05-14-2008, 02:27 PM
[quote mikebw]Officers rarely come to court over a parking ticket, at least in my area. Just schedule a date, go to court and tell them you are not guilty. If the officer who issued the ticket is not present then they have to drop the fine.
Sadly, it's not always that easy in Chicago. During the last ticket I contested in court, the city had assigned a representative to present the city's "case" against me and everyone else in the room. In spite of my valiant efforts and slew of photos, I lost. The judge, however, had a sense of humor and complimented me on my noble attempt.
The funniest part of that long and frustrating day happened after going through the metal detector. I didn't realize the two-inch swiss army knife on my key ring would be considered a deadly weapon. The cop at the entrance said my best bet would be to take it off the key ring and "hide it under the big planter" on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. So I went outside and, sure enough, there was a whole collection of small knives and pepper sprayers under the big planter. I added mine and went inside, never expecting to see it again. After my unsuccessful bid in front of the judge I went back outside and reclaimed my little WMD.
Sadly, it's not always that easy in Chicago. During the last ticket I contested in court, the city had assigned a representative to present the city's "case" against me and everyone else in the room. In spite of my valiant efforts and slew of photos, I lost. The judge, however, had a sense of humor and complimented me on my noble attempt.
The funniest part of that long and frustrating day happened after going through the metal detector. I didn't realize the two-inch swiss army knife on my key ring would be considered a deadly weapon. The cop at the entrance said my best bet would be to take it off the key ring and "hide it under the big planter" on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. So I went outside and, sure enough, there was a whole collection of small knives and pepper sprayers under the big planter. I added mine and went inside, never expecting to see it again. After my unsuccessful bid in front of the judge I went back outside and reclaimed my little WMD.