Court Case Verdict

Some of you may remember me getting stung for parking in a disabled spot
about 6 months ago.
Well today was Court Day so I thought I'd tell you what happened so my
journey wasn't in vein.
I have to say the court process could be vastly improved. There's no front
desk or instructions so when you turn up as instructed, everyone is
wandering around like clueless idiots wondering what to do. Apparently
having a lawyer solves this problem but when you are contesting
something worth only a few hundred dollars, then a few thousand in legal
fees doesn't make economical sense.
You get three choices:
1. Ask for the case to be postponed
2. Plead not-guilty in which case a hearing date is set and you have to come
back another day.
3. Plead guilty and offer an excuse. The Magistrate then has the discretion
on the penalty.
In my case I went for option 3. My excuse was the ambiguous nature of the
sign posting, and after showing the magistrat some photos she agreed and let
me off.
The process took about 3 hours in total, 30 seconds of which was my case,
the rest was watching the full spectrum of humanity weasel their way out of
fines. I got to see all sorts of other cases and as with the last time I was
in court, parking tickets are generally let off (with a decent excuse), and
speeding tickets weren't.
The conclusion is that a $60 parking ticket probably isn't worth the effort
to contest, especially with a $67 court cost hanging over your head. But in
my case my ticket was $380 and I (rightfully) thought I had a good case.
Some poor schmuck was up on two charges, using a mobile while driving, and
not displaying P plates. After not really offering any excuse the Magistrate
read out his previous four charges of not displaying a P Plate spanning
about 5 years, and handed out two lots court costs. I could see the humour
in that decision

 

He was on P plates for five years? Can you do that?

Theo
Got my open bike licence on a 125cc Vespa scooter, whilst not wearing a
helmet, before P plates were invented.

 

I'll fucking say it needs improving

let off for parking in a Disable spot...

you should have had both legs broken and told to walk home

mh

 

nah Marty, he's justifying his lame usenet nickname

ck

 

Welcome to the Ye Old circus,

You should see district court its even funnier coz they speak ye old
English!

 

Yeah, I think nowadays every time you lose your license while on
probation they add a bonus 6 months of probation onto the remainder when
you get it back, plus any other penalties. A stupid system really.
These people should just be told to find another way of getting from A
to B. It's as stupid as employing a person, putting them on 6 months
probation to assess their suitability to the position, and then when you
discovered that they were totally unsuitable for the job, you just keep
re-employing them on more and more probation, rather than just telling
them to find a more suitable job.

Nev..
'04 CBR1100XX

 

when ya keep loosing them you can!

 

What was your lame excuse for parking in a disabled spot. ...oh ...i just
made a joke! >>hobbles off cackling

 

Can I use the baseball bat ?

 

Damn; I was really hoping you'd use your "Disabled people don't ride
motorbikes anyway" argument!

 

Well actually,

One of my photos was of the bollards and I suggested that nothing other than
a motorcycle could fit into the space, hence my interpretation of the sign
saying that motorcycles can share the space. The magistrate replied along
the lines of 'disabled people wouldn't being riding motorcyles so its a fair
point'.

 

Thanks. I'd thoroughly recommend a day in court for anyone who questions how
the legal system works.
There's too many talk back radio heroes who feel that they are in a better
position to judge circumstances based on media reports or second hand
information, rather than from the facts presented in the courtroom.

 

Because you are pleading guilty, the decision is purely around the sentence.
From what I saw, the magistrate is using your previous record to see if you
are just a normal person who made a genuine mistake or more likely someone
who tends to push the law and so shouldn't be given any leniency.
Some cases had 30 years of good driving so were generally let off, others
like the P plater had 1/2 a dozen priors in 5 years and was still on his
P's.
The seriousness of the offence is also weighed up, as letting someone off a
parking ticket is easier than letting them off a drunk driving offence for
example.

 

I agree I have contested a number of speeding fines, wasting a day watching
drug addicts, rapists, child molesters, break and enter artists, car thieves
etc being processed is very educational. In many cases I was receiving a
larger fine for 15kph over the limit than someone who had broken into a
house and stolen thousands of dollars worth of personal possessions. Bring
back the rack and cat-o-nine tails I say.

Boxer

 

In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 21 Feb 2007 08:03:35 +1100

I can see that magistrate needs educating on the criteria for getting
a disabled permit.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/publicationsstatisticsforms/downloads/45061469.pdf

has the go. It's locked, can't copy the text, but the big point is
"Physical condition is detrimentally affected as a result of walking
100 metres"

That they were unaware of the requirements is a shame. I hope that
someone materially affected by those who park in disabled spots writes
to the magistrates association pointing this out.

Zebee

 

[sigh]
What chance have we got......

 

But can easily throw 200kg of machinery around the streets of NSW.

Perhaps no-one is affected?
I mean, it sounds nice to be touchy feely for minorities, but my experience
is that most of the time the minorities are less affected than the PC
brigade who yearn to fight on their behalf.

 

Yes of course.
If riding a bike was strenuous there wouldn't be fat bikies would there?

Perhaps that's true; however if just one person was affected then you
haven't got a leg to stand on have you?
Can you prove that no-one was affected?

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:29:33 +1100

I found riding the Mighty Scooter much easier than riding the Guzzi
when I damaged my ankle the other week. And I definitely wish I had
it when I cracked the kneecap.

It is much lighter, the ankle doesn't have to bend or the foot do any
work, and the small wide tyres, low height, low weight mean that I can
come to a stop and stay upright without having to put a foot to the
ground for much longer.

I think a one legged person would have to plan and practice lots, but
I think they'd find a scooter much easier to ride.

Someone with emphysema is the obvious target for disabled riding. A
light scooter to get around town on would be cheap and easy for them.

Zebee

 

In aus.motorcycles on Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:57:33 +1100

Why does it need to be 200kg (hint, what does my scooter weigh) and
why 'throw' (hint, watch elderly riders of 125cc scooters)?

Every met someone with emphysema? The bod I know who has it can ride
a motorcycle to the shops as easy as drive a car.

Zebee