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Filing errors at magistrate violated my rights.

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allnicksgone

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania.


On 07/24/05 I received a citation for disorderly conduct for fighting. I am 32 and have never been cited for anything before, not even a traffic ticket. I do not believe I am guilty. The details on this incident are a whole new story that I won't bore you with.

The police officer told me to see the magistrate within 10 days if I want to plead not guilty. The back of the citation says the same thing. I am sure once I see the magistrate, I would be found not guilty.

On 08/01/05, 8 days later, I take my citation to the magistrate and tell the clerk I would like to enter a not guilty plea on the citation. She tells me they have no record of my citation. When they do, they will mail something to me. On August 8, 15 days later, I still have not received anything in the mail. I go back to the magistrate and ask if they have a record of it so I can plead not guilty. She says no record.

A couple weeks later I find out that the co-defendant has recieved his fine in the mail, but I still have not. I figured ok, maybe the police saw his long criminal record of this sort of thing and realized what I told them happened was probably the truth and decided not to file the charges against me after all. I just keep checking my mailbox to see if I get anything.

The back of my citation says I may send a check or money order to the magistrate in the amount specified in "item 28". There is no amount listed in that space, so I could not pay the fine even if I wanted to. So I decide to wait and see if I get something in the mail before taking further actions.

Today, 09/14/05, constable comes to my job with an arrest warrant for "failing to respond". When I ask what I was supposed to respond to, they say a certified letter would have been sent to my address three times before they were called on to take action.

I had to pay them $350 right there to avoid being taken out in handcuffs. $250 plus $100 constable fees. He has me sign a paper which says I voluntarily plead guilty. I told them I do not want to sign that because I do not believe I am guilty of the original incident. He encouraged me to sign it to avoid being arrested.

After they leave, I call the magistrate's office to ask why a warrant was issued to me and what was I supposed to "respond" to. The clerk that answered gave the phone to the constable officer who took my money. He said I should have repsonded to the certified letters that were sent. I told him none were ever sent to me and the address they have is correct.

Then I ask him how can I plea not guilty to the citation. He said it's too late, I should have read my mail. I asked him if he could prove that letters were sent. He said yes he could, that put me on hold for a minute. When he came back, he said letters were not sent and they were not required to send anything in the mail for citations and it is not their fault that I went that long without doing anything.

Once again I told him that I did do something. I went to the magistrate on the 8th day after the incident. The citation and the police said to do that within 10 days. Then I asked him when was the citation filed by the police. He said it was filed 8/12/05. That is 19 days after the citation was issued to me.

Then he said to not call the magistrate anymore or he was going to come arrest me for harassment. So I said thank you for your time, and hung up.

What I am upset about is never having the chance to plee not guilty and for having to pay the constable's fee. I can accept being found guilty, but I shouldn't be denied having my case heard.

Any advice?
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
You may want to consult with an attorney on this one. It would appear (provided what you said was true) that you may have been herded into a situation where you were almost forced to plead guilty.

Consult an attorney. There may be something that you are missing ... or, you may have been completely pooped upon. An attorney in your area could probably tell you which.

- Carl
 

allnicksgone

Junior Member
I consulted a lawyer. He said I got the "shaft" and said I have 30 days from the day of the guilty "conviction" to appeal, which is today when I signed the warrant. He advised that the time and effort of trying to recover the constable's fee would be well beyond the original $100. I am tempted to do whatever it takes to get it back just for the principal, but my funds are limited.
 

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