OPEN CONTAINER TICKET, NEED COURT ADVICE!
Thread started by
KiMS1 at 09.23.09 - 8:42 pm
a few months back, i went to a show with some friends, we each drank a beer outside the car before heading in for the show.
we got caught with open containers.
even though we were caught for open containers, the cop was "being nice" and only wrote one of us up for an open container and the rest of us with littering tickets.
to my knowledge, open container tickets cost around $150 and aren't too big of a deal, but a littering ticket is fucking gnarly.
there were four of us.
my buddy who got the open container ticket moved back to the east coast and said fuck it im not dealing with it.
one of my buddy's who got a littering ticket got a fine for $1000
my other buddy got 16 hours community service.
i have to go to court tmorrow morning.
now the cop wrote litterbug:beer bottles on my ticket.
should i fight this and try to get an open container ticket?
or should i keep it safe and try to get community service??
what the fuck do i do?!?!
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duderina where are you?!?
KiMS109.23.09 - 8:51 pm
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I've gotten an open container ticket before, no big deal. I was caught at a bar/club's parking lot drinking a tall can before going in with my friend. We got citations but then later a paper came in the mail that said you can pay it thru the mail or online. So I paid it online and it was like 260 bucks or so.
Most expensive tall can EVER.
I have heard that littering tickets are a lot of money though so I would try and get it taken down to an open container. Tell the judge that you weren't littering, you actually just put your beer down on the floor standing up cuz it wasn't empty yet. :p
You also gotta remember that it might be on your record for a few years.
Weedwax09.23.09 - 9:25 pm
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who you gunna call... OOOOOOBAAAMA!
theshues09.23.09 - 9:45 pm
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Were you just holding the bottle until you found a place to discard or recycle it, so it wouldn't break and cut someone on the way to the concert?
JB09.23.09 - 10:51 pm
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nah, like we were drinking, and placed it down. we werent done. but my idiot friend was drinking not discrete at all and the cop caught him.
when the cop came up, he saw 4 dudes and 4 beers halfway finished.
then he was like, alright, im gonna give ur buddy who i caught the open container and the rest of you littering tickets.
he told us that open containers are super expensive and littering tickets are cheap.
i knew something was fishy but didnt know what to say in fear of him fucking me harder.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by JB
09.23.09 - 11:09 pm
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damn, that's a trip. i would go contest it. i mean, technically you didn't litter. don't even need to mention you were drinking.
i guess the lesson here is if you get caught drinking in public, don't just randomly toss yo sh!t.
tfunk408 responding to a
comment by KiMS1
09.24.09 - 5:15 am
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Laaaaaaaaaaaaaame . . . what a c*ck. I would try for the open container ticket. 16 hours of my time is worth more than $150 to me. But now I just realized you said you're going to court this morning, so you're probably already there or something, and I'll just hope that you either successfully fight the ticket or that the cop doesn't show. Good luck!
Team Creanberry09.24.09 - 8:21 am
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so back from court
an open container ticket would have been bad on my record because i forgot that i have already received one years back. having two open container tickets, even though maybe a cheaper sentance, looks awful on your record if you're trying get hired somewhere and if they happen to do a BG check.
and the minimum for an open container ticket is 150, but it can max out at a grand as well.
i dodged a bullet today with a nice judge.
he looked at me, i explained my situation, let me off with a 100 dollar fine.
but the court fees in the end put me in a pretty good hole.
the total amnt for today was 466 dollars.
only 100 was for the actual fine itself and the rest were fees.
i guess it could have worse though, it could have been like 1366 or something.
all in all, don't fucking drink in public. no matter how slick you are, someone's going to catch you and it's gonna end up being the most expensive drink you've consumed.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by Team Creanberry
09.24.09 - 11:00 am
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man 466 is still steep. that's like half a month's rent, could seriously put a dent into your lifestyle or worse.
is open container a misdemeanor? or is it just an infraction/citation?
tfunk408 responding to a
comment by KiMS1
09.24.09 - 11:40 am
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next time put it in a sippy cup or a water bottle...I use one of those Klean Kanteens.
la duderina09.24.09 - 12:47 pm
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That's why courts are funny, because sometimes you get a sub-judge and they give it to you easy.
itookthewrongroad responding to a
comment by KiMS1
09.24.09 - 2:03 pm
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@tfunk
yeah 466 is pretty steep but they dicked me with the fees. if i had known the fees would be so high, i would have just asked teh judge to let me go scott free haha.
like when he said 100 i was waaay stoked, clickin my heels and shit. but was immediately shot down when i went to the cashier. sucks man.
@brian
there were like 9 different types of fees. i dont remember what they all were but they were kinda vague like "dismissal fee, court costs, etc"
it's pretty jacked.
each fee ranges from 17 to 89 dollars. i got hit with like 4 different fees.
KiMS1 responding to a
comment by speedybrian2000
09.24.09 - 3:11 pm
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looks like you got double possibly even quadruple dicked.... thankfully your were not quintupley so.
mankini responding to a
comment by KiMS1
09.24.09 - 3:48 pm
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The cop never saw you holding or putting the container down. It could have been someone else's.
You should have fought it. Instead you all tried to bargain during arraignment.
That's where you plead "guilty" or "not guilty". You should have pleaded "not guilty".
If you try "yes, I'm guilty but...." you are already fucked.
