You won’t believe this one!

[MSG Hall]

Ok, so I’m home on leave from the war right… well I get here Christmas Eve and I get a call from my sister and my dad is in the hospital with renal failure and they all thought he was going to die. I had been planning to go down to Pa anyway to take my oldest back to college.

On the way out of here, van loaded up, dog just dropped off at the vets, I get pulled over for a taillight out. I get a “fix it” ticket. Ok, well I’m not going to postpone my trip so off we go. When I get to Pa, I ask my brother-in-law if he has a bulb. He does and fix it…. No biggy, it’s jus a freaken bulb.

So I get back here and go to the town clerk to explain… NO, she can’t help and sends me to the police station, town cops say “no it’s past 24 hours” and send me to the state troppers, nope, they can’t help me either. Back to the clerk, she states that I HAVE to be in court on the day prescribed… I tell her I will be back in Iraq by that time. She says, then a warrant for your arrest will be issued! OR, I could just plead guilty… and now get this the fine can be up to $175. and once you plead guilty that’s it! You gotta pay what ever they say it is!!!

Ok, so I called the Provost Marshal and they told me to bring the ticket in and they would sign off on it…. I did, but once I got there they decided they couldn’t help after all… they told me to call the county DA… they can’t help and told me to call the court, so I did, and spoke to the judge and she told me to bring the ticket in… I did, but guess what, it was the wrong judge. The DA told me to call the village court and I needed the town court….

Ok, so I just called the town court and I have to appear tonight!!!!! I leave for Iraq in two days and this was a date night with my wife! Tough sh**, appear in court or the fine will be up to $175. or of course I can do nothing and have an arrest warrant on my record for the next 8 months and then still end up paying the fine!!!!!

I HATE this state!, and I know I work for the government but I am 100% for thinning the damn bureaucrats that do nothing but steel our money out!!! Too bad I ain’t a drug dealer, of an illegal, I’m sure I’d just get off with a warning then!!!! Wow this sh** pisses me off!!!

[Miriam C.]

Oh dear! So tell us which state and Village and Town. Anyone in for a write in.

It's an election year, call your congressperson and your State Reps office. Call the papers and have them there. In general Bitch the house down, Pay the fine and be famous.

Sorry people are so stupid.

[tonyj]

Does anyone on this forum have TV media connections? This idiocy and bureaucratic blundering is worthy of national coverage. And for a freakin' taillight.

Somebody call a news station and I bet this whole situation gets resolved.

By the way, I hope your dad is doing okay. Stay strong, and thank you for the job you do for us!

[Dixie Flyer]

Lord....I really don't know what to say other than this kind of crap makes me madder 'n hell!

All this BS you're going through over a damn LIGHTBULB!! It's like you don't have bigger things to worry about.

Man, I wish you could tell them to just $#&* off!!!

Like Miriam said, give the state and town so we can raise hell!

[mandy]

MSG Hall,
I feel you pain. I had the same thing happen to me. I had a burned out licence plate bulb. I got the ticket in a small village outside of Albuquerque, they said that I had to appear in court with in the next few days. When I asked them for what day they said that I would get something in the mail telling me where and when. I wait two weeks and nothing so I call the court house and find out that I have to be in court that morning. I rushed over the the court house and bearly get there in time. There were about 15 others there, all of which were from Albuquerque . The judge comes in and tells us all that he has to go to a funeral and gives us his office number so that he can hear our case over the phone then he dismisses us. I wait till the next day and start calling the Judge every day for a week but no answer not even a voice mail. Again I called up the court house and find out that they are going to serve me with a bench warrent if I do not show up in court that afternoon. Yet again I go to court and I wait all day for them to get to me because I wasn't on the docket so I had to wait till all the other cases were over. Judge takes one look at me and says $75.00 fine for waisting the courts time. I didn't even get to argue my case I just didn't care any more so I just paid it and never drive through that village again. I wish the police had just given me a ticket instead of a summons to court.

I hope all go's well for you MSG Hall

Mandy

P.S.
I'm praying that your Dad is OK.

