Quite the little scam they've got going....
They're all in on it, from the cop on the beat to the defense attorneys and prosecutors all the way to the judge. It's a conspiracy that apparently everyone knew about but me.
I was stopped for speeding a couple of weeks ago, on the downside of a brand-new bridge near where I live. The expanse is wide and traffic generally light. And the speed limit is about a sloth-like 35 mph.
I explained to the officer that since I was going downhill, gravity was at least partly responsible.
"You're up to 45 mph before you know it,'' I explained.
"If you were going 45, I wouldn't have stopped you, sir,'' he said. "You were pushing 60 mph.''
He asked where I was going and I explained that I was taking my son to pick up his paycheck and then we were going to Taco Bell.
"Unless I'm not going to be able to afford Taco Bell after I get this ticket,'' I said.
He smiled.
"We'll see what we can do,'' he said.
I didn't get a speeding ticket. The officer gave me a ticket for "careless driving,'' which was only 2 points, far fewer than my crime warranted, he told me.
"You get to court,'' he said, ''talk to the prosecutor and you can probably get the points thrown out.''
In the week or so between when I got the ticket and had to go to court, I got about dozen letters from attorneys salivating for my business.
I ignored them and showed up for court.
The judge explained this "talk-to-the-prosecutor-plea-deal'' arrangement. I thought I heard something fishy but figured if I have no other gifts, I can talk my way out of stuff. But I was way in the back of the line for people headed to the little office.
And over time, I realized what the judge had said.
I went to the cashier and and asked how much the ticket was for.
"85 dollars,'' she said.
And if I get the charges reduced?
"About $400,'' she said.
I can handle the 2 points, I thought, since they are my only points, but what a daisy chain of municipal money making. A cash cow of winks and nods.
It's like buying your way out Abe Lincoln's draft.
I was stopped for speeding a couple of weeks ago, on the downside of a brand-new bridge near where I live. The expanse is wide and traffic generally light. And the speed limit is about a sloth-like 35 mph.
I explained to the officer that since I was going downhill, gravity was at least partly responsible.
"You're up to 45 mph before you know it,'' I explained.
"If you were going 45, I wouldn't have stopped you, sir,'' he said. "You were pushing 60 mph.''
He asked where I was going and I explained that I was taking my son to pick up his paycheck and then we were going to Taco Bell.
"Unless I'm not going to be able to afford Taco Bell after I get this ticket,'' I said.
He smiled.
"We'll see what we can do,'' he said.
I didn't get a speeding ticket. The officer gave me a ticket for "careless driving,'' which was only 2 points, far fewer than my crime warranted, he told me.
"You get to court,'' he said, ''talk to the prosecutor and you can probably get the points thrown out.''
In the week or so between when I got the ticket and had to go to court, I got about dozen letters from attorneys salivating for my business.
I ignored them and showed up for court.
The judge explained this "talk-to-the-prosecutor-plea-deal'' arrangement. I thought I heard something fishy but figured if I have no other gifts, I can talk my way out of stuff. But I was way in the back of the line for people headed to the little office.
And over time, I realized what the judge had said.
I went to the cashier and and asked how much the ticket was for.
"85 dollars,'' she said.
And if I get the charges reduced?
"About $400,'' she said.
I can handle the 2 points, I thought, since they are my only points, but what a daisy chain of municipal money making. A cash cow of winks and nods.
It's like buying your way out Abe Lincoln's draft.
posted by Michael Riley at 10:09 AM
12 Comments:
Plea bargaining is an oxymoron.
"And over time, I realized what the judge had said. I went to the cashier and and asked how much the ticket was for.
'85 dollars,' she said.
And if I get the charges reduced?
'About $400,' she said." -- Reverend Riley
You can thank Jim McGreevey and the Democrats in the Legislature for that one. In an attempt to raise funds, they imposed a $250 surcharge (in addition to the $150 + fine) for anyone pleading guilty to unsafe driving, an offense that carries no points. It goes without saying that a defense attorney most likely would negotiate a plea offer that dismisses the originial charge and instead allows you to plead guilty to, say, failing to wear a seat belt ($50 fine and no points), but then you are going to have to pay the lawyer.
"'You get to court,' he said, 'talk to the prosecutor and you can probably get the points thrown out.'" -- Reverend Riley (quoting the police officer that issued him a traffic summons)
And what the cop failed to mention is that if your court date is scheduled for a time when he is not scheduled to be at work, he will, thanks to your Not Guilty plea, receive two hours of overtime pay -- and he is paid that overtime regardless of whether he testifies or not. (And most cops rarely testify in these cases because the defendant either takes the plea offer or just pleads guilty to the original charge.) It is not uncommon for a patrolman to garner 2 to 4 hours of overtime each week this way. Over the course of a year, that amounts to thousands of dollars in extra pay, which works out to be a pretty nice Christmas Bonus. I trust that you said "Happy Holidays" to the cop that gave you that ticket when you saw him in the courthouse hallway.
"I can handle the 2 points, I thought, since they are my only points ..." -- Reverend Riley
Smart move taking the points and avoiding the $400 fine. Now immediately sign up for a defensive driving course approved by the MVC. The course will cost you about $65 and 8 hours of your precious time on a (hopefully) rainy Saturday. (I think Brookdale offers such a course. Give them a call.) Once you complete the class, they'll give you two certificates -- one that you mail to the MVC and the other one that you send to your auto insurance company. The MVC will take two points off your license as soon as they receive that certificate. Most insurance companies will knock up to 5% off your annual insurance premium each year for the next three years because you completed the course. In the end, taking the defensive driving course actually pays for itself.
Please see the following link for more information:
Defensive Driving Courses
Good luck.
Moral of the story: Do Not Break the Law! Try AAA too, esp. if a member I believe is cheaper to take through them. They have an office in W.Long Branch shopping strip where Staples, Home Depot is located. If you are smart, take the course as part of your "investigative" work research for the Press and write-off the course fee on your company expense account!
IF you are old enough you can take the AARP defensive driving course, offered here and there, now and then. It costs only $10 and offers the same advantages of the above. I think it's called "55 Alive"
You need to be 50 for that course.
You just lost a ton of money Mr. Riley. You should have taken the no point ticket and paid $450.00 instead of pleading guilty and paying $85.00.
Next year your insurance company is going to bump you up a tier level, and leave you there for 3 years. Probably going to cost you in the thousands, unfortunatly.
Forget the BS the insurance companies put on the Internet about not charging you for your first 2 points. They will give you an "individual review."
You should have invested a little money in the advice of a lawyer.
What's that saying about the guy who represents himself?
MR: "...gravity was at least partly responsible."
See what happens when you break the law of gravity?
God DOES work in mysterious ways, eh?
When he does work. As Woody Allen once said about God:
"... the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever."
Good ole Woody Allen, he really puts things into perspective for us.
Its more like Murphys Law.
anonymous wrote:
"Good ole Woody Allen, he really puts things into perspective for us."
Think of him as the anti-Pat.
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