About a month ago, Mary got pulled over for speeding. The cop let her off the hook for whatever reason, but he noticed that the tags on the minivan had expired. I always take care of tag renewal and recalled that I had just sent a check in a few days prior. The city record showed that the tags had been expired for 8 months.
Mary got a ticket and we had a court day set up for today. I KNOW I had paid for the renewal, but my tags had not arrived. Two weeks ago, my neighbor came knocking on my door and he handed me HIS tag renewal slip. Attached to the slip was MY check and insurance card! What had happened was that the postal service delivered my neighbor's registration reminder to ME. I didn't bother looking at the name on the card. I just wrote the check and mailed it in. The check was written on 12/10/2004. Mary received her ticket on 12/13/2004.
We renewed our tags properly at that time and decided we would contest the ticket in court.
Today was our day. We arrived at the municipal court building around 8:30 am and took a seat. The prosecution was providing general information and we were told that non-criminal cases would be handled last. Mary and I looked at each other and decided to soak up the experience even if we had to wait for a bit.
The judge was a woman, around 50-years old. She seemed to have a pleasant demeanor and a no-nonsense attitude. We watched as defendant after defendant was called to the stand to plead their case and receive instruction or sentencing. There were several cases of DUI, hit and run, driving without license, and so forth. It was quite instructive to observe how the judge handled these cases. One case involved a 16-year old who was driving 65 in a 30 mph zone. The judge was pretty hard on him. As it turned out, she knew the boy's father and wanted to hold this kid's feet to the fire, for his own good and for the protection of others on the road.
After sitting through the criminal cases, it wasn't long before Mary's name was called. We approached the bench and explained the mixup to the judge. She rolled her eyes at the goofup of the postal service and ordered the case dismissed. We left with big grins on our faces, having won our day in court.
Mary commented that it would be a great idea to bring our kids to observe a morning in the courtroom once they received their driving learner's permit. I agreed and intend to do that very thing. The reality of seeing what one goes through if you break the law is bound to help them stay within the prescribed boundaries.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
