Posts by rowdybadger3

George Hernandez8 said:Donald Trump!

That $3,100 was just for the stamp... I settled up today, so I'm giving you the firsthand scoop. Maybe some people are getting ripped off more than others, but that was my price. It probably depends on what kind of business you're running—I definitely threw a bunch of extra stuff into the mix.

restlessangler66 said:I’m not even sure if I’m hitting the right thread here, but if anyone actually knows the answer—please, help a person out.

So, basically, which federal agency is a citizen supposed to reach out to if they stumble upon some legal entity or corporation committing an actual crime? Specifically, we’re talking about illegal smuggling across the border and a bunch of other related violations tied to that kind of stuff.

Thanks

Honestly, I think a 92 would be plenty to turn him around...

crimsonsailor7 said:I mean, sure, that kind of thing happens all the time, but it's definitely not the standard rule...

once that window closes, you don't have any right to appeal anymore.

So what, are we just supposed to skip the formal objection and jump straight to an appeal?

At least give people a heads-up first...

Douglas Miller64 said:Unless you happened to rack that up over in Canada. About ten days ago, I got absolutely fleeced by some locals there; the radar claimed I was doing 44 miles/h, supposedly accounting for a device tolerance of 5—meaning it was actually 41 miles/h—even though they didn't bother writing that down anywhere. They demanded $125 on the spot, and according to the guy, the standard fine for a local would be $250, but they just slap foreigners with half that amount😂 --> what a load of crap!😠 There wasn't even a speed limit sign right there; there was just a sign for some village about 250 meters back, even though where they caught me was nothing but woods. It’s clearly a trick they play.

I happen to have this unfortunate situation where we own a Vineyard in Canada, a family property passed down from my great-great-grandfather from back when people in that region probably weren't even recognized as a distinct group yet, so I find myself crossing the border pretty frequently for business.

To make matters worse, the officer tells me I have to pay immediately, and I obviously didn't have that kind of cash on me. So, he grabs my passport and tells me I'm not allowed back into the States until I settle up, claiming my passport is being held at the nearest police station in some tiny hamlet. It was a total nightmare. I couldn't cross the border, I didn't know anyone to borrow money from, I had no roaming on my phone, and zero signal to call for help. They walked off with my passport, and honestly, things got pretty dicey. I barely managed to scramble my way out of that bus depot mess. If you guys are interested in the rest of this disaster, I'll gladly tell the whole story later.☕

So now I'm wondering: has anyone dealt with anything similar? What kind of fines are these that get slapped on travelers at half price? How is it even possible for these kinds of absurdities to occur? Honestly, I doubt their radar reading was even accurate because I was driving incredibly slowly; I'm not a fast driver, period. That's the style I carry over from driving semi-trucks to smaller cars. I highly doubt I was doing 44 miles/h, especially since it was a residential area, which in Canada usually implies a limit of 40, 50, or maybe 37 miles/h?🤷 This all went down in the evening, but when I drove back through that same spot the next morning, I saw them pulling over an older lady in a car with American plates—it felt like they were specifically targeting American drivers. It’s just a side road running parallel to the highway where you need a toll pass, which I don't have.

Thanks!🙄

Just go home with your ID, report the passport stolen to Interpol, and give them a detailed description of who could have swiped it and where (like some bar in Canada), and let's see how that "genius" plan works out for you....

Thought I’d jump in here, though some of these "renowned" lawyers on this board are seriously starting to get on my nerves.
Regarding that whole red light issue—it’s honestly laughable. I pulled a friend out of a jam without any drama because the judge—who was actually sane and understood plain English—immediately recognized it as an OBJECTION rather than an appeal. An appeal only happens much later, after the initial hearing.
The reality is that in 99.9% of these cases, a cop is just standing at the intersection and neatly writes down that they determined the violation occurred based on their PERSONAL OBSERVATION. I don't care how many "experts" on this forum try to tell me otherwise; if that's how it works, I'll just pay every single ticket from now on...

On

fadedstag56 said:So, I wanted to pick your brains on something... my boyfriend ran a red light about a month ago, and he just got the citation in the mail last week. He was hit with a $333 fine, plus he’s facing a two-month suspension on his driver's license. Unfortunately, we didn't file an appeal right away—he just went ahead and paid it. I've been scouring the internet for examples of how to contest these things, and I actually found one case that looked almost identical to ours. In that instance, even though the fine had already been settled (which basically means admitting guilt), they appealed specifically to waive the license suspension because the driver absolutely needed it for work. That specific reasoning was used in the example I found. So, I'm wondering—is it actually possible to file an appeal like that, and do the courts actually take those kinds of circumstances into account? Also, when would you even file it? From what I can gather, he shouldn't be getting a court summons until they officially finalize everything. 😕

Matthew Brown9 said:So, I stumbled upon a decent amount of German Marks tucked away in an old jacket, and I was wondering if there's any way to exchange them for dollars or euros. I could really use the extra cash right now. I did some digging on Wikipedia and found this: Since that date, the Federal Reserve and its other branches allow Marks to be exchanged for euros free of charge, with no time limit.

