Back in March one of my cars that my son had been driving was vandalized. We had to find out ourselves who did it and how to get ahold of them, then we had to literally harass the local police to do anything about it. I have been waiting for months to find out when they would be going to court. They were not charged with trespassing only criminal damage and theft. One of them was out on $25,000 bail for something else. He was not arrested or anything for bail jumping. He was sending threats to my son thru myspace (which has stopped and my son asked me not to do anything about it) and I had to put up with his mother coming to my home and threatening me. I called the police and all they did was talk to her and tell her to leave us alone. It's been so long I gave up calling and asking when the court dates were. . All I want is my money it cost to fix the car and when I turned in the paperwork I added labor charges. Which the officer said I was entitled to. Finally got a call from the town attornory who said I couldn't ask for labor charges because we did it ourselves and he also informed me I will not be allowed to give a victim statement or say anything in court. What the hell is that, I thought I had a right to. I just called the town hall to find out what happened with the other kid involved, who was ticketed months ago. And was told he was supposed to go to court July 5th but didn't show up so they entered a default judgement against him for the tickets but didn't order any restitution. I was not notified of anything. I was being treated for cancer and not working so coming up with the money to get that car on the road was a real bummer. We had to do the labor ourselves there is no way we could have afforded to have some one do it. I thought I was entitled to give a statement in court and am entitled to restitution.
2007-07-18 10:24:13 · 6 answers · asked by dawn w 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
In one word.. yes, I think you're rights are being violated. You have the right in court to face the person you accuse of a crime.
What you need is a good lawyer to explain your options. People here on Yahoo will only agree with you, be we don't really know the law.
2007-07-18 10:33:03 · answer #1 · answered by txguy8800 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, your rights are being violated -- several of them.
First, get a restraining order against them to prevent them from contacting you or your son, and if they violate that restraining order, they will be arrested and charged no matter what the police feel like doing. Show a judge the papers about the car and the threats on MySpace and you'll get the restraining order, no problem.
As for the bills, you might not be able to get the police or the town attorney to enforce that, but you can do it yourself in civil court or small claims, depending on how much the total amount is. And civil judges will usually allow you to charge for labor even if you did it yourself -- just be sure to document how long it took you, if you missed work and lost income as a result, that kind of thing. Since you can't get this restitution from the criminal courts, get it enforced in civil court.Call a lawyer or your local Legal Aid if you can't afford one. Your local court might also have a victim's advocate representative or office who can help you enforce the restitution.
2007-07-18 10:46:45 · answer #2 · answered by Hillary 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The above posts that suggest taking this juvenile delinquent to court are correct.
Even if the judge orders restitution, there is no way you can enforce that order. You cannot garnish wages, seize property or bank accounts, etc, with a restitution order.
The only way you can even remotely guarantee that you will receive any money at all is to sue this kid in small claims court. If the judge rules the kid liable for damages, and he does not pay, you can use the judgement to assist you with collecting your money.
2007-07-18 11:04:43 · answer #3 · answered by Mr Placid 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you want your money, sue the people that did the damage in small claims court. The DA does not even have to prosecute the case and may not if he does not believe it will lead to a conviction.
2007-07-18 10:33:51 · answer #4 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you expect the police to do anything to help anything, you are going to be disappointed. Unless you are rich that is, then they only do nothing if you want them to. The real question is why did the vandalism take place in the first place?
2007-07-18 10:31:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try the site below to get access to your Legal Rights, and get the protection you need!
Watch the movie....hope this helps.
2007-07-18 14:03:22 · answer #6 · answered by CITRONGE 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