And you are really fucked when you walk away from this whole thing with $500 less in your pocket and you call the cop and the judge "nice".
All these fines/fees are just a way to tax the poor.
If this shit was fair you'd be taxed proportionately to your income.
When you make $2,000 a month a $500 fine 50% of your income.
When you make $10,000 a month a $500 fine 10% of your income.
When you make $100,000 a month a $500 fine 1% of your income.
How's this shit fair?
Don't take it lying down and then say "thank you" in the end.
Plead not guilty.
I wish I had posted this yestrday but I just saw it.
marino09.24.09 - 4:43 pm
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All these fines/fees are just a way to tax the poor.
--or those that commit the unlawful act (but whether something is a unlawful is up for debate--you get the point)
If this shit was fair you'd be taxed proportionately to your income.
--why is that fair? plus the justice system does "help" people with less money... its called jail time instead.
When you make $2,000 a month a $500 fine 50% of your income.
---did you mean 25%?
When you make $10,000 a month a $500 fine 10% of your income.
---20%?
When you make $100,000 a month a $500 fine 1% of your income.
---1% = $1000
maybe my math is wrong... i dont know
How's this shit fair?
ummm, i think justice is supposed to be 'blind"... i think. I get what you're hoping for, but its not really fair in the context of unlawful acts (given we're not thinking about corrupt judicial systems, and or the fact that rich people tend to get favored).... if fines are agreed to (which they really arent), then it would be fair no matter the income. Or there can be other avenues to pay off debt (comm service or jail **ugh**). Rich can pay--thats it. The fact that their rich (well that may be up for debate).
Just my quick thought...
md2 responding to a
comment by marino
09.24.09 - 4:56 pm
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im thinking you took income as by-weekly... i dont know...
but sme people get paid monthly.... i just cant tell what you meant.
Oh, and i know you dont respond to me, so its cool
md209.24.09 - 4:58 pm
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fuck... sometimes i type too fast....
fuck... i spell shit wrong all the time....
goodnight.
md209.24.09 - 4:59 pm
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good point, should've said it was your friends
66609.24.09 - 5:09 pm
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Ha! Thank you md2
The numbers should read:
When you make $1,000 a month a $500 fine 50% of your income.
When you make $10,000 a month a $500 fine 5% of your income.
When you make $100,000 a month a $500 fine 0.5% of your income.
Or
if you make $10/hr it takes you 50 hrs to pay the fine.
if you make $100/hr it takes you 5 hrs to pay the fine.
if you make $1000/hr it takes you 0.5 hrs to pay the fine.
How is it unfair?
The poor get sentenced to 50 hours of labor the rich to 30 minutes.
marino09.24.09 - 5:36 pm
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marino,
I get what youre saying...
the problem is this (in my mind). why is it fair? its about fairness.
I think you're issue needs to be addressed prior to such laws being set, that is, whether it is fair for such disparities to exist in the first place.
But in realtime...the flip-side (is it a flip-side) is that we think it fair to tax by percentages (even higher for the wealthy (-ier). And i think your have a point worth following (as some have), that maybe fines should be percentages.... but of what?
Maybe Robert Nozick and other Libertarians have a good point, that taxation is basically working for free, and if your taxation is redistributed to the poor (or for their benefit(s)), then, well your extra hours of LABOR as you put it, are going to those who didnt work those hours (obviously) but you also labored involuntarily... (slave labor?)...why do you have to work for free (essentially).. in that, you were forced to pay (give up funds). .... i need to re-read Nozak (dont quote me)... but the Libertarian movement has a hard time rectifying past injustices (so fuck them)...
anyhow... fuck... ummmmm.... so yeah.... i see your point, and i think im off the cuff trying to say...
Taxation would seemingly be unfair too. If labor matters... (and shit its so weird these days, cause so many do *nothing* while money is made---where is the labor???)...investments earn...401K, its so weird.. it really is...
I lost my train of thought... maybe you want to continue... my coffee needs more.
oh yeah... so
wouldnt you say taxing the rich at higher % is unfair, because you make them work more for free (as in the fee case in your post)? They get sentenced to (X) amount hours, while the poor only (
Im with you though --- FUCK THE RICH.
md2 responding to a
comment by marino
09.24.09 - 6:02 pm
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oh yeah...
and i wanted to say... taxation doesnt occur because you committed a crime (or something unlawful)..
So is it worse? changed topics...fuck...sorry...
you dont have to commit unlawful act (e.g. drinking in public). If you choose to, I think we can agree, the choice to do something like that, is irrelevant to how much money you make.
But Im poor so i have tendency to drink a lot...
"That buck that bought bottle coulda struck the lotto"
--peace, love and gap
md209.24.09 - 6:23 pm
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Maybe if the fine was REALLY $100 without the $400 of additional fees I wouldn't raise the rich/poor taxation thing.
But it is a TAX. A tax to raise revenue that hits the poor disproportionately.
The reason these fees grew to be 4 times the original fine was that every time there was a budget shortfall, the politicians were too scared to raise taxes (which are proportional to income) and instead added fees to "bad" behavior. Fines, cigarettes, liquor etc
That way they get consensus, "yeah let the bad guys pay".
Surprisingly more often than not, the bad guys turn out to be the poor.
It's a fundraising scheme that protects the rich from higher taxation.
marino responding to a
comment by md2
09.24.09 - 6:34 pm
reply
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