Does anyone with connections in Germany know if this is actually true? Or perhaps someone who has recently handled an exchange like this could confirm the process for me? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

You can trade them in at a central bank in Germany at the old rate of 1.95... basically the historical fixed rate.

Robin Allen8 said:It’s just mediocre. Honestly, I might as well hold off on buying anything until next month👎 — wouldn't want to look like an idiot.
Since nobody seems to take checks anymore, I probably need to close my Intel account ASAP and try to snag a Diners Club card instead. Though, God knows what the requirements are for that one.

Honey, you might want to try breaking that habit of swiping your card like you're at a casino... It can get pretty awkward when you realize that's actual money you had to work for.

I’m just praying they actually dropped that money into your checking account... because if they didn't... 🙄 🙂 😁
the IRS is going to have a field day.

Keith Nguyen7 said:The saga continues. My coworker went to check today to see if any actual charges had been filed yet. So far? Absolutely nothing in the system. All we can find is some speeding ticket from back in October that’s just sitting there waiting for a judge—I only even looked up how to file an appeal just to see what the process was like. If nothing has popped up since last Friday, I doubt anything ever will. Seriously though, what the hell is even happening?😲

Oh, so they just took your name down and called it a day...

You can't charge someone with speeding without actual evidence...

Keith Nguyen7 said:Not sure if this is the right spot for this, but I didn't want to risk starting a whole new thread.

Long story short. On Friday, I had a run-in with a total jerk cop.
Basically, I was driving out of Chicago toward a smaller town, and near the TVIm facility, I decided to pass two cars right where the line was broken. One of them happened to be a cop car. There was also another car behind me before I made the move. Since it was 5:30 PM and pitch black out, I wasn't even paying attention to what kind of cars they were. Who actually looks at brands when they aren't expecting something to go wrong?
Anyway, I pass them and keep going, picking up a little speed—nothing crazy. Suddenly, near the turnoff, there’s a patrol car behind me. I pull over, and this cop hops out and starts claiming I passed three cars on a solid line. His explanation was totally nonsensical; he wasn't even using legal terms, just getting all worked up and repeating that I "need to fix my driving." My friend was in the car with me, just sitting there looking pale. Basically, he grabbed my license and registration and walked back to his cruiser (he didn't even tell me to wait). After a while, he comes back, hands me my papers, turns around, and heads back to his car without saying a word. When I asked him to explain what violation I actually committed or what the fine would be, he just told me everything would come in the mail. He didn't give me anything to sign or anything. Honestly, the whole thing felt super shady.
I know for a fact the part about the number of cars is a lie (I can count to three, thanks), but I'm not 100% sure about the solid line. There's a solid line about a couple hundred yards further down by the Octanova gas station.
I'm definitely planning to fight this, and my friend offered to go to court with me to back up my story. Everything he said was completely irrational, and she's certain it wasn't a solid line and that I definitely didn't pass two cars.

Even if you did cross a solid line, no judge is going to rule against you... though maybe Jonathan Bishop76 would.😂

placidowl24 said:Hi everyone on this thread (I've read all the 😁)...

I'll try to lay out my problem and my uncertainty regarding it as briefly as possible.

Basically, I committed a minor traffic violation. I didn't sign anything at the scene. I think the fine is excessive (especially since I work out in the field, so my driver's license is EXTREMELY important to me), so I decided to see if I could let the whole thing expire through the statute of limitations. Within eight days, I filed an appeal (which I did sign) after getting some advice from a law student—nothing major—and now I'm just waiting for court summonses to arrive, which I fully intend to ignore... blah blah (we've all seen this here)

...and I've told everyone at home at least 50 times not to accept or sign for any mail addressed to me (especially those blue envelopes from the court)

In the meantime, my old man couldn't help himself from messing things up. He goes ahead and signs for it, and only then does the mail carrier hand over the blue envelope. I should note that the blue envelope explicitly instructs the carrier: "deliver the shipment to the recipient only upon signature on the return receipt, which the carrier must return to the sender." This essentially means it was improperly delivered. But regardless, it's inside the house...

My question is this:

Should I simply not show up to court when scheduled under the pretext that "I never received the notice," or should I send them a letter explaining that I am prevented from attending that day (which is the truth) and requesting they schedule a later hearing (which I will also ignore)?

