I got into a single vehicle car accident back in March. Basically what happened is I was on my way to work one morning and I lost control of my Tahoe on the curvy business street in front of my building and knicked the curb with my tire which made me hit a tree. The accident happened at like 5:00am and there was not a single car in sight. So when the police came down to fill out an accident report they issued me a bullshit ticket for "unsafe turn or lane change". Then two days later the same officer called me two days later to ask even further questions regarding my accident like what lane I was in and stuff. I thought to myself if she has questions still two days later then she never should have issued me a moving violation on the spot.
I decided to fight the ticket because I wasn't driving recklessly or unsafe. It was a simple car accident. Besides how can the officer issue me a ticket without actually being a witness to the moving violation or having another drivers input on my driving.
So I schedule an appointment to see the judge. Which in California in order to do so you need to pay for the ticket prior to seeing the judge. Right there I had a feeling something fishy was up because once the courts have my money in their account why would they give it back to me. Then the courts set aside one designated day a week to see the judge which happens to be ONLY on Thursdays at 1:30pm. I thought to myself how accomodating for the officers to only have to worry about appearing in court one day of the week and only in the afternoon.
So here comes judgment day which was yesterday. Probably about 40 people on the court docket for the day and it just so happens that I was pretty close to last to be called up to speak my case. I would like to mention that EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE who appeared in front of the judge before me lost their respective cases. I knew it wasn't looking good. So the officer that issued me the ticket pleaded her case first. She first started stating her credentials to the judge about being an officer for 18 years and shit. Then she pleaded her case. I followed up and asked her if she was so confident that I committed a moving violation even without witnessing then why did she call me two days later still asking for details on the events leading up to the accident? Of course like the others before the judge didn't want to hear shit I had to say and just gave the bitch the victory. I have never had an at fault accident nor a moving violation in 18 years of driving but he didn't give a fuck.
As me and the officer walked out of the courtroom I respectively gave her a piece of my mind and told her this whole fuckin process is a scam to milk money out of tax payers. I said I get the feeling that the judge will NEVER go against the officer as long as they show the courtesy of showing up in court. They don't want to make the officer look bad especially if the officer took the time out of their schedule to attend court. The whole process is appeasing for the officers. I even gave an example about how one of the people fighting their ticket before me was trying to get traffic school but the judge said he wanted to see a print out of his driving history and found out that he beat a speeding ticket in the past because the officer failed to show up. He used that dismissed ticket as a reason to not grant him traffic school. I thought total bullshit. I said this whole scam they have going on allows the judge to sit in his comfy chair and earn a paycheck by ordering us to pay fines. She said that traffic court doesn't pay her officer salary. I told her I know my taxes pay her salary. I told her this guy isn't even a good judge because if he was deemed a good judge then he would be handling criminal or civil cases and not some bullshit "he didn't yield" cases. The worse and most incompetent judges are the ones who get stuck on those no frills traffic offense cases. I told her I will never show respect for a traffic court judge because it isn't a legitimate appeals process because even with no evidence or witnesses against the defendant they still lose. I was all like who the fuck is this guy to judge me on my driving skills when he probably has a couple DUI's and running some red lights himself.
Then after I was done venting with the officer about the unfair traffic school trials. I ran into the judge outside of the courtroom on my way to to the restroom and asked him if he atleast one person win their case or was it a complete sweep for the officers today? One guy in the lobby who was in the courtroom heard me and said loud enough for both me and the judge to hear that he knew I was going to lose the second the officer said she has been doing this for 18 years. I said I know and I told the judge you guys are crooked. I said the real people that commit moving violations like busting through red lights, and speeding and driving without a license and without insurance can't afford to pay their fines so they recover that lost money by issuing bullshit tickets to people like me.
The lesson I learned is the next time I get into an accident I will plead the 5th when the officers try to write an accident report. I will just tell them you figure out what happened yourself. You tell me how fast I was driving and shit. In the event that I get another ticket I won't even waste my time fighting it cause it is a no win battle. Shit i might even go as far and ask to see the judge and just bitch in front of the court how crooked they are and take the fine for being in contempt.
I decided to fight the ticket because I wasn't driving recklessly or unsafe. It was a simple car accident. Besides how can the officer issue me a ticket without actually being a witness to the moving violation or having another drivers input on my driving.
So I schedule an appointment to see the judge. Which in California in order to do so you need to pay for the ticket prior to seeing the judge. Right there I had a feeling something fishy was up because once the courts have my money in their account why would they give it back to me. Then the courts set aside one designated day a week to see the judge which happens to be ONLY on Thursdays at 1:30pm. I thought to myself how accomodating for the officers to only have to worry about appearing in court one day of the week and only in the afternoon.
So here comes judgment day which was yesterday. Probably about 40 people on the court docket for the day and it just so happens that I was pretty close to last to be called up to speak my case. I would like to mention that EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE who appeared in front of the judge before me lost their respective cases. I knew it wasn't looking good. So the officer that issued me the ticket pleaded her case first. She first started stating her credentials to the judge about being an officer for 18 years and shit. Then she pleaded her case. I followed up and asked her if she was so confident that I committed a moving violation even without witnessing then why did she call me two days later still asking for details on the events leading up to the accident? Of course like the others before the judge didn't want to hear shit I had to say and just gave the bitch the victory. I have never had an at fault accident nor a moving violation in 18 years of driving but he didn't give a fuck.
As me and the officer walked out of the courtroom I respectively gave her a piece of my mind and told her this whole fuckin process is a scam to milk money out of tax payers. I said I get the feeling that the judge will NEVER go against the officer as long as they show the courtesy of showing up in court. They don't want to make the officer look bad especially if the officer took the time out of their schedule to attend court. The whole process is appeasing for the officers. I even gave an example about how one of the people fighting their ticket before me was trying to get traffic school but the judge said he wanted to see a print out of his driving history and found out that he beat a speeding ticket in the past because the officer failed to show up. He used that dismissed ticket as a reason to not grant him traffic school. I thought total bullshit. I said this whole scam they have going on allows the judge to sit in his comfy chair and earn a paycheck by ordering us to pay fines. She said that traffic court doesn't pay her officer salary. I told her I know my taxes pay her salary. I told her this guy isn't even a good judge because if he was deemed a good judge then he would be handling criminal or civil cases and not some bullshit "he didn't yield" cases. The worse and most incompetent judges are the ones who get stuck on those no frills traffic offense cases. I told her I will never show respect for a traffic court judge because it isn't a legitimate appeals process because even with no evidence or witnesses against the defendant they still lose. I was all like who the fuck is this guy to judge me on my driving skills when he probably has a couple DUI's and running some red lights himself.
Then after I was done venting with the officer about the unfair traffic school trials. I ran into the judge outside of the courtroom on my way to to the restroom and asked him if he atleast one person win their case or was it a complete sweep for the officers today? One guy in the lobby who was in the courtroom heard me and said loud enough for both me and the judge to hear that he knew I was going to lose the second the officer said she has been doing this for 18 years. I said I know and I told the judge you guys are crooked. I said the real people that commit moving violations like busting through red lights, and speeding and driving without a license and without insurance can't afford to pay their fines so they recover that lost money by issuing bullshit tickets to people like me.
The lesson I learned is the next time I get into an accident I will plead the 5th when the officers try to write an accident report. I will just tell them you figure out what happened yourself. You tell me how fast I was driving and shit. In the event that I get another ticket I won't even waste my time fighting it cause it is a no win battle. Shit i might even go as far and ask to see the judge and just bitch in front of the court how crooked they are and take the fine for being in contempt.