I am guilty

Well, today I pled guilty to something I didn't do.



The Story:

I got a speeding ticket back in July. For going 85 in a 70. Ok, so I am known to speed a little, but that's excessive and I simply wasn't going that fast. The State Trooper wasn't the nicest guy in the world, and told me that I didn't have the right to see the radar and wrote my ticket. My first court date was last month. I took all the girls with me to court. I figured I would be in and out within an hour, I had no idea how this stuff works. Wrong. First of all I was discriminated against for bringing my children. My children who by the way were ANGELIC and not making a peep. We ende up being at the court house for 2 1/2 hours and all they did was give me another day to come back. The baliff wouldn't even let me enter my plea b/c he wouldn't allow me to take the kids into court. It was so ridiculous.



So today was my second court date. I really, really, really didn't want to take the kids with me. We just got back from vacation, they are not on a normal schedule yet. But Tim missed work yesterday due to the holiday and I just felt really bad asking him to stay home, so I packed snacks, school, coloring stuff, toys and my sling and we were off.



We had a different baliff today and she was kinder to me. She let me in the courtroom and then said that if the kids started talking I would need to take them out. Needless to say, we went ahead and went out. The kids colored and had snacks and Mackenzie studied for some tests and we were good. The prosecutor comes out after about an hour and a half and asks me if I would like to plead guily to a lesser charge. She said that it wouldn't go on my record and the fine would be reduced. I agreed. After a little while they came to get me and Madison, Vivian and I went in to see the judge while Mackenzie kept Leah out in the hall