The “Law” and Me

Justice for you

So, I spoke with my wonderful attorney, and if you remember the analogy I left you with last post officer:vampire::attorney: ____, I came up with the answer that my attorney is a grim reeper.  Basically, my attorney let me know that my malfunctioning  speedometer situation will not reduce or drop the ticket in any form or fashion… only in Athens-Clarke County.  Talk about the bearer of bad news.  Also, my [grim reeper] explained that he had cases in 160 court houses in Georgia, and Athens is the ONLY city where they do not drop fines or reduce speeds.  The reason for this policy?  Everyone must be treated equally, in the sense no situation [even if you do not have measured speed available to you], will be not be taken into consideration.

So to make matters slightly more difficult, the judge in Athens is very particular about speeding in a 25 mph zone.  This sounds like a technicality to me, and the judge will probably feel the same way about my broken speedometer.  The fact that I am not 21 yet will also be another negative factor in my case… I mean in Georgia it is more trouble to have a license before you are 21 rather than just waiting to get in when you are officially 21.  Sounds crazy, but Georgia works against giving the opportunity to drive to adults under 21.  For example, almost every speeding ticket is 2,3, or 4 points and when you are under 21 you are only allowed four points, then your license is revoked.  Moreover, you will be paying a $500 reinstatement fee to get in back.  A suggestion:  The courts should place less concern on giving a convicted DUI individual a limited driving licenses, and more concern into making it a little  CONVENIENT for a person under the age of 21 to drive.   I think the police prey on students because there is the stigma that mom and dad will be there to foot the bill… WRONG!

So, court will be tomorrow and hopefully the judge will show some form of mercy.  I will not hold my breath though.  It seems that the court system believes that all citizens can afford to pay fines that are hundreds of dollars, for minute citations that are not severe crimes.  However, the legal system operates in a manner that is supposed to deliver equality to everyone, but the general population should be more discriminating against that idea.  I am slowly but surely waiting until I turn 21 so I can actually drive with some type of ease, rather than stressing about when my license will be taken away.

Word to the wise: make sure everything on your car works, whether it is a speedometer, a signal, headlight, even your windshield not being cracked.  Any of these items left broken will cause you to be a shark in the water out there on the road for the police, resulting in hefty fines that you will likely not be able to get out of.  Whether you have a lawyer or not, it seems you have to be some type of powerful political figure or celebrity to be “above the law”…

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