Danthe727man
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama
My daughter received a speeding ticket in North Alabama in January. Within a week she received the pre-trial notice instructing her to be at court at 9:00 on the county courthouse.
On her court date and time, she arrived at the courthouse which is in the middle of a town square. She used the address on the pre-trial notice as reference. She arrived to find the court house under renovation (this has been ongoing for two years). The clerks office has continued to mail out pre-trial notices with the closed court house address.
She approached the court house on the only side that was not blocked off by chain link fence which appeared to be the main entrance. There was no notice that the court house was closed. I did later find out there is one sign on another side of the court house but was not visible to her.
She called the toll free number on the pre-trial notice to inquire. This was a number to a court help line located in Montgomery. The agent assured her she was at the correct location and was unaware the court house has been closed for at least a year. The State's website also lists directions to this location. I did find a notice on the county website that the court was taking place in an alternate location. No one outside of the city would reasonably know that the court house was under renovation.
The traffic office forwarded her call to the local county office. No one answered so she left a message. She left back home after waiting for about an hour. That office later called back around 2p.m. that day.
I did manage to get someone to give her a new court date which is coming up in 2 weeks. Should I go to court with her and ask the judge to dismiss the case based on the fact that the clerks office was sending pre-trial notices with the wrong address?
My daughter received a speeding ticket in North Alabama in January. Within a week she received the pre-trial notice instructing her to be at court at 9:00 on the county courthouse.
On her court date and time, she arrived at the courthouse which is in the middle of a town square. She used the address on the pre-trial notice as reference. She arrived to find the court house under renovation (this has been ongoing for two years). The clerks office has continued to mail out pre-trial notices with the closed court house address.
She approached the court house on the only side that was not blocked off by chain link fence which appeared to be the main entrance. There was no notice that the court house was closed. I did later find out there is one sign on another side of the court house but was not visible to her.
She called the toll free number on the pre-trial notice to inquire. This was a number to a court help line located in Montgomery. The agent assured her she was at the correct location and was unaware the court house has been closed for at least a year. The State's website also lists directions to this location. I did find a notice on the county website that the court was taking place in an alternate location. No one outside of the city would reasonably know that the court house was under renovation.
The traffic office forwarded her call to the local county office. No one answered so she left a message. She left back home after waiting for about an hour. That office later called back around 2p.m. that day.
I did manage to get someone to give her a new court date which is coming up in 2 weeks. Should I go to court with her and ask the judge to dismiss the case based on the fact that the clerks office was sending pre-trial notices with the wrong address?
