Weird situation (PLEASE HELP)

[djklbd]

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

I received a traffic violation last month, December 13th.
I was scheduled for traffic court on Dec. 23 at 5.15 pm.
I was fully prepared to attend my court date and pay my ticket, and I called the office prior just to make sure everything was scheduled as planned (it seemed odd to hold court on the day before christmas-eve, so I called).
I was told (angrily) that there would not be any court dates that night, and that my only option was to pay for the ticket, so I hung up and didn't think much of it.
A month later (today) I receive a phone call from the mayor's court, that I must pay my ticket in full ($138.00) by Monday (Jan. 25) or my license would be confiscated. I explained to the clerk of courts that I was told I wouldn't even have an opportunity to represent myself in court, and I was told my only option was to pay it. She thinks i'm lying about calling, however I have the call in my history to the EXACT number of the mayor's court, and the conversation was 2 minutes long.



To sum it up, I was pretty much denied a court date, and now they're holding a gun to my head telling me I MUST pay this ticket or else I get a suspension. I have the call on my phone like I said, does anybody know if the court has those records? (caller I.D. would be sufficient). Can I go to the clerk of courts and explain my situation? The woman on the phone was telling me I'm pretty much screwed and that my only option is to pay the ticket and that it's my own fault.


Wondering what my options are. Should I bother with a lawyer? Should I consult one at least? Do I have some sort of a case here?

 

[justalayman]

Why would you call the cop


And when you were told there wouldn't be court that day (by somebody that cannot speak for the court) why didn't you attempt to address the issue before now? Did you think it would just go away if you ignored it?

And you think the clerk doesn't believe you? Hell guy, where is anything to show you aren't? You spoke for the cop who said no court that night. Next thing you get notice you have ignored the ticket. Where in between did somebody say what you claimed somebody told you about not being able to defend yourself?


But even if you believed your only option was to pay it, why didn't you pay it? You have waited a full month and did absolutely nothing.

Yes you have a case. One where you need to deal with the ticket NOW!!

 

[djklbd]

Why did you think I called the officer? It says clearly in my message I called the clerk of courts. Did you read the message at all?

 

[justalayman]

Why did you think I called the officer? It says clearly in my message I called the clerk of courts. Did you read the message at all?

Wow, I missed one letter.


Office
Officer



You still ignored the ticket for a full month where you claim you were required to pay it


AND YOU DIDN'T

You'be got nothing to complain about. Your failure to take some action is the reason your license will be suspended. it wasn't what the clerk told you.

 

[Just Blue]

Why did you think I called the officer? It says clearly in my message I called the clerk of courts. Did you read the message at all?

No. That is NOT what you wrote;

and I called the office prior just to make sure everything was scheduled as planned

You said you called the "office"... for the VOLUNTEER to read that as calling the police office is not odd. You should be VERY clear on your wording.

 

[djklbd]

Why would you call the cop?

Thats a quote^

I'm sorry if I hit a nerve with you, because you seem pretty flustered or irritated for some reason, but most people on this forum would agree, the forum is for legal advice, not petty lecturing and criticizing people's character due to the nature of their offenses.

Your highly valuable input was noted, thank you.

The issue at hand is why was I denied a court date? Why was I told I didn't even have a CHANCE to represent myself in the first place? I planned to fight the violation in court, but instead I get some 50 something old yelling down my throat, "There are NO COURT DATES SIR! YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO PAY IT I GUESS!"

That, to me, seems pretty fishy. The woman at the clerk of courts essentially told me I was lying about this call.

If there is a record of the call, that could be proof that I made contact with the court in regard to my offense court date, and that I was denied my trial because of the stupidity of some dumb government worker (forgive my crass vocabulary here, I'm a bit worn out on this).

Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated folks, thank you so much.

 

[justalayman]

I'll take the heat on misreading that (yep, time for new glasses)

It does not change the fact op was prepared to pay his ticket. Even accepting what the clerk said as true, he did not pay his ticket. I just don't understand what the op believes was going to happen. He even claims to be under the belief he had no option but to pay and he just sat on his butt and refused to pay.

Since he was prepared to pay last month, I suggest he takes that money and pay the ticket now to avoid further negative actions against him.

At that point then he can investigate if he can do something about the situation he caused.

 

[djklbd]

I'll take the heat on misreading that (yep, time for new glasses)

It does not change the fact op was prepared to pay his ticket. Even accepting what the clerk said as true, he did not pay his ticket. I just don't understand what the op believes was going to happen. He even claims to be under the belief he had no option but to pay and he just sat on his butt and refused to pay.

Since he was prepared to pay last month, I suggest he takes that money and pay the ticket now to avoid further negative actions against him.

At that point then he can investigate if he can do something about the situation he caused.

