| Subject: Some followup comments/answers/questions... |
Author:
Mau Xu
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Date Posted: 07:55:31 11/17/02 Sun
In reply to:
Garridian
's message, "Well, a few comments." on 06:39:41 11/15/02 Fri
1) Yes my wife fought the ticket. I have group legal as a benefit through work so we contacted a local lawyer. He pretty much worked it out so that the charge would be changed to something that carries the same fine but no points. As far as interviewing my wife... I guess you could say that they really didn't do that. When they showed up at the house, they asked her if she had been drinking and then asked for license, registration, proof of insurance and that was pretty much it. I wouldn't say my wife is clear of any wrong doing since she did tap this girl on the bike and in the eyes of the law, this girl on the sidewalk does have the right of way. I don't believe my wife is whithout fault but then again, I don't think this 14 yr old is without fault either... but unfortunately, my opinion means nothing to an illogical legal system. The ticket was changed from Failure to Yield to Blockading Traffic and was paid. Since our lawyer had them change the court date to a month sooner, neither the girl, her mother, or the cop were there since they were not notified of this change and therefore we really had no place to claim that since they were not there, the charge doesn't hold up(This lawyer also works as a public defender in the area as well so he wouldn't want to pull something like that since it may come back to bite him in the ass later on).
2) Appealing Small Claims... well that is the funny thing... I guess it depends on the court... no one said anything about appealing and my wifes' boss(Who is a lawyer) said you can't appeal small claims BUT when I was involved in a small claims suit years ago with an ex girlfriend, we WERE told that we could appeal the Magistrates' ruling and if we did so, the case would then be heard by a judge and his/her decision would be final. As far not paying her, I made that suggesting in the very beginning... my wifes' boss said that they can garnish wages if you refuse to pay... you have 21 days to pay and if you fail to do so, they can also impose penalties in the form of interest... once again, I guess this all depends on what court you are going through... my wife has already got the money order to pay her but I do like the idea about paying her in pennies. If it was just me, I was single, had no house, and this rulling would have been against me for something I don't feel I should be held responsible for, I probably would never pay it... or make payments at the LOWEST possible amount. But its out of my hands and my wife is already in the process of dealing with it... sometimes she just lacks any balls!
3) I wouldn't be able to get any pictures of the bike since I have NO idea what the bike looks like! I have YET to see it and that is what pisses me off about having to pay for it!!! There is no proof other than a police report that the bike was destroyed!!! Even if I could prove it, who would do anything about it? The courts? The police? Puh-lease!
4) What guilt did this girl really have in this incident in the eyes of the law? From what I am gathering, it is not against the law to walk or ride a bike aimlessly on a sidewalk since cars should ALWAYS be looking for you but you NEVER have to look for them. I think if the police did show up she would have still have gotten the ticket. I was also told, that if you can avoid it, never have the police come to the scene... always go to the police station to file a report... but since I was told that by a cop, I don't know if it was because they would rather stuff their face at Dunkin Donuts than deal with traffic accidents. I don't think the outcome would have changed if the cops would have showed up... most cops I see here in this area ALWAYS view the child as the victim REGARDLESS of what they are doing if they are involved in an incident with an adult.
5) That is a good one! Damn! I wish you would have given that to me like 2 months ago!:) Since then the marks have all healed and it wouldn't do me any good to make that call now. All this girl had was a strawberry on her cheek and another on her elbow... Perhaps she wouldn't have had either if her mother would have made her wear a helmet and elbow pads... hmmm.. and the mother seemed shocked when I called her a negligent mother for letting her child ride a bike down one of the busiest roads in our area during a time of ALOT of construction!!! It was just nuts and she knew her daughter was there because she had sent her daughter to her grandparents house and she was riding her bike there!!!
Now for a question of my own... this accident took place at a place of business... my wife gave the girl her information(Name, Address, Phone number) on a piece of paper... the girls mother told both my wife and I that she got my wifes' information from someone at this place of business(The woman also claims to know the owner of this business personally)... We were meaning to go up to this place of business to question the owner as to why someone there would give out ANY information about my wife to anyone other than law enforcement? Well we never really got around to doing that but the day before the small claims court date, I did go up there and ask to speak with the owner... the person I spoke with asked me why I wanted to speak with them(Understandable request), and I explain that my wife was involved in an accident in the parking lot a few months back with a girl on a bike and the mother of this girl informed us that someone at this place of business released information about my wife to this woman and that I would like to speak to the owner about this(Isn't my request also a reasonable one?)... she informs me that the owner is not in at this time and that I should come back between 11am-5pm when she is usually in. I thanked her and left. Well the next day in court the mother stated that she did call up this establishment to confirm information on my wife and confirmed that she knew the owner personally(They bowl in the same league! We have a weeener!) When we ask what the name of the owner is(I was told her name by the woman that works there and told me to check back during the day) and she refused to give us the name and stated that I have been harassing people at this establishment... I was like WHAT?!?! Going in for 5 minutes and speaking to a bartender to get the information she gave me is harassing people? WHat the fuck is this woman smoking and where can my brother get some?!?! So what federal privacy laws, if any, has this establishment broken by releasing information about my wife to someone like this woman? I know how to fill out the complaint form with our States Attorney General but I don't know if I should still keep trying to contact the owner before I file the complaint... This place has teh best pizza I have ever had but we have not had a pizza from there since this all took place. Now if the law would have just allowed me to kneecap this bitch, I would be happy and would just move on with my life... but I hold grudges and am not happy until I can exact vengance!
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