[ale] OT: Court tomorrow

[Robert L. Harris]

Chris, I got off on something like this once.  Just make sure to ask the
Judge "Sir/Ma'am, I'm wondering if there was a mistake.  I was accused
of doing X and cited for Y, neither of which was I guilty of." and see
if s/he takes it nicely.  If the judge just says it was a typo and
you're gonna sit and deal then not much you can do.  If you're lucky the
judge can ask if you were doing what you were written up for and throw
it out.

Thus spake Christopher Fowler (cfowler at outpostsentinel.com):

> I have a date with Gwinnett county traffic court tomorrow.  I was
> charged under 40-6-49(a) but should have been charged under (d).  Does 
> anyone know if that will make a difference in my defense of a 
> "following too closely" charge?
> 
> (d) seems to be the catchall and (a) does not even apply to the
> accident.  I was never following the car I hit in the first place.
> I also remember not seeing a turn signal.  After we got out of the car
> she asked me if her turn signal was working.  The cop refused to even
> check after I mentioned this.  Could that be grounds for her not taking
> a "lawful turn" and get me out of (d)?  I haev used grep on the GA code
> I downloaded and can not find a definition for a "lawful turn"  If
> someone knows the code for that then I will be better prepared tomorrow
> afternoon.  
> 
> Normally I would not fight this but the Solicitor pissed me off.  I
> offered him to dismiss it or I would plead not-guilty and he wanted to
> do a NOLO with no fine,  That sounded good but that should be saved for
> something really horrible like speeding.  Not hitting someone in the
> rear.  My concern is this is a bench trial.  I'm basically letting my
> case be heard but someone who could be considered as "Judge Dredd"  He
> is the jury too and IMO he has the interest of his employeer to look
> after.  I could be paranoid in this thinking.  In a Jury trial you can
> argue a case in the spirit rather than in the letter so I'm not sure if
> in the spirit is the right way to go with a bench trial.
> 
> Any pointers?
> Chris
> 
> 
> 
> 
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:wq!
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Robert L. Harris                     | GPG Key ID: E344DA3B
                                         @ x-hkp://pgp.mit.edu
DISCLAIMER:
      These are MY OPINIONS             With Dreams To Be A King,
       ALONE.  I speak for              First One Should Be A Man
       no-one else.                       - Manowar

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