Worst Judge Ever!!!

[razyracer]

so today was the day of my arraignment for a speeding ticket (the where i wasnt speeding and the officer "paced" me) and a silly headlight ticket (citation sited was for not having working headlights...)

well needless to say i have a 2001 mustang gt MY HEADLIGHTS WORK! and my moms boyfriend, and LAPD officer, was in court to witness to this and also to help me with the other ticket.....


anyway the judge calls my name and he names of like 5 other people. We approach the table. he calls my name and asks me if i would like to pay immediately or plead not guilty in the headlight thing... i say "your honor i would like a motion of dismi..." before i could finish my sentence the judge says "HAH and id like to win the lottery, know what im saying? not going to happend"...... so hmmm would entertain my motion for dismissal... then he says so guilty or not guilty.... i say not guilty

he then asks me about the speeding ticket and says guilty or not guilty.... i say "your honor i would like a motion to move the hearing to county...." he stops me again..... "listen" he says "i dont care, It doesnt matter what your story is forget about it.... guilty or not guilty" i plead not guilty and sets my court date for june 6th... well what i was motioning for was a motion to take this to county seat... which he is mandated by law to entertain my motions... and a motion to move to county seat can only be made at the arraignment, so i feel i was denied my rights...


anyway this guy was a huge jerk, and im filing a complaint.. it seems he already has a large amount of people filing complaints.. but my moms friend is city attorney and has lots of friends in the right places... we are gonna try and get him disbarred... he is a mockery of the justice system


:gt:

 

[95oRANGEcRUSH]

Do what you must and is lawfully granted to you. Sounds like an arrogant asshole to me, but then again I wasn't there.

Good luck.

 

[2F2F]

A hardened judge is tough to crack...

 

[SVT4ME]

They are all like that

 

[2F2F]

A good majority, at least...

 

[jchouse76]

Best of Luck with the tickets, and getting that dick disbarred

 

[FordSVTFan]

Considering at best that might be judicial misconduct, but for a traffic violation and the due process involved it will probably read to the judicial review committee as speeding up the inevitable.

As for being disbarred, he wasnt acting as a lawyer and according to your description of events didnt violate any of the canons of legal ethics or procedures for attorneys. So he would most certainly never be disbarred. The two things are seperate issues.

but good luck

 

[razyracer]

he was completely unethical..... the way he treated people in his courtroom was terrible.... when people would speak in their defense he would just shut them up... say he doesnt care...

nobody in the courtroom could believe it... after i was done with the judge i look at the interpreter and she gives me this look like "i know this is unbelievable"

in his eyes everyone was guilty and thats how he treated them...

 

[razyracer]

he also said that if i take it to court and i lose my fines can increase and can result in my license being taken away...

wtf is that all about? dont i have the right to a fair trial without them increasing my fines?

thats extortion in my book.... im going to college to be a lawyer in a few months, but stuff like this causes me to lose faith in my justice system...i feel victimized and powerless

 

[zzzzzer]

Geez...that judge sounds like a prick. After what Hulk said I don't know what your options are going to be but I definitely think you should pursue some type of action against him if you feel strongly that your rights were violated. Good luck w/ everything.

 

[jshen]

Just a Suggestion

and I wasn't there either...but Never, ever "motion" a judge if you're not a lawyer...because they will think you are a "wanna be" and get mad. You may be right on the issue but the "law" is what the judge says it is..until/unless he is reversed by appellate courts. That was a lesson I learned the hard way my second year in law school when I attempted to help my brother out of a sticky mess. I was right on the issue...but hacked the judge off and he made a comment about "wanna-bes". I see things like what you went through, but not as bad as you've outlined, quite often...When I see a person represent themselves and make a ""motion" [ and their demeanor adds to it and I don't know how you came across to this judge], I close my eyes and grit my teeth as I know what is coming...

Even if judge is a jerk...and you're not represented, I would suggest you use phrases like "your honor please dismiss this because..." You'll never win an argument with a judge in his court. I never let friends & family represent themselves...Never..

