Gave money to man playing violin, was written a citation for impeding traffic.

[Texasdriving]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

Backstory on the violin man- There is a young man in our town who is well known and liked. He attends our local University and raises money to pay for it by playing his violin. He never bothers others, or asks for money. The young man just plays and is very very good. Many news stations around town have done multiple stories about him. Every time I see him I place case in his violin case.

The Event-
The other evening as I was driving home I witnessed two Police cars pulled over on the side of the road near a stop light. As I approach the stop light I see two police officers outside of their vehicles writing something on a clipboard. When I come to a complete stop at the red light, I see the young man playing his violin with his case open on the ground. The police officers were 5-10 feet back away from the man and his case. I decided to place my vehicle in park and walk 3 feet to the case and place cash inside. (The direction I was walking was no where near or close to the officers or in the direction of them. The total time out of my car was approximately 2-4 seconds) As I get back to my vehicle while the light is still red, and I begin to open my car door I hear one of the Officers yell "Hey!". I turn around and the younger officer said "You can't be giving this guy money. What he is doing is illegal!". I said "Ok?". Then the older officer with the clipboard tells the younger one "Tell him to pull over and give him a citation for impeding traffic". I get back in my vehicle and the light is still red. The light continues to stay red for another 20-30 seconds. I drive ahead after it turns green and pull over a street down. The younger officer comes up and tells me "I have been given direct orders by my Sergeant to write you a citation for impeding traffic". I tell him "I understand, but you do realize that the light was red the entire time and I know the individual I gave money to". He says "Yes I know, like I said, I was told to do this by my Sergeant". I take the ticket and head home.



Questions-

-Is this worth fighting or paying the fine?

-Is this a class C or class B misdemeanor?

-Should I plea not guilty and request a hearing by a Judge?

-If this is a Class B misdemeanor and I do request a hearing by a Judge, could he send me to jail for 180+ days for just impeding traffic?

-If this is a Class C misdemeanor what is the maximum penalty I could get?


Note:This is my first traffic ticket, and no I'm not young.
Thank you for your time, and patience.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

Backstory on the violin man- There is a young man in our town who is well known and liked. He attends our local University and raises money to pay for it by playing his violin. He never bothers others, or asks for money. The young man just plays and is very very good. Many news stations around town have done multiple stories about him. Every time I see him I place case in his violin case.

The Event-
The other evening as I was driving home I witnessed two Police cars pulled over on the side of the road near a stop light. As I approach the stop light I see two police officers outside of their vehicles writing something on a clipboard. When I come to a complete stop at the red light, I see the young man playing his violin with his case open on the ground. The police officers were 5-10 feet back away from the man and his case. I decided to place my vehicle in park and walk 3 feet to the case and place cash inside. (The direction I was walking was no where near or close to the officers or in the direction of them. The total time out of my car was approximately 2-4 seconds) As I get back to my vehicle while the light is still red, and I begin to open my car door I hear one of the Officers yell "Hey!". I turn around and the younger officer said "You can't be giving this guy money. What he is doing is illegal!". I said "Ok?". Then the older officer with the clipboard tells the younger one "Tell him to pull over and give him a citation for impeding traffic". I get back in my vehicle and the light is still red. The light continues to stay red for another 20-30 seconds. I drive ahead after it turns green and pull over a street down. The younger officer comes up and tells me "I have been given direct orders by my Sergeant to write you a citation for impeding traffic". I tell him "I understand, but you do realize that the light was red the entire time and I know the individual I gave money to". He says "Yes I know, like I said, I was told to do this by my Sergeant". I take the ticket and head home.



Questions-

-Is this worth fighting or paying the fine?

-Is this a class C or class B misdemeanor?

-Should I plea not guilty and request a hearing by a Judge?

-If this is a Class B misdemeanor and I do request a hearing by a Judge, could he send me to jail for 180+ days for just impeding traffic?

-If this is a Class C misdemeanor what is the maximum penalty I could get?


Note:This is my first traffic ticket, and no I'm not young.
Thank you for your time, and patience.

That is a ticket I would probably fight. You clearly were not impeding traffic and the sergeant was just irritated that you gave the young man money. The young officer might not even show up for court, because he certainly knows that you were not impeding traffic.

 

[tranquility]

CavemanLawyer will be the best to answer your question. One thing might be the specific section you were cited for.

I have no opinion as to if you were obstructing. A Sergeant who is in traffic division or one who used to be in traffic and is now in patrol (Or, whatever--depending on the size of the department.), will tend to keep up with the literature on the things he knows or has experience with. The days of the big dumb cop are long gone. While the job has not fully left from "big" (Which will not change until technology of stopping and control gets just a touch better.), "dumb" is rare. Especially in urban areas. There are a lot of legal resources available to those on the force who want to learn the law. With resources and not "dumb", a cop can often know the law on a particular matter better than all but an experienced attorney. (I started to explain why and stopped a few times. Exact reasons are hard to describe but easy to understand.) Because of that, I suspect the citation is not denied as a matter of law. More than that, I bet the *not* "big dumb cop" has read some decision that supports his claim. Don't mess with sergeants unless you want to deal with the old age and treachery theory. The sergeant has been doing this for a very long time. Long enough not have nonsense piss him off and, if he is smart in any way; long enough to know the law pretty well.

Can you challenge it? Sure, why not? ANYTIME one has an actual argument, challenging The Man is the way to go in this America where people have civil rights. The courts are our check against the executive. We do understand such a challenge makes The Man sad. A sad The Man, may not let one avail themself to remedies available to those who confess their sins. A fight is a fight; a surrender might result in the ability to take a multi-hundred dollar class with the payment of a fine and remove any problem.

