[Raynaadi]

Hey ya'll. I need to vent and ask for good thoughts to be sent up for me and my ordeal with the courts today.

On Christmas Eve, I got a parking ticket on an old car that a friend is fixing up to sell. It was parked on the curb next to his house, no fire hydrants, safe distance from a stop sign. No warnings whatever were ever issued. We promptly moved the car.

I have a hearing scheduled today to fight the $150 they want me to pay. I'm spending my last $6 dollars that I was saving to do laundry to park downtown. I was hoping to get the parking validated, but they don't validate parking to go to the courts.

I am so angry because I am so powerless over my financial situation. I don't want want to give my last $6 to the parking vultures. And what if there are court fees they want me to pay for this hearing? And what if the judge says "Screw you, you should have known, give us our money?" Can they hold you in contempt if you can't pay court fees? I know that's an irrational fear but I'm so upset at this ordeal. I'm not allowed to get hot with MS and I've gotta go trudge around downtown in 85 degree weather. I wish I was rich. I'd just have my laywers and bankers take care of this for me while I sipped iced tea by the swimming pool in the bahamas.

I am just so full of resentment and anger over all of this. The poor get poorer. Thats just how it seems to work. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh........thanks for letting me vent.

[snowflake_48888]

((((((((rayna)))))))) I am sorry you are going through this. I hope the courts see how silly this is and they throw it out of court.
Snowy

[(JD)]

(((hugs))) Just tell the judge you are not guilty? I never heard of warning tickets for parking, which I think you were expecting first? Were you parked against the flow of traffic? Sorry, I don't really have enough information to advise you. However, often the officer fails to show and if you do show, then the case is thrown out by the judge. Good wishes!

[Soidhonia]

Hello Rayna.
I hope the best for you in court hopefully the judge will take you seriuosly when you tell them what happened. I hope you dont get fined if so I hope someone will help you with the fine so you can go on and not be in debt over this issue/ Take care and good day. soidhonia

[Raynaadi]

I'm copying most of the story from an email I sent a friend:

It couldn't have been more pitiful if I had tried!!!!! I'm sitting here laughing about it now. I left in plenty of time to park and find the court. My friend who works downtown said to park near the YMCA on Alameda so I did. I started wandering around trying to find 103. The people in the YMCA directed me to the wrong place where I asked a cop for directions. He told me to follow the blue stripe, which led me on a wild goose chase to 103 W. Congress, not Alameda. By this time, I'm getting hot and frustrated and my legs are burning, so enter the tears. I ask this lady at 103 W. Congress and she directs me towards the right place. So I'm walking and crying (hahaha the image of it is cracking me up). A couple people along the way ask me for money. I finally find it and its got these huge steal doors....and theres all these thug looking guys around the place. So I have 30 minutes so I try and compose myself. When I go inside the guard at the metal detector is like, "Are you alright??" I stumble through an explanation. Now I'm lost in this ghetto *** building. Have you been to City Court on Alameda??? I find the rest room and loose it. This place is freaking me out. I see myself in the mirror and crack up. My face is red and swollen, eyes are red and bloodshot, hair is sticking out in every which direction. There's no time to freshen up so I come out of the restroom and walk up to a guard, stick out my papers and say, "Where am I going?" He tells me to find my name on a clipboard hanging by the elevator. Oh, ok. So I find my name and its some female judge in courtroom 5 on the second floor. So up I go. Of course I can't find courtroom 5. So more tears. A lady stops me and asks what I'm trying to find and points me in the right direction. So I get to courtroom 5. I can see inside. There's the judge talking to two guys. There's a note on the door saying to sign in in the front of the courtroom. So I timidly open the door. The judge is talking to her CSO and some other guy right by the sign in sheet! So I stand there. They're talking about some crackpot attorney who they can't believe made it out of law school!! Finally the one guy leaves and I sign in. The CSO told me to have a seat. So I sit and say the Serenity Prayer and I'm wishing my friend was with me; I needed my law buddy! She calls me up and I guess she was just familiarizing herself with the case but I start defending myself tearfully. She smiles and says hold on, tells me to raise my hand to swear me in hahahaha. So I do and then she says, ok defend yourself. So I told her whats up trying to choke back sobs, and then apologize for falling apart like this and she says, "I'm going to dismiss this. Just don't park within 31 feet of a stop sign again." And that was that. The CSO had me sign some things and sent me on my way. I cannot believe how upset I got. The whole experience sucked. It was just so scary. I've never been in a courtroom except for jury duty and that was just exciting. I don't know why I was so scared. I think I had all these irrational fears going into the whole thing. And then I felt like such a criminal in there. It was definetly a humbling experience and makes me even more fearful of ever drinking and ending up in there for something serious. Now I'm sitting here laughing my butt off. Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to fully convey to you the emotion of this day, to show you just how pitiful I actually was without even trying!!!!!

