Well, after my last court appearance (see prior blog- June 25,2009) I was subpoenaed back for today. I spent 3 hours in court, we were the last trial today after all the other traffic tickets and violations so it was quite eye opening. I didn't blog about the happenings the last time, so this time, I just can't help myself!
First of all, I realized today why I pay for uninsured motorist coverage. There were several people without licenses and some it was unclear whether they had insurance or not to go with that license they were driving without. Wow....
I saw two people go out in handcuffs.
One lawyer there to represent his client who was currently serving time in jail.
2 people who decided instead of just take the deal given when they walked in and first met with the lawyer, they wanted a "trial" and then ended up paying more an inditing themselves by admitting in their testimony that they were guilty to what they were trying to contest.
One gal (of the prior metioned) looked like she is some kind of addict and I thought since she took them up on her right to trial they should have been giving her a drug test- who knows what she was on but it was something!
I was surrounded by society's best, let me tell you.
There are of course the offenders, like myself in the past, who got a speeding ticket and came in to contest it so they could have lower points on their record or hope their officer didn't appear and get it dropped. Ok, get that, but you still pay so I also learned that's not something I'd be interested in doing (although now I'd know what to do and what not to do!) And I did see a handful get off the hook based on clerical error on the officer's part or because their officer didn't show. However, more officers showed than not.
And then the reason I was there: back in May- within one week of getting my new Pilot- a gentleman in my building hit my car right in front of me after I had parked. Instead of apologizing and giving me his insurance, he stated "Sorry...that's a good way to break in a new car" and walked off. I did not then feel comfortable saying "Hey- come back, we need to exchange insurance" so I went into my office and was advised to call security for our building and then was advised to call and file a report with the police. I had NO IDEA it would ever go this far, but I'm sure glad I kept notes, filled everything out, took pictures and filed with my insurance right away.
Turns out, he got his ticket, came to court and contested his ticket. I'm not sure (and neither is the detective) how it got through to this level, because he admitted to hitting my car. What he doesn't like is the title of the charge "Careless driving". I'm not even sure I can type out what I observed, but in a nutshell, he believes that he was being courteous and careful while parking and just got "unlucky" by hitting my car. And for whatever reason, he was allowed to draw this out making points that had nothing to do to change the fact, which he admitted to, that he hit my car.
Unbelievable.
But I did get to get sworn in, get questioned by both the City of Denver's lawyer and the defendant who was representing himself (which was interesting). I feel like I held my own with very confident straight answers. I almost felt like I was in an interview for something. It was actually kind of fun (besides that it was a waste of my time- I am trying to look for the highlights here).
Let me be clear to- I did not take him to court, he chose this by not simply paying his ticket. I was only there as a witness, but at one point in his questioning you could tell, he wanted to be taking me to court for filing a case about this in the first place.
Bottom line, someone hits your car- no matter how minimal they feel the damage is- you have a right to charge their insurance to fix it. He didn't give me his insurance on his own, he walked away and in order then for me to file, I was instructed to file a report with the police. So Mr Robert M., sorry this was such a problem for you, but you hit me. I did nothing wrong here.
And I'm glad I didn't do anything wrong here, because at the end of it all the judge asked him why he missed his last court date (where myself, the officer & detective all appeared). Turns out he was in the hospital from a reaction to his chemo. I hate that he has cancer, I hope his prognosis is good and he will recover, but that doesn't change the fact that I still did nothing wrong. I have to remind myself of that because of course after I heard that I felt bad.
ALL OF OUR TIME was wasted today- hours that we will never get back- including his own. All because he doesn't like the verbiage "careless driving". Well, I don't like being told I was "speeding" either. I'm just going faster than others because I'm always late- but that doesn't mean I wasn't.....
So, Kelly had his federal court jury duty, I got to testify as a witness and now I hope neither of us is in court again for a VERY long time--- if ever.
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