Friday, January 07, 2005

 

Descriptive Guide for Those with a Bit of Time

I recently had to show my new driver's license to the "disposition court" here in Raleigh, NC because of a speeding ticket. I normally would have been able to pay by mail but when the motorcycle cop pulled me that morning on the way to work I still had my Kentucky license.

So this site is a little bit about my experience paying for this ticket in disposition court, because I found that the process through which you're supposed to go is basically undocumented and it seems people learned about the various lines they had to go through by observation and asking others what the hell was going on.

I consider this a living document, so feel free to email me at gfrench at gmail dot com if you'd like to add any details to the process I've described here.

Step One: Find Your Name

First off you have to look on one of four pieces of paper. As the disposition court opens at 7:45 am and most people have to work there are lots of people there in the morning in the enormous lines. You may have to elbow past them. Actually a simple "excuse me" is plenty, as there is a certain camaraderie amongst those waiting in line.

So each of the four sheets of paper shows names that correspond with one of four of the courts. That's 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d. I was on the 2a list, which is where the names most of the people who have, I suspect, minor law violations, appear.

You're probably on 2a. Unless you've done something wretched. The good news is that if you're in 2b, 2c, or 2d you can go directly into your courtroom and you don't have to wait in line. You might possibly want to wait in line though, as there's a good chance if you're in any of the other 2's that you had to hire a lawyer.

So once you're sure you're on 2a you have to find the end of the line.

Step 2: Find the End of the Line

This sounds easy I'm sure. It's not. The line, especially early on, winds around the full length of the square hall. There's an elevator shaft in the middle of the building, and a hall way that wraps it, wide enough for perhaps 3 or so to walk abreast if they're skinny like me.

I walked around the hall way 3 times looking for the end of the line. It seemed like a perfectly endless line, like that snake biting its tail. I found what I thought was the end and tried to camp out there. The guy kept telling me, "this is not the end of the line," and I all but swore that it was.

But soon there was a guy behind me, and several more people behind him, and I saw that he was upset and knew I had cut him. Luckily I saw that he was practically at the end of the line and I could only barely hear the people I'd just told they were at the end of the line laughing.

Step 3: Wait in Line and Direct Others

The line moved fairly briskly. 2a, the courtroom I was scheduled for, was actually this kiosk right there where the elevators opened. That's what most people in the line were waiting for. Well, that's what all of them were waiting for. To talk to one of the two women there taking information. I never saw a judge, that I know of.

And if you have the chance direct one of those poor people wandering around... there's a good chance they have no idea what's going on. Remember, we're all in this together.

General Tips:

Bring cash or a cashier's check. There's an ATM machine on the 6th floor in case you forget.

Consider going in around 9. Yes you'll be late for work, but the line was about 1/20th its 8 o'clock length.

I found on street parking thank goodness.

Directions to the Wake County Court House

For some reason I had lots of trouble finding directions.

(from the site)
The Wake County Courthouse is located at 316 Fayetteville Street Mall in downtown Raleigh, three blocks South of the Capitol. Directly across from the Salisbury Street (rear) courthouse entrance is the Wake County Parking Deck; this parking deck fills up early on weekdays, typically by 8:30 a.m., however some parking is usually available during the day.

Again, here's the mapquest link.

Comments:
Once I find out how much you are supposed to pay, so you can get the cash in advance, I'll post as a comment.
I am supposed to show up on November/1st between 7:45AM-3:30PM to pay for driving with an expired registration.
Damn it... I pay my bills as soon as I get them in the mail ... I just forgot the godamned thing around... anyway... will update later.
-Alex
 
Looks like you should NOT pay until the day of the hearing. That's the equivalent of acknowledging the offense.... so pay it on the day.
-Alex
 
Expcet some letters from lawyers offering their services... no adivce here, but I threw them in the trash can right away...

Ok. Been there to the court... I was in and out in less than 30 minutes.
Parked accross the street on the public parking (however, the price is $1/hour ,no problem.)

You can either go really early and then wait, wait, wait and share your misery with lots of other folks or you can go in a more decent time... I decided to go afternoon ... I took the day off to do some other things too.

For Pete's sake, wear something decent. Don't need to be your best Sunday outfit... tuck your shirt inside your slacks. Won't even comment on baggy pants... anyway...

I arrived a 1:48 PM, went thru the metal detectors, went thru the hand scanner as I think even a tooth filling will trigger the damn detectors. Cleared.

Grabbed my stuff from the basket, went to the 2nd floor, disposition court 1A was being held on 2nd floor this days as all others.

Go to the line where an attendant will pick up your name from the box with cases and hand it over to the district attorney. Then the district attorney will call you whe n your time comes. Meanwhile, wait seated in the pews.

My case was really simple: driving with an exprired registration card. Darn it. I forgot... anyway, when my turn came the district attorney read the case to know what the heck it was about and then she asked for my registration card.
She took a look at it to make sure I had taken care of and just dismissed me.
So, no fines, no payment for me....

Heck, those traffic attorneys lingering around sure make an easy money.
 
By the way..... .there is an ATM right at the first floor by the elevators, in case you need.

-Alex
 
thanks Alex - your comments are helpful to all of those who will go after us...

Garrett
 
I'm glad there may be use for all of this but....

Holy shit ! Am I attracting bad luck or what ?

I rear ended another car this morning (11/27) and of course, the officer had to issue a citation for me to show up in court on January/2008. Damn it...

Anyway... in the citation the officer gives, he will note down the fine, the court costs and total.
For my new case, it's
$50 fine
$120 court costs
Totalling $170.

So, I'll have to get this amount with me on my next courthouse appointment...

Yeah, I still have the option to mail the payment and end with all this but then, I automatically will reckon I was at fault and get points assessed against my driver's license... so I'll get to the court and at least I can ask/request not to be penalized because there were some lessener factors. It won't hurt to try.

I'll post more details of this new case as things progress.

-Alex
 
Almost forgot to post my final update.
I hired an attorney which for a flat fee of $230 buck did the job.
He demonstrated that all damages were paid by the insurance company and the case was closed.
Yeah, still had to pay the $120+$50 so in the end the lawyer pocketed $60 dollars, which I think were well worth to save the trouble of showing there myself.
As I don;t have any previous "convictions" it was not a difficult case for him to present.
 
Thanks for all the info. It definitely helped me. Instead of going at 7, I went to the gym, got my workout in, had some breakfast, walked the dog, did some work, you get the idea

I had received a ticket for running a red light; first citation since age 16. I went to the DMV to get a certified copy of my records ($11) and I don't know if that really helped.

I got there around 2pm. First the DA called my name to answer any questions I had.Then the judge called my name about 10 minutes later and asked me if I had any violations in the past three years and reduced it to a "prayful consideration" so it wouldn't affect my driving record or insurance.

The Disposition Court (1A) is on the ground floor; looks newly remodeled with court benches to sit. Took me all of 20 minutes and instead of paying the full $170, it was just the court costs of $120.
 
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