help! court tomorrow about driving past 12:30?

Question

At the end of august I went to the movies with my brother, my cousin, her boyfriend & her best friend in my car. The movie ended a couple mintues before 12 & i was still 17 so i wasn't aloud to drive past 12:30 am. I had to pull over because of car trouble. Then a cop came over & asked if everything was okay when we fixed the door I got in my car it was 12:31. I turned my car & lights on & he came over to my door & asked for my license. Then he told me I was 1 mintue past when I could drive & that we needed to find a ride home. The cop then got a call & said that he had to go, but for me to be careful so I thought he was letting me go. 5 mintues later he pulled me over again & said Didn't I just tell you to get a ride home?, I was like You told me to becareful, I thought you were letting me go. I then got sentenced to court & I have to go tomorrow. I am now 18 so now I can drive past 12:30 but, has this happend to anybody else? I just wanna know whats gonna happen!!!

Don't come on my page & be disrespectful & say my excuses are lame. I was only 17 years old, I obviously haven't had a lot of experiences with the law & cops. So screw off & if you aint got advice on what's gonna happen to me then get the **** off my page .

Plus I just bought a new car on my 18th birthday (sunday), & I have a full time job. Should I mention that to the judge?

Answer 1

Go in and explain to the Court that you misunderstood and thought he was telling to drive home carefully. Most likely it will be a fine, so I would not worry. You are not going to jail. Be honest about the events, as explained here. I think the Judge might give you a break.

Answer 2

What a lame excuse. He told you if you drove you would be in violation of the law and told you to get a ride. Since you knew you'd be breaking the law and were instructed what to do to avoid doing so, then it was up to you to follow through. Telling you to "be careful" doesn't negate what he said. The "be careful" applied to you getting a ride home. You can't even claim ignorance of the law (which, by the way, isn't an excuse either).

Edit: Do you even listen to yourself? If you have a license and are driving then it is expected that you are not going to act childlike out on the road, as you are acting now. The judge will tell you that your excuse is lame and everything else I mentioned. This is how he will see it.

You don't have to have any experience with the law and/or police to have done the right and proper thing which would have avoided you getting a ticket. All you had to do was listen to what he said and do it, like a responsible person. He didn't stutter or use big words. Instead you tried to find a way to do what you wanted to do, figuring you discovered some loophole. This is the stuff little kids do and it is doubtful that the judge will see it otherwise. Go into that courtroom acting like you have the sense of a child and its likely you'll be treated that way.

I don't see what telling him that you turned 18 and have a new car and a job is supposed to do in your defense. That has nothing at all to do with the incident, nor does it show you as any more likely to obey the law even when you are told what it is. All that is going to do is show him that you still don't understand what you did wrong, which would mean you'd be likely to do similar actions again. So if you want to make it worse, then by all means continue to make it all about yourself. Trying to make an issue out of the ticket when you are so clearly in the wrong will serve to make matters worse for you.

You are also likely to be told that you should not have be out so late at night given you weren't allowed to drive past 12:30, that a responsible person would have taken into account the possibility of mishaps and allowed for it.

The best advice to give anyone is the truth, whether they like what it happens to be or not.

What it comes down to is 1) You knew the law about not being able to drive past 12:30, 2) The police officer pointed out to you that it was past 12:30 and what the law was, thus making you aware, 3) The police officer advised you not to drive and to seek a ride to your destination. Nothing he did or said later alters these facts. Not accepting responsibility for not following through on what you were told and instead trying to in some way to excuse it will likely work in your disfavour.

If your boss/teacher/parent gave you a difficult task to do and immediately afterwards was called away, and as he/she was leaving told you to be careful, then that doesn't mean he/she was excusing you from doing the task. And this is the same thing. That is why you saying you've had no experience with police or the law doesn't excuse you, because you have had experience with authority and having to comply with rules and orders.

And why your parents aren't telling you this is beyond me, unless, of course, you haven't bothered to tell them about the ticket.

Answer 3

You have quite a predicament in front of you. Wishing you all the best. This has never happened to me.