Good Luck,

 

[NastyWS6]

Best of luck with it,

 

[FordSVTFan]

Originally posted by razyracer
he also said that if i take it to court and i lose my fines can increase and can result in my license being taken away...

wtf is that all about? dont i have the right to a fair trial without them increasing my fines?

thats extortion in my book.... im going to college to be a lawyer in a few months, but stuff like this causes me to lose faith in my justice system...i feel victimized and powerless

I agree that doesnt sound like a good situation. Once again you need to make a complaint with the judicial review board. Get a transcript of the proceeding and go ahead with a complaint.

BTW, you need to go to law school to become a lawyer. Well except in California:uh oh:

 

[03DOHC]

Originally posted by razyracer
so today was the day of my arraignment for a speeding ticket (the where i wasnt speeding and the officer "paced" me) and a silly headlight ticket (citation sited was for not having working headlights...)

well needless to say i have a 2001 mustang gt MY HEADLIGHTS WORK! and my moms boyfriend, and LAPD officer, was in court to witness to this and also to help me with the other ticket.....


anyway the judge calls my name and he names of like 5 other people. We approach the table. he calls my name and asks me if i would like to pay immediately or plead not guilty in the headlight thing... i say "your honor i would like a motion of dismi..." before i could finish my sentence the judge says "HAH and id like to win the lottery, know what im saying? not going to happend"...... so hmmm would entertain my motion for dismissal... then he says so guilty or not guilty.... i say not guilty

he then asks me about the speeding ticket and says guilty or not guilty.... i say "your honor i would like a motion to move the hearing to county...." he stops me again..... "listen" he says "i dont care, It doesnt matter what your story is forget about it.... guilty or not guilty" i plead not guilty and sets my court date for june 6th... well what i was motioning for was a motion to take this to county seat... which he is mandated by law to entertain my motions... and a motion to move to county seat can only be made at the arraignment, so i feel i was denied my rights...


anyway this guy was a huge jerk, and im filing a complaint.. it seems he already has a large amount of people filing complaints.. but my moms friend is city attorney and has lots of friends in the right places... we are gonna try and get him disbarred... he is a mockery of the justice system


:gt:

They're all like that in CA. I'm not fond of the system at all. They have WAY TOO MUCH POWER.

Good luck.

 

[POINTCOVER]

Could be worse....

I personally think the system is too liberal when it comes to serious traffic violation and criminal matters.

Minor traffic court....that's crap. You always reserve the right to appeal it to a higher court based upon your arguement. If I were you....I'd let it go and move on.

 

[LogiWorld123]

Originally posted by FordSVTFan
Get a transcript of the proceeding and go ahead with a complaint.

Hopefully it was a court of record...otherwise unless you managed to bring your own court reporter, t r o u b l e.

 

[03DOHC]

Originally posted by POINTCOVER
.....If I were you....I'd let it go and move on.

That's why they set the system up like that. That's exactly what they are hoping for. It's an easy way to make money for the govt. It's definately easier than chasing and prosecuting "real" criminals.

 

[High-G Racing]

In Texas, you are allowed, I believe three (3) appeals on a moving violation. The easiest way out is to show up to court, argue your case, and if you lose, pay the fees, and appeal. It can get costly, but when you do finally win, you can be awarded your money back. I've beaten a few tickets this way. It just gets too costly for the state to fight it on something as minor as a headlight violation and minimal speeding.

Oh, and if you request a jury trial they have to pay them $10.00 a day as well. Not to mention the fact that everyone sitting on that jury has had a speeding ticket, and can't stand them, either.

In the larger cities in Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/Ft. Worth) there are attornies that advertise things like "Tickets dismissed for $50.00 over the maximum fine." These guys are nice to have. They do all the paperwork, and 90% of the time, you don't even have to go to court.

High-G

 

[FordSVTFan]

Texas is a wierd place. Most states dont allow jury trials for traffic offenses. And at best you get one appeal, but as with anything you need grounds for appeal. You just cant appeal a negative decision because you dont like it, there must be legal grounds for the appeal. Which is unusual in traffic court. I have never heard of it, except in cases of DWI/DUI.

 

[High-G Racing]

Hummmm...Here, all you need is $150.00 to appeal, and you have to fill out all kinds of paperwork. And you may request a jury trial for anything, here. I think that even says so on a DPS ticket, but I haven't had one of those in a THANKFULLY long time.

High-G