All that above goes away if there is an actual misdemeanor crime on the table. If so, get an attorney. Attorney.

Attorney.

If you don't get an attorney in this situation if the actual thing charged is a misdemeanor, then you deserve to be that guy. The stupid guy. The guy the next employer will find out about because of public records. When the employer finds out, the stupid guy gets to explain the reason(s) for the CRIMINAL CONVICTION are silly or wrong or something else that can convince the employer who just might not want to hire a criminal.

You have a problem. If you think the problem leads to a criminal conviction, get an attorney. If an infraction, the issue is more difficult with your facts.

1. Attorney
2. What is your specific code charged?

 

[Texasdriving]

How would I find out about what specific code was charged? On my citation under offense code, it was left blank. I have 10 calendar days to appear to enter a plea. I can plea guilty and pay the $160 fine. I can plea not guilty and request either a jury or non-jury trial. I don't even know if this is a misdemeanor or not. So realistically it gives me only this week to seek options.

 

[LdiJ]

How would I find out about what specific code was charged? On my citation under offense code, it was left blank. I have 10 calendar days to appear to enter a plea. I can plea guilty and pay the $160 fine. I can plea not guilty and request either a jury or non-jury trial. I don't even know if this is a misdemeanor or not. So realistically it gives me only this week to seek options.

If there is nothing under the offense code then I think its highly unlikely that it would be a misdemeanor.

 

[Texasdriving]

If there is nothing under the offense code then I think its highly unlikely that it would be a misdemeanor.

I want to first thank you, and the other member for taking your time out and responding.

So I called the Court house and talked with a lady. She told me that if my citation was given by a police officer of the city and it was pink, that I did in fact have a Class C Misdemeanor. She told me that when I come to enter my plea, I have two options.

1- Enter a Guilty plea, pay the $160 and be done with it. With this option I will have this "Impeding traffic" on my record.

2- Enter a Not-Guilty plea, and choose between a Jury or Non-Jury trial. She said as soon as I enter this plea that a City Prosecutor will come and speak with me. The Prosecutor will look over everything and try to reach a deal without having to go to court.


The court office did say that my offense code was not listed on the citation but was 30030 69. I am not sure how to look that up, and when I did, I only found the CHAPTER 545. OPERATION AND MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES code. In there it states the following-

Sec. 545.363. MINIMUM SPEED REGULATIONS. (a) An operator may not drive so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

If this is the actual law that I was cited for, I believe that I am innocent. I was stopped at a red light, this falls under "..reduced speed.. in compliance with law".




How should I handle my situation?
1-Entering the plea of not guilty, is it safe(or is one even able to) for a citizen without legal representation to converse with a prosecutor and strike a deal without going to court?

2-Is the section 545.363 I cited above the actual law I broke? If not, under my offense code I was cited for, what would it be? (I have searched for this offense code all over and I cannot find it).

Any advice on how I should handle my situation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LdiJ]

I want to first thank you, and the other member for taking your time out and responding.

So I called the Court house and talked with a lady. She told me that if my citation was given by a police officer of the city and it was pink, that I did in fact have a Class C Misdemeanor. She told me that when I come to enter my plea, I have two options.

1- Enter a Guilty plea, pay the $160 and be done with it. With this option I will have this "Impeding traffic" on my record.

2- Enter a Not-Guilty plea, and choose between a Jury or Non-Jury trial. She said as soon as I enter this plea that a City Prosecutor will come and speak with me. The Prosecutor will look over everything and try to reach a deal without having to go to court.


The court office did say that my offense code was not listed on the citation but was 30030 69. I am not sure how to look that up, and when I did, I only found the CHAPTER 545. OPERATION AND MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES code. In there it states the following-

Sec. 545.363. MINIMUM SPEED REGULATIONS. (a) An operator may not drive so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

If this is the actual law that I was cited for, I believe that I am innocent. I was stopped at a red light, this falls under "..reduced speed.. in compliance with law".




How should I handle my situation?
1-Entering the plea of not guilty, is it safe(or is one even able to) for a citizen without legal representation to converse with a prosecutor and strike a deal without going to court?

2-Is the section 545.363 I cited above the actual law I broke? If not, under my offense code I was cited for, what would it be? (I have searched for this offense code all over and I cannot find it).

Any advice on how I should handle my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Again, if I were in your shoes I would plead not guilty. However, I can see the DA trying to pressure you into some sort of guilty plea because I don't think that the DA would want to prosecute it. The DA would never admit that to you, but I really don't think that the DA would want to prosecute.

Of course, if you hire an attorney to handle the negotiation with the DA, there would be much less chance of any risk.

 

[Zigner]

That sounds like a local violation. What city did this occur in?

 

[tranquility]

How should I handle my situation?
1-Entering the plea of not guilty, is it safe(or is one even able to) for a citizen without legal representation to converse with a prosecutor and strike a deal without going to court?

2-Is the section 545.363 I cited above the actual law I broke? If not, under my offense code I was cited for, what would it be? (I have searched for this offense code all over and I cannot find it).

Any advice on how I should handle my situation would be greatly appreciated.

I would get an attorney. I have not ever nor would I ever want to be convicted of a crime.

1. It is "safe" to plead not guilty. It is not safe to talk with the prosecutor. I don't think he would talk with you in the first place and I've not heard of prosecutors make deals with unrepresented people. Also, anything you say can be used against you.

 

[Texasdriving]

I went and entered a Not Guilty Plea.

I have a pretrial date in August.

According to the paperwork they gave me, the language to the violation that I was cited for was under -

Sec. 545.363. MINIMUM SPEED REGULATIONS. (a) An operator may not drive so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.


The main key that sticks out here to me is the "or in compliance with law" part. I was at a stop light, in compliance with the law.