[MSG Hall]

I decided that I am not going to go to court. I am going to take my wife out like we had planed on and looked forward to all week.

I wrote the Judge a letter of what had happened that I will send in with my guilty plea.... we will see.

If the fine is too much I can invoke the Soldiers and Sailors act and not pay until I return from Iraq, that way if I die over there they wont get their precious money....

[Miriam C.]

I decided that I am not going to go to court. I am going to take my wife out like we had planed on and looked forward to all week.

I wrote the Judge a letter of what had happened that I will send in with my guilty plea.... we will see.

If the fine is too much I can invoke the Soldiers and Sailors act and not pay until I return from Iraq, that way if I die over there they wont get their precious money....

Oh to be young again. Or you could show up at court with your wife decked out to dance and get the clerk to put you first.

Good luck and we will be praying for you all. Now about the town name cause I don wanna do no search............

[Steve Nikkel]

Hey, remember, you're just another one of those Damn Soldiers from the local base. Your only purpose in their local yokel lives is to serve as a cash cow , just there to be milked. Those of you who have never lived in a "military town" just don't know the low esteem displayed to our service peolpe. Just let the Pentagon start talking of putting Ft Drum on the consolodation/closure list, and you'll hear them crying what a loss to the local economy that will be, and it will, then the only people the local government can screw over are the arrogant local merchants and their families.

[bobhenry]

On a lighter note .... All this bad karma about tail light and such burned out had to make me chuckle. Got pulled over several years ago for a headlight out while we were discussing the point I walked around and slapped the seal beam with the flat of my hand. There is a wierd quirk that a vibrating broken filiment seem to find and make a connection and stay on until you shut off the lights. The cop looked twice walked back to his cruiser got in and drove off not a word said !

A couple years later got stopped in my utility bed ton truck for a tail light out I walked to the back and looked. dropped the tool box door grabbed a pair of pliers and pulled out the snap ring on my tail light I then removed an 1157 bulb from a trailer light assembly I had ratteling around in the tool box and popped it in and replaced the reflector. He chuckeled and tucked his ticket book away.

I love being lucky !!

[Claw]

I decided that I am not going to go to court.

If the fine is too much I can invoke the Soldiers and Sailors act and not pay until I return from Iraq, that way if I die over there they wont get their precious money....

Bruce maybe you can just get wounded and you can pay the fine with the Puple Heart you receive. No sense in dieing just to piss them off.
A friend got pulled over while home on leave and 'mistakingly' handed the cop his military ID instead of his drivers license. The pause correcting the 'error' while handing the cop his DL was just long enough for the cop to reconsider the violation. Good Luck with the letter to the judge. Precious time with your wife is more valuable than mere money.

Sir, thank-you for your service and the sacrifices made in time away from your loved ones.

[Catoosa Grani]

I can't begin to tell you how mad this makes me. You risk so much for us and all you get is a bunch of run around when you get home. I hope you have a very good evening with your wife. I wish we could help you, if we were closer maybe we could protest or something. If we can ever do anything for you, please let us know. I appreciate you very much!

Grani Betty

[deputydogrick]

that's typical burecratic (sp) BS. I'd put a call into CNN. good luck and be safe and thanks for keeping us safe

[Ira]

For a freaking BULB!????????

[Pdbeta]

MSG Hall
For what its worth?
Give a call over to your local TV station, wherever you are located. Just about everyone of the channels has a "Fix it guy" on thier staff.
Explain what happened, what you tried, and when your heading out, and how you couldn't break your "date". If you can't or won't have your wife do it after you leave.
All this for a freaking bulb?

Meantime, directed purely to the "Peace Officier" who was kind enough to give you the "summons" in the first place, "whattayathinking" ???

All else fai;ls dept? Have your wife call your local Congressman's or Senator's office, I've seen mountaiuns move here in Metro NYC.

[Ira]

You're in Pennsylvania, so get the Amish to kick the judge's ass.

You can't jail the Amsih--they're too cute, especially in those buggies.