• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Ticketed for being in a park after hours

Where did I admit guilt exactly in "we plead not guilty"? Where do you see a trial, prosecution, witnesses, etc?
 
JPM said:
I say stand up for your rights! The judge knows you are guilty and threw you a bone by making it no punishment (Fine). Good for you telling that judge he doesn’t know anything about the law or constitution. I hope you get your day in court! :thumbup

PS- bring your checkbook. :p
Click to expand...

It really would be nice if you knew how to read the law.
I feel sorry for those that live in your jurisdiction.
 
Okay, I may well be wrong. But this is what I understand:

You were cited for an infraction. Which does not entitle you to a trial by jury. You were heard by, so I would guess, a traffic commissioner. You pleaded Not guilty. If you were deemed to be guilty by the court, your punishment then would be a fine. The commissioner however decided to suspend your fine. Which implied he found you guilty. And which you found to your dismay was the outcome of the hearing.

You expected a trial but got what amounted to a traffic hearing. Your infraction did not fall under the rubric of misdemeanor or felony crime. Had what you had done been a misdemeanor or felony crime, like a DUI, you would have been handcuffed and arrested, transported to a county jail, been subjected to a strip search, had your picture taken for free, given one courtesy phone call for someone to come by and post bail, and been questioned by LEOs for an official statement that you would later be asked to sign. You also would have enlisted legal aid, be it your own criminal lawyer or a public defender, for your upcoming trial. Instead you were stopped, asked to sign a ticket, and allowed to leave. Just as if you had been given a ticket for jaywalking. Which BTW is what you did. In a restricted area. After dark.

Is your case really worth pursuing further? I don't think so. But you do. We are often told to choose our battles wisely. Choose well.
 
Last edited:
JPM said:
I say stand up for your rights! The judge knows you are guilty and threw you a bone by making it no punishment (Fine). Good for you telling that judge he doesn’t know anything about the law or constitution. I hope you get your day in court! :thumbup

PS- bring your checkbook. :p
Click to expand...

+1 :laughing Dude, you do understand that if you try to waste everyone's time and force this issue, they will give you your trial and then find you guilty. You will NOT get that conviction suspended. Bring your checkbook indeed!!! :laughing

ps- This does sound like it could possibly be a due process issue, but really, like Masameet said, you gotta pick your battles. This sure wouldn't be my battle.
 
He said he didn't get a trial. He said he was found guilty at his arraignment, which is bullshit. You can plead guilty, but you can't be found guilty (or not guilty) without a trial. An arraignment is a formal charging of the crime(s) against the defendant and an opportunity to enter a plea, not a trial. Even at pissant mickeymouse bullshit traffic court.

Sounds like you need a lawyer to file an appeal.
 
2strokeYardSale said:
"He" said..."he" didn't get a trial. "He" said he was found guilty at his arraignment, which is bullshit. You can plead guilty, but you can't be found guilty (or not guilty) without a trial. An arraignment is a formal charging of the crime(s) against the defendant and an opportunity to enter a plea, not a trial. Even at pissant mickeymouse bullshit traffic court.

Sounds like you need a lawyer to file an appeal.
Click to expand...

"He" is a she. Make sense yet? :twofinger
 
2strokeYardSale said:
He said he didn't get a trial. He said he was found guilty at his arraignment, which is bullshit. You can plead guilty, but you can't be found guilty (or not guilty) without a trial. An arraignment is a formal charging of the crime(s) against the defendant and an opportunity to enter a plea, not a trial. Even at pissant mickeymouse bullshit traffic court.
Click to expand...

He or She aside, thanks for summing it up nicely. It's not "throwing you a bone" when the proper process has not been followed. There's a reason we have these processes in place. Thanks for fighting this, honestly.
 
This makes a good read. Not quite the 'Moto Liam' caliber, but entertaining and educational.
Saizai, please continue to post up any new twists and turns that come up in your continued fight for truth, justice and the American way.
Good luck,

Lonster
 
saizai said:
No judge has the authority to find someone guilty of anything without an admission, trial, prosecution, or witnesses.
Click to expand...

You weren't complaining when you thought he found you not guilty without a trial.
 
masameet said:
Okay, I may well be wrong. But this is what I understand:

You were cited for an infraction. Which does not entitle you to a trial by jury. You were heard by, so I would guess, a traffic commissioner. You pleaded Not guilty. If you were deemed to be guilty by the court, your punishment then would be a fine. The commissioner however decided to suspend your fine. Which implied he found you guilty. And which you found to your dismay was the outcome of the hearing.

You expected a trial but got what amounted to a traffic hearing. Your infraction did not fall under the rubric of misdemeanor or felony crime. Had what you had done been a misdemeanor or felony crime, like a DUI, you would have been handcuffed and arrested, transported to a county jail, been subjected to a strip search, had your picture taken for free, given one courtesy phone call for someone to come by and post bail, and been questioned by LEOs for an official statement that you would later be asked to sign. You also would have enlisted legal aid, be it your own criminal lawyer or a public defender, for your upcoming trial. Instead you were stopped, asked to sign a ticket, and allowed to leave. Just as if you had been given a ticket for jaywalking. Which BTW is what you did. In a restricted area. After dark.

Is your case really worth pursuing further? I don't think so. But you do. We are often told to choose our battles wisely. Choose well.
Click to expand...

Wonderfully stated. Absolutely beautiful post. GOOD JOB!
 
Subscribing to this thread, because I'm interested to see how this pans out.

And, there have been a lot of good arguments for both sides. I have no idea which is "right" though. Very interesting situation.

Dave
 
Junkie said:
Charges can be dropped without a trial, there's nothing in the constitution forbidding that.
Click to expand...

But the magic words that the commissioner could have said and would have truly delighted saizai are:

"The charge is dismissed."

I had the words said to me in a Richmond court. Was astonished and gratified to hear them. Still, like saizai, I wanted to argue my case! :laughing
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top