I'm sorry I think you misunderstood the situation. Why was I told there was no court date by the clerk that day? Because apparently there WAS court and I missed it because of the information I got from the woman I spoke to on the phone the day of my trial. So, no I did not "skip" court, hell, I didn't even get a chance to represent myself. Imagine if you were told your court date was cancelled, and then a month later you get a call from the clerk, asking why you were not in court that day. It's relatively frustrating, ya know? I'm a responsible person and we all make mistakes, but why do they insist on treating my like a child? I'm a college senior, I have rent, bills, and tuition to pay. I can't just shell out 140$ tickets like hotcakes to the state, simply so they have more revenue.

I'm hoping somebody has something to offer. Anything. You guys are all smart people who have dealt with this stuff before, I just assumed it was worth asking before just going down there and paying the ticket.

 

[Zigner]

I'm sorry I think you misunderstood the situation. Why was I told there was no court date by the clerk that day? Because apparently there WAS court and I missed it because of the information I got from the woman I spoke to on the phone the day of my trial. So, no I did not "skip" court, hell, I didn't even get a chance to represent myself. Imagine if you were told your court date was cancelled, and then a month later you get a call from the clerk, asking why you were not in court that day. It's relatively frustrating, ya know? I'm a responsible person and we all make mistakes, but why do they insist on treating my like a child? I'm a college senior, I have rent, bills, and tuition to pay. I can't just shell out 140$ tickets like hotcakes to the state, simply so they have more revenue.

I'm hoping somebody has something to offer. Anything. You guys are all smart people who have dealt with this stuff before, I just assumed it was worth asking before just going down there and paying the ticket.

Prove that you were told that.

 

[justalayman]

Butt you have sat for a full month failing to pay the ticket you believed you had no choice but to pay.

Of course if you want to argue you thought the court would send you a notice of impending action, well, they just did.

I never said you skipped court. I said you sat and didn't do anything to take care of the ticket for a full month.


Now you say you can't just shell out the money for the ticket yet you claim last month you had it. You ask why you are treated like a child? If you did not reserve that $140 to pay the ticket, that makes your irresponsible which is the sign of a child.

Right now you have a choice of paying the ticket to prevent the license suspension. Since you waited AN ENTIRE MONTH TO DO A THING ABOUT THE TICKET I suspect there is nothing you can do. If you had acted BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF AN ENTIRE MONTH WHERE THE STATE SAID TO HELL WITH WAITING ITS TIME TO COLLECT you probably could have been given a new court date but again

YOU WAITED AN ENTIRE MONTH AND DID NOTHING.

 

[justalayman]

Prove that you were told that.

Hell I'll even give him credit he was told

But since he didn't pay the ticket or check back before an entire month went by, it really doesn't matter.

I'm trying to figure out "the plan". Would be wait forever before paying that ticket he was under the belief he must pay? I am really curious as to what the op actuslly thought was going to happen after he was told he had to pay the ticket but flat out refused to do so.

 

[djklbd]

Prove that you were told that.

This is what i'm thinking too. I would assume the calls down there are recorded (for quality insurance) at the COC's correct?

If I can find that audio, that would PROVE that I was denied my court date, which is probably an offense of some sort on their part, correct? Negligence?


Regardless of how long it has been, I was essentially denied a court date as a result of a discrepancy or negligence on their part. That sounds like something they wouldn't want to deal with, a counter suit, pursuing charges, ect.

NOW, I don't want to do that. And yes, to the disgruntled elderly man above me, I do have money to pay the ticket, but I have other expenses too. Do you even work? Pay bills? Attend class? You're putting yourself on a pedestal and talking down to me like a child, that seems like a pretty immature thing to do on a forum. I've been seeing that a lot lately, people who register on yahoo or free-advice or whatever internet community, and their sole purpose is to create controversy and distractions on peoples discussions. Thats cool, I get it, you don't agree with how I handled the situation, I'm not happy with it either, but that is why i'm here seeking advice, right? I apologize if I'm coming off as petty, I don't want to stoop to that level, I'm just seeking some advice here and I appreciate all of the input from everybody .

 

[justalayman]

You are in the boat you're in because of your inaaction. Nothing will change that. You could have called back the following week, or the week after, or the week after, or the week after, or the week... Whoops, they contacted you because you failed to address the ticket.


If you want to file some sort of suit, get out that empty wallet...


Well I guess that ends that.

Pay the ticket and move on with life. Anything you do will cost you many multiplies of the cost of the ticket. If you learned anything in life or school hopefully it was to understand when it's time to fold and cut your losses.

Yes I pay a lot of bills. Mine, the wife's, seems like the kids, their spouses and their kids too.

Your point?

Your time to act has expired.

 

[Zigner]

This is what i'm thinking too. I would assume the calls down there are recorded (for quality insurance) at the COC's correct?

Whether they are or aren't doesn't really matter because you don't have the capability to get copies if they are.

If I can find that audio, that would PROVE that I was denied my court date, which is probably an offense of some sort on their part, correct? Negligence?

Ok, let's assume rolleyes that the tapes prove what you say. That's a mistake...a simple error. It STILL doesn't excuse the fact that you blew it off for a month. At this point, you may very well have no choice but to pay it. You may want to pay it and then seek reimbursement through the court.