[Chat] Case dismissed, was Re: Ticketed for talking

[jdy]

yes. if no one knows it's broken then it can't be fixed.
judy
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Emil Volcheck" <volcheck at acm.org>
To: <chat at charlesvillage.info>
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 9:47 PM
Subject: [Chat] Case dismissed, was Re: Ticketed for talking


> Hello, folks,
> 
> Yesterday Steve accompanied me to the District Court on
> Wabash Ave. to help me contest the ticket I got for
> allegedly obstructing traffic on Guilford Ave. at about
> 10 PM on a Tuesday night.
> 
> The officer didn't appear, and the case was dismissed!
> 
> I was ready to argue that I didn't deserve the ticket.
> I had a letter signed by Dave Barnett, and Steve was
> there ready to testify as a witness.  But it wasn't
> necessary.  I do want to offer thanks to Steve and
> Dave for their help.  I also want to thank Dana Moore
> for offering me advice about how to present the case
> and suggesting some Do's and Don'ts.
> 
> This all was such a waste of energy brought on by probably
> nothing more than a police officer in a bad mood.
> 
> While I may have technically violated the law, I think
> it was inappropriate for the police officer to give me
> a ticket for causing a very minor inconvenience.
> 
> The demeanor of the officers was inappropriate.
> The officer who issued the ticket spoke to Steve
> in a very aggressive tone, ordering him to move back
> and threatening him with arrest when he did nothing
> threatening.  I had to ask four times if
> I was free to go after they gave me the ticket.
> 
> Should I write a letter to somebody to complain about
> the treatment?  What do Chat List subscribers think?
> 
> --Emil
> 
> ----- Forwarded message from Emil Volcheck <volcheck at acm.org> -----
> 
> Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:28:31 -0400
> From: Emil Volcheck <volcheck at acm.org>
> To: chat at charlesvillage.info
> Cc: gewirtz at bellatlantic.net, gdb at jhu.edu
> Subject: Ticketed for talking!
> Mail-Followup-To: chat at charlesvillage.info, gewirtz at bellatlantic.net,
> gdb at jhu.edu
> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.1i
> 
> Hello, neighbors,
> 
> After the CVCBDMA Board meeting, I drove back and gave Steve Gewirtz a
> lift.  Steve and I both live on the 3000 block of Guilford, and I
> stopped across from his house, right before the intersection of
> Guilford and 30th.  We chatted for a little while about politics, then
> Dave Barnett drove by in the opposite direction, on his way home I
> assume.  I hadn't seen him for a while, so we both rolled down our
> windows to talk.  Then I saw a police car pull up behind me, with
> bubble lights.  Dave moved on, and I pulled my car closer to the side
> to get out of the way.  The police gave me a $50 ticket for impeding
> the flow of traffic.  I was really surprised because I was in the car
> the whole time, with the hazard lights on, and I moved almost as soon
> as I saw someone behind me was trying to get by.  Certainly when Dave
> moved, I believe the police could have gotten past me.
> 
> The police starting ticketing me right after I turned the corner and I
> let Steve off.  Steve asked the officer what the problem was, and they
> told him to back off, gave him a 5-second warning.  That seemed a
> little harsh.
> 
> I think I remember hearing recently that Dana Moore was given a ticket
> when she was stopped out in front of her house loading or unloading
> from her car, and that the judge threw it out.
> 
> I'm planning to tell the judge I'm innocent, and Steve says he'll come
> with me.
> 
> Does anybody have any thoughts about this situation?  It seems kind
> of extreme.  I feel like I should have been entitled to some signal
> like a honk or yelling "move along" before they decided I was
> blocking traffic.
> 
> --Emil
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Emil Volcheck
> volcheck at acm.org
> http://acm.org/~volcheck
> 
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> 
> -- 
> Emil Volcheck
> volcheck at acm.org
> http://acm.org/~volcheck
> 
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>