I sent this email to my lawyer friend who I had asked advice from. I figured it would be easier to copy it here rather than type the whole story again. LOL......WHAT an experience!

[drunksunflower]

hehe great news though ...

sometimes girly tears actually work to one's advantage :>

[sabby]

WoooooHoooo!! Just think of all the mileage you'll have with the laughs on this one hon. LOL

Glad it all ended up well for you. Hope you can sit back and relax now...put your feet up and smile!

Hugssssss
J

[Wants2Fly]

I'm glad you got a sensible judge who threw the matter out.

Definitely a stressful day, but a learning experience too.

[Raynaadi]

I'm so glad its over. I'm spent though. Emotionally raw. I'm gonna be a lump for the rest of the day. I think one more stressor will send me over the edge!

[Eva1nder]

(((((( Ray ))))))

I had to go to court in a really bad county for a double ticket...I was scared to death... LoL ... I accidentally found myself in the wrong courthouse on the day I was to show up.

Kinda went on a wild goose chase like you in a horrible area...only to MISS my name being called out in the right court house ... AND I only realized this AFTER waiting the 3 hours to find out my name had already been called so now I was rescheduled to come back 2 months later & at NIGHT!!! ... in the DARK... lol This is passiac NJ ..way bad

It's definately a humbling experience and it makes you definately not want to have to go back there. The first judge was soooo scary. Someone's cell phone went off in court and she took it and he never got it back. ... I kept checking mine to make sure it was off.. lol. I was so nervous I wouldn't even take it in the courthouse the next time I had to go.



Hope you are feeling better now ... I can really imagine how it was ...and boy is it a crazy experience.

~E

[SpazKatt]

*hugs* glad to hear it went well and is over!

[(JD)]

Unbelievable but I believe you! WOW so stressful... no don't feel ashamed of the anxiety and all... it's tough for ppl who are not battling any mental health issues! Glad it went well, I prayed for you... guess not well enough at the beginning rofl. TC

[biiv]

oh ray im so sorry i didnt see this before now or i might have been able to help! i dont know if you know but im studying law (been studying/working in legal fields for nearly ten years now) and been in countless court rooms at this stage but a few years ago i had to go in by myself to defend an action against me for non-payment of council tax (long story!). even though i was somewhat familiar with court rooms at that stage it was an utterly terrifying experience. i think i got there about an hour early just to make sure and thank god it ended up that i didnt have to go in at all.
im so impressed you managed to do it though. even in a slightly ... ruffled? :P state! way to go you!! and you got it dismissed!! so cool! yep this will be a story you ll be getting laughs out of for years to come.
courthouses can be VERY scary places (on a side note i stood up in court in front of a real judge to argue a case for the first time this tuesday. it was a mock/pretend case but i still had an outright panic attack and had to keep trying to force my voice to come out even though i could hardly see my notes through the black spots swimming across my vision!)
so...

[Raynaadi]

How interesting biiv! I'm fascinated with courtroom cases....but obviously only when I'm not involved lol! I'm addicted to Law and Order. Are you on your way to being a lawyer?

[biiv]

lol. yes its baaaaad when you re personally involved! lol. im addicted to law and order too. only the svu one though. i love mariska hargitay. i have another mock trial next week (shudders) and if i pass my exams between now and june i should be practicing as an apprentice by october. ha! i have no idea why people would want to let me loose with the big r word. responsibility! silly people!

[splitimage]

Glad it went ok in the end - even if it was a frazzling experience. I've only had to go to traffic court once and it was awful. I even got freaked out when I got called for jury duty - makes me want to make sure I never get into any real legal trouble.

--splitimage