Ok, I went up to reset some stupid tickets I got last month. I hadn't reset a case in a while, but the last time I did it, you waited in line, told the person behind the counter that you needed a reset, and they reset it for you. Not the case any longer. I expected to be there for 20 minutes getting this reset. At the Houston court, they now require you to go to the info booth first. There you get a stub and you walk down a hall into a small, beat up courtroom. Once you're there, you wait in a line and everyone goes and talks to the judge. If you want your case reset, they will ask if you want a judge or jury, which in my mind means they're skipping the arrainment, and sceduling you directly for trial. This process took a little over 3 freaking hours. Seriously... Over 3 hours to reset your case. And from what it appeared, they didn't even do that. This was pretty much an impromptu arrainment. Now, I'm going to fight these unfightable tickets out of spite (expired inspection and failure to change address.) It is just amazing how much trouble they put you through these days if you do anything other than pay the ticket. I've had it. These are Mayor White's programs, and he needs to go.
I had a non-updated inspection and couldn't find my insurance and got a ticket. I got my inspection updated the next day, brought my proof of insurance with me to the court, and the judge dismissed it all. Didn't take me 20 minutes...didn't take me 3 hours, either, but it took a while. But it was my fault for not updating my inspection sticker. don't really think it is that big of an issue to complain about. or, thinking about it another way....if the you and I's of the world just took care of our business, that wait would go down for everyone.
No, my issue was it used to be done like every other courthouse, where you walk up to the window and get it reset. Now they're doing stuff like this so you'll just pay the fines. If you want to fight anything, they're making it a pain in the ass, or expensive. And it's crap.
It sucks, but I can see (from their perspective) why they don't want it to be a day at the park. The idea is that you don't want to come back. I went to court for expired registration, on a SATURDAY no less, and sat there for about 2 hours. When I went to talk to the judge, before I could tell him that I hadn't updated my registration because I simply didn't feel like it, he said "OK, expired registration...let's drop that, OK?" Uh.....OK. Have a nice day.
I got a letter the other day saying I had to go to court in March because I never completed my driver training course...LAST JUNE! I got a ticket, took online defensive driving and mailed it in (as stated on the forms) right before I went on vacation. Then, a week ago, I get a letter saying I never completed it and I have to go before a judge and convince him/her that I did or pay a $150 fine. The only thing I didn't keep a copy of was the affadavit (sp?), but I do have a copy of my defensive driving certificate. Next time, it will go registered mail. Sigh.
Maybe it depends on the court, because I forgot about my court date one morning. I showed up late in the afternoon and they gave me a reset right there.
thats weird because my wifes been getting the same type of stuff up here in austin. Must be something wrong with the matrix (she called and it was a mistake on their end)
Honesty is the best policy. Just kidding. The whole idea of trying to make this right, but then basically being hassled to do it the right way, seems a bit anti-justice... I mean if you wanted to be a real out-and-out criminal about this, would you even try to come in and reset it? Wouldn't a person trying to ignore the thing all together just run from it without facing it at all? I'm sure they wouldn't just waltz into the courthouse and say "I'm here to reset this, please." Justice... Meanwhile people that have shot people in arguments are making plea bargains and getting probation. On the other hand... times change. And I'm sure they are just trying to keep the courts from being over-back-logged (if that's a term.. you know what I mean). One too many people have abused the process, so everyone gets to run the extra laps.
So, Fatty, when you show up at the courthouse, is it like going home or something? Do people look at you, bump fists, and say, "Hey, Jim! Weren't you just here last week? Dave Phillips at the drunk tank says hello. The people from court three are planning a birthday party for you next week. Judge Patronella wants your recipe for fajitas."
Hey, me too! (except I didn't actually complete the course, or send anything in...or bother with anything at all...but I have to go in march!
HAHAHA! That's the bbs equivalent of saying "Yeah, well....up yours!" Fatty gets PWN3D by a noob with 12 posts...(although he might be a vet that re-registered under a new name) Don't even try to match wits with the all mighty Wangdoodle!
Dang, Wangdoodle!* *I just couldn't help the opportunity to post a Willie Dixon reference in a thread on this BBS!
lol. I personally enjoyed Fatty blaming the mayor for his lack of proper registration. That makes so much sense!
