If you are the first catch of the day (scheduled for 8:30 AM), you all show up about 30 minutes early, and sit around outside the court room. The court room finally opens at about 9AM, and everyone goes in (my group was about 30 people). There are some officers that show up as well, and they have their own special assigned seating. Then, you sit around and wait until the judge decides to show up – in our case, he walked in at 9:27AM.

He explains the rules and gets to work. The first cases he dealt with were those where the defendant had requested a trial (not a plea guilty hearing, which is an option they added last year). Names were called, and people came up. If no officer was present, the case was immediately dismissed and that person got to sit down. If the officer did show up, there was a quick statement by the officer (about 2 minutes) and a quick statement by the defendant. In the cases I saw today, even when the officer was present, the penalties were generally reduced. So, this seems like the way to go if you want to contest a ticket.

I had elected to do the other option, plead guilty and have a hearing. This puts you in the second batch of people, so once all the trials are done, these start. Almost all of these carried reduced or waived points, and almost always reduced fines. Yet, there was a $33 court fee, so if your fine wasn’t reduced enough, you could have paid more. Anyway, I managed to get mine reduced from $140 and 2 points to $100 and 0 points given my clean driving record and my explanation of the circumstances. So, $133 later, I was finished and I drove home.

Out of all the testimonies I saw today, even the really bad ones had their penalties reduced.

Tip 1: Make sure to pay your parking meter for at least 2 hours. The judge can apparently take his sweet time, and even though you show up at 8:30, you’re actually scheduled for 9:00. You could also arrive just before, but that might be bad planning. Parking at Montgomery County District Court is right across the street, and it’s cheap – like $0.75 an hour.

Tip 2: Don’t over-prepare. I made color copies, wrote a few pages of text, etc. This probably will not help you – I didn’t use any of this – my case was decided in less than 1 minute. I’m sure you can press the issue if you want, but at the risk of upsetting the judge by making him work longer. He has the power to increase your fine to up to $500 if he wants. Just go in there, say your piece, and be done.

Tip 3: You probably don’t need to dress up, but it might be a good idea. Don’t go in there looking like a slob, but if you just wear something nice, it seems like it doesn’t matter. I wore a full suit and tie, and I don’t think he was any more generous to me than to anyone else wearing sweat pants and a shirt.

Tip 4: Don’t be nervous. Generally, if your judge is lenient, you’ll get your penalties reduced. It’s not a formal affair – just go up there like you’re on Judge Judy and talk. If you want to know if your judge is cool, ask the police officers on the bench. They generally know who’s a hardass and who’s not. This can influence how you present your case.

Tip 5: Have cash. All fines are due right after your hearing is over, and they charge you extra for debit and credit cards. Luckily, I had $133 in my wallet.

Tip 6: You can leave as soon as they hand you a piece of paper. After you’re sentenced, you get a paper. Take it and go.

Tip 7: This is the most important thing: Make sure to request a trial rather than a guilty hearing. There is no reason why you shouldn’t unless you’re really afraid of seeing the officer(s) that ticketed you, and the only reason you’d be afraid of that is if you were going to lie. If the officer doesn’t show, you walk away scot-free. If he does, just plead guilty and it’s basically the same as the other option, except you get out faster because you go first.

All in all, it’s a thing to be avoided, but there’s almost no reason you shouldn’t go contest a ticket in Maryland.

A national coalition of more than 40 environmental, public health, labor, social justice, faith-based, and other advocacy groups on Feb. 3 announced plans to engage in civil disobedience at the Capitol Power Plant in Washington D.C. on the afternoon of March 2. The Capitol Climate Action (CCA), the largest mass mobilization on global warming in the country’s history, reflects the growing public demand for bold action to address the climate and energy crises.

Today, every school in Maryland and Virginia is closed because of snow, and DC is opening on a 2-hour delay, probably because of Obama’s statement about school closure due to weather.

So, I hope none of you freeze on your global warming protest. At least you don’t have it as bad as these folks.

Update

I just read an interesting article about global warming being “laughable.” If that’s the case, should we reconsider Al Gore’s Nobel?  Maybe the reputations of the people cited in the article are just as laughable, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

(a) A PERSON SHALL NOT discharge any gun
within the metropolitan district, whether the gun is loaded with fixed or blank
ammunition or projectiles of any kind.

(D) A PERSON SHALL NOT, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PROPERTY
OWNER, DISCHARGE A GUN ON, FROM, ONTO, OR ACROSS ANY PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LAND.
[[(d)]] (E) This section shall not apply to:
(1) The discharge of guns at any target, trap or skeet range or shooting area
which has been inspected and received the written approval of the
department of inspections, licenses and permits pursuant to section 8.405,
“Authority To Inspect and Approve Ranges or Shooting Areas,” of this
subtitle; or to
(2) The discharge of guns by any person in a private basement or cellar target
range; or to
(3) The discharge of guns where necessary to protect life or [[property]]
PROPERTY, INCLUDING CROPS OR LIVESTOCK, or to kill any dangerous
threatening animal; or to
(4) Any duly authorized law enforcement officer acting in the proper
performance of his/her official duties; or to
(5) The discharge of blank ammunition in theatrical performances, historical
reenactments or sporting events; or to
(6) The firing of salutes by firing squads at military funerals; or to
(7) The discharge of guns by any person engaged in bona fide wildlife
research activities.

So, is a human being an animal? Well, technically, yes. But legally, probably not. Therefore, you could probably be guilty of a Class A offense under Title 24, Subtitle 1 if you ever use a gun in self-defense in Howard county, and there is no provision for concealed carry licenses, even though people have them here in Maryland. I wonder what the penalty is for that…

Sec. 24.107. Fines.
I. Amount of Fine: Unless another amount for a specific violation has been established by law or regulation, the civil fine shall be in the amount shown below:

So, if I value $500-$1000 less than my life, I should take the risk. Good to know.