A week after I returned from Seattle, I had the pleasure of attending traffic court.
Last March, I received a citation for running a red light. The crappy part was I didn't run a red light! As I was in the intersection making a left turn the light changed to yellow, and then by the time I got out of the intersection, it had turned red. That is NOT running a red light! That's clearing an intersection! Two VERY DIFFERENT things! The police officer that pulled me over couldn't even see what color my light was! So I decided to fight it.
The lovely Sandy Justice Court was the background for this lesson in the law system. I took with me pictures from the scene showing clearly the officer could not see what color my light was. I also took a diagram of the intersection showing where the officer's car was in relation to the traffic lights and my car. I also took a copy of the page of the Driver's Manual showing that when there is a yellow left arrow, vehicles must clear the intersection. I felt I was prepared.
As I walked up the stairs to the courtroom, I saw a coworker sitting in one of the chairs outside of the courtroom. I sat down next to him and asked him why he was there. He was fighting a red light citation that occurred at the same intersection mine did back in March on a different day. He showed me his evidence and told me his case, and I didn’t think he had a very good case. I didn’t tell him that, but that was what I thought.
The courtroom was finally unlocked, and we filed in. On the list outside of the courtroom there were about seven names on the sheet for cases. Luckily only three of us showed up!
The first guy they called up was a 17 year old boy. He pled not guilty to running a red light at the same intersection as the rest of us. He received it about an hour before I got mine but from a different officer, and he was turning right. The officer gave his testimony. Then the poor kid was asked by the judge if he wanted to testify or remain silent. He looked at his mom because I guess he didn’t know what to do. His mom asked the judge if she could sit next to him but the judge said, “You can sit next to him if you are a member of the Bar.” The mom stayed put in her seat. The kid said he wanted to testify so he took the oath and the witness stand. His testimony consisted of, “Well, uh, I thought I, uh, stopped. I remember that day and I wasn’t late for work so I thought I stopped.” Sorry kid. If you are going to plead not guilty, you’ve got to own it! At least have some conviction! After his testimony, the prosecution showed the dash camera from the officer that showed the kid rolling through the intersection on a red light. Unless he stopped twenty feet before the intersection….With the kid's stellar (not!) testimony and the video, the kid was found guilty. The judge was going to sentence him and tell him to pay the fine, when the prosecutor asked if the kid could be given a plea in abeyance instead since he had a clean record before that time. The judge agreed so the kid had to pay court fees, attend a teen traffic class, and have a clean record for the next six months. Then the citation would be taken off his record.
The next person the judge called up was my coworker. He pleaded not guilty to running a red light. I knew he didn't have a prayer but I just hoped he wouldn't make the judge mad before I had to have my time in the sun. The officer took the stand and gave a fifteen minute testimony. Then my coworker took the stand and gave a not-so-strong argument. The judge found him guilty and asked if he could pay the fine. He hmm’ed and haaa’ed over it and acted pitiful. The officer leaned over and said something to the prosecutor. The prosecutor broke in and told the judge that the officer would reduce the sentence to a plea in abeyance. The judge asked if my coworker could pay the court fees. He told a sad story about how he was saving for his daughter’s hernia operation. She gave him 19 hours of community service that had to be completed in the next 60 days.
While my coworker’s paperwork was being completed, the prosecutor got up and sat in the empty chair next to me. He said he was willing to offer the same “plea in abeyance” deal the other two received if I would skip the hearing. I agreed to it. I mainly didn’t want to listen to the officer’s testimony against me, and I didn’t want to testify. I think I could have won my case, but I didn’t want to take the chance. The other two were found guilty and I figured they would find me guilty as well. The court was set up for appearances but I bet everyone walked out of their with a guilty or plea in abeyance verdict.
The judge called me to approach the bench which I did. The prosecutor explained that he had offered me the plea in abeyance and I took it. The judge asked me what I pled. I didn’t know what to say (guilty or not guilty). She knew I was confused so she explained that if I pled no contest, that would mean I was taking the plea in abeyance. I said “No contest, your honor.” She said to strike that from the record. She asked me when I could pay the court fees, and I said, “Today.” She told me I was on probation for six months so if I didn’t receive any citations in six months, the red light violation will be taken off my record. (I'm halfway through probation.) I waited for my paperwork. I paid the court fees. I was back to work in an hour.
Oh the justice system.....Add that to the life lessons learned.
