Busted! My day in court

Last June, I got a traffic ticket for disobeying a stop sign. The officer said I came to a rolling stop, which is no stop at all. I disagreed, so I went to court. I even had photo evidence!

This is what the officer would have seen from his vantage point. Notice the hedge – the car has pulled ahead after stopping. But you can’t see what happened at the stop line, which is what is at issue. The hedge is blocking his view.

Today was the big day. I observed some of what was going on, made some notes, got familiar with court protocol. This was finally my chance to cross-examine an officer and to give a final summation and all that stuff I normally only see on TV.

I thought I did a pretty good job. In fact, I think I was innocent, but…not enough to convince the Justice of the Peace. Busted!

The stubborn part of me is thinking of appealing, but for now, I’ve had my day in court. Three demerit points and a fine. I’ve been driving for twenty years and this is the first time I’ve been dinged demerit points. Hate to break that record.

Next time I get to court, I might try to be a bit more dramatic: “You can’t handle the truth!” Or maybe I’ll just keep my day job.