Dodged Another Speeding Ticket · 2006-08-22
I managed to dodge another 20 mph over the limit ticket today.
There were four state troopers on the docket, but only one had shown. Unluckily, that trooper was mine. Immediately after we finished the cases involving local police though, the trooper got something on his pager, told the DA something, and walked out of the courtroom.
It turns out that there was an accident somewhere that required all four of the troopers scheduled for court that day. The DA asked the court for a postponement of the trial, but the judge feeling sorry for all the people who got dragged out to the eastern short proposed a compromise: anyone who plead guilty would receive probation before judgement, no fine, no points, and court fees only. Otherwise, the person’s trial would be postponed. Naturally, all sixty people in the courtroom, including me, took the PBJ option.
The judge had a sense of humor and liked asking people what they learned from their case. Most of the time, he was serious, but sometimes things got funny. One case went something like this:
Judge: “Jane Q. Public, driving in excess of speed limit…. Wait a minute…. (mumbles something).... 57 in a 50. How do you plead?
Defendent: “Guilty sir”.
“How’d you manage to get a ticket for that? Pass a cop or something?”
“Exactly sir.”
“Well, it looks like you’ll be getting the last laugh. Probation before judgement, no points, fine suspended, court fees suspended. Now, what does this teach us?”
“To slow down sir.”
“No, it teaches us to not pass cops.”
A case involving failure to control speed to avoid an accident went like this:
Judge: “You rear-ended someone at a stoplight? Doesn’t anyone know what a red-light is any more?”
Defendent: “Sir, the light was green, and had been green for a while. The other car just unexpectedly stopped at a green light.”
“Oh. Well then. What does this teach us?”
“To be more careful sir.”
“No, it doesn’t. It teaches us that there are a lot of idiots on the road and unfortunately, we have to live with them and try to avoid hitting them.”