Thanks.

P.S.

The paperwork doesn't specify where or how to contact the court if I can't attend the hearing, but it does state that for failing to receive this notice, the defendant can be fined up to $1667. It also mentions that in the event of non-appearance, a bench warrant may be issued at the defendant's expense.

It was improperly served, and any attempt by an aggressive judge like Jonathan Bishop76 could end quite badly.......
Don't sweat it; just enjoy the laugh at the expense of the clueless mail carriers...

rowdybadger3 said:Wow... talk about disrespectful toward your old man... honestly, he'd eat you alive if he felt like it.

And the fact that they didn't reject it on a technicality just means your lawyer—or whoever was handling this—dropped the ball. It doesn't make you some kind of legal genius.........
I mean, if you specify that something needs to be hand-delivered and they just play deaf to the request.......
Ahem, cough, cough... let's be real, the rebuttal for all those points hasn't even been met yet..........

Jonathan Bishop76 said:That's just my take—and that's how I operate. No one else has ever swayed my decision by telling me to "listen to my father" or whatever else; if you want to believe whoever you like, that's your problem...☕

Wow... talk about disrespectful toward your old man... honestly, he'd eat you alive if he felt like it.

Jonathan Bishop76 said:When I get a delivery receipt back signed by a household member, I consider that a valid delivery—regardless of what some specific wording on that slip might imply. You can spend your time complaining and trying to prove you didn't receive it, or who exactly took it, but go ahead—keep playing linguistic acrobatics if you enjoy it that much.☕

There's a big difference between what you *think* is right and what the law actually says.
I personally feel like I pay way too much in taxes, too, but there isn't much I can do about it—and I bet you’d agree with me on that, simply because that's how the law works.
The law is based on established rules, not personal feelings. If we went by everyone's individual opinions, half the country would probably be behind bars by now—myself included, for example.

I respect your expertise, really, but with all due respect, I received different information from someone I consider just a hair more competent than you.
☕

Regardless of any family ties, I trust him implicitly...

I won't even tell you how he’s gone so far as to give advice to lawyers in certain situations—strictly off the clock and unrelated to his own courtroom cases, of course.

Basically, we’re all doing just fine, provided there aren't too many creeps hanging around...
A good chunk of them end up facing a judge if their neighbor Peter decides to report them...

Look, Jonathan Bishop76, that might work in theory, but the packaging explicitly says..........
The American language is incredibly precise in certain situations....

It’s not about who they are or what their relationship is to you...
Look, unless that person has a valid power of attorney notarized by a US notary, they can't sign anything on your behalf—it doesn't matter if it's your dad, your mom, your neighbor Peter, your brother, or some guy from the collection agency...
Plus, the rules specifically state it has to be delivered PERSONALLY...
That is the absolute key word here...

I’m dying to know why they haven't slapped me with a fine yet, considering the delivery was technically valid 😉

Honestly, a little extra cash right now before Christmas would be pretty nice😂

Look, crimsonsailor7, I’m really not trying to start an argument here, but you’re off base...
I went through this exact same thing when my uncle stepped in and took over for me...
And man, did I lose it. I was absolutely fuming that he had taken charge...
My dad just laughed in my face—told me I ought to actually take a second to read the envelope...😉

Keep in mind, my old man has been a high-level attorney for nearly 40 years—he's basically a judge at this point...
So, you tell me how that looks...

All he said was to read the damn envelope and draw my own conclusions...
See, if any court tries to claim you received something when you didn't, you can basically go ballistic right then and there—that's just how the legal system works out here...😉

He explained that those kinds of things just get resent immediately. Because once you know the truth—or once someone opens your eyes to it😉 😲—you can't exactly hide behind some signature on a document that explicitly states, in bold letters inside a black border, "Deliver to recipient in person"...
Hertz

Alright, I’ve got a question for William Edwards14 here...
How would you handle this—would you actually sue someone if they skipped out on a court date just because their father picked up the summons instead? I mean, if I recall correctly, you can still get slapped with some $1667 fines for failing to show up, or even face a warrant for being brought in personally...
I’ve had situations where other people signed for me, and I never once got hit with a penalty. Why do you think that is?
Because they’d be staring down a massive countersuit, no doubt about it, not to mention all those ridiculous interest charges...

Thomas Miller80 said:Why are we back to obsessing over the idea that William Edwards14 was some kind of rogue judge? 😕

Maybe she was just working in the court system—it's not a crime. 🥳
Besides, I highly doubt she’s old enough to have even held a judgeship yet. 😁

Look, I’ve been in misdemeanor court before—the judge there was probably roughly my age... (I'm 30)... and honestly, I gotta admit, she was a pretty cute blonde. 😉