT FOR A CRIMINAL CHARGE not teach you people to A: Register your goddamn vehicles if you're going to drive them and B: Buy trip permits (5 dollars, homie!)

did I miss something?

ps- I finally registered my miata last week after 4 months of driving it on the (oddly still active) racecar's tags.

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[Mike]

you won't be looked at funny at all. you'll be done with your case in under a minute and will likely only have to pay a little extra fee for being seen in court.

[bimmerboodle]

In other news, what the hell is wrong with you people? Did my NINE TICKETS IN ONE AFTERNOON, plus having MY cars impounded plus having to spend an afternoon at the police station, plus having to APPEAR IN COURT FOR A CRIMINAL CHARGE not teach you people to A: Register your goddamn vehicles if you're going to drive them and B: Buy trip permits (5 dollars, homie!)

did I miss something?

ps- I finally registered my miata last week after 4 months of driving it on the (oddly still active) racecar's tags.

I have 1 month left on the tags for an <ahem> black 1989 BMW 325i <ahem> they all look the same right?????

[BLINGMW]

Then the judge will slam his gavel on the desk

I dunno... I've never had him use the gavel! Maybe you have to pay extra for that? :lol:

I think Evan's idea is the way to go, get the registration fixed and you've at least got a shot at making the court appearance worth your while.

Option #2... have you called them? If there's some billing office you can contact, maybe they can get the payment in over the phone? Or talk to someone else and get the date moved? There has to be a ton of other options if you get a semi-helpful person on the phone.

[white_2kgt]

You should beable to pay the fine upto the time you are to appear in court. I know you can goto court look and see if the officer that gave you the ticket showed up, if not, please not guilty, he's not there, so you get let off, if he is there, just pay the ticket and don't bother. At least that's how we do it in MD .

[Ginger]

Here's the nitty gritty that I had forgotten.

I had called the number on the citation itself to get the payment information. Two days was the cutoff for pretty much everything because they create the court schedules after that. I'm not bothered by going in, so that's no big deal.

After the officer gave me the ticket he was actually supposed to seize my tag. He was nice, though, and let me keep it - I rode to the DMV that minute and got the registration fixed. I figured that might lean into my favor a little bit.

Thanks for the help. I'll just go in tomorrow and say guilty.. maybe they'll make nice. Keep your collective fingers crossed for me.

As for attire. I was planning on wearing a nice business shirt. I'm on the bike, though, so slacks are out. I've seen folks go in to court wearing gym shortsbefore, though I'd never do it, but I always wear a suit. How bad am I going to look? Will it matter given what we've already discussed? Should I bring a pair of slacks in a bag and change out of jeans?

[Mike]

if you're pleading guilty jeans and a nice shirt will be ok. i would only suit up if i were pleading not guilty.

[.RJ]

Jeans in court?

Wear slacks and a button down shirt - i.e. biz casual...

[Ginger]

Jeans in court?

Wear slacks and a button down shirt - i.e. biz casual...

No car, otherwise I wouldn't think twice about it. The button down is easy... but I've got to change when I get there if I wear slacks.

Maybe I should just stop being a bitch.

[JohnC]

Decent looking jeans are fine. You'll still be better dressed than 99% of the people there. Being polite and respectful will get you further than being dressed in a suit.

[Apoc]

overpants y0!

[.RJ]

No car, otherwise I wouldn't think twice about it

Why? I wore biz casual wear to work the other day, on my bike.

[Ginger]

No car, otherwise I wouldn't think twice about it

Why? I wore biz casual wear to work the other day, on my bike.

I hate anything but jeans on the bike

[Apoc]

Wear pucks to court... that way when you have to get on your knees you won't get bruises.