Last night, I was given a ticket for loitering at a park. It was 2:20 a.m. and the park supposedly closed at 10, which I had no idea. I've been worrying about this for the entire day. Does anyone know how much a loitering ticket costs? And if I can fight it or not? BTW this happened in Southern California. But I still would like to know how much the bail is across the country.
I'd also like to add that this is my first semi-serious crime. A misdemeanor. I've never had anything worst than a traffic citation before. So I'm not so used to the whole courst system when it comes to these things. Is this going in my records and hurt my 'rap' sheet?
you can probably take a deferred adjudication deal and promise not to get in anymore trouble for a year, pay a fine, perhaps do some community service, and it can be dismissed. if you plead "no contest" it is not an admission of guilt. it's really not that serious of a crime.
May i ask what you were doing at a park so late? Crazy though sometimes i go for a late night jog. If i run through a park can a cop charge me with loittering?
Life is over. Sorry, bro. I knew a guy who got charged with a misdemeanor once...he now lives under a bridge and does odd jobs just to get by
Where I come from, jerking off in public parks at 2AM is generally considered "low class." Not passing judgement though.
What the hell were you doing at a park at 2:20 in the morning? Also, isn't bail something you promise to the court to let you out of jail before your trial? If you're not in jail, why would you need bail?
Loitering is remaining in one spot for an extended period of time. I'm not sure if you can run and loiter at the same time.
OP you could probably fight it just as easy as following my previous counsel, if you have such a squeaky clean record. while ignorance of the law is no excuse, you can walk into court representing yourself, and with a little lawyering, you can get the judge to dismiss the case. just say Ipso Facto and Prima Facie. sounds like a money grab by a cash strapped county. never mind. you were up to something and it's probably going to be on the police report. if you were engaged in drug activity, whether you were caught or not, the officer is trained to look for stuff like that and hand out loitering ticket if he can't find anything else.
What? Are you telling me that they write stuff on the police report and don't tell you about it? On the citation it just says 'Loiter in park after hours'. Oh and I wasn't dealing with drugs.
In the park after 2am? The plot thickens. Is it possible that the gentleman was not an actual police officer, but merely another lurker in the park posing as one? Is your ticket written on the back of a Chinese menu? Did the officer leave his home phone number on the ticket? Spoiler If so, it's possible that this whole affair might not affect your permanent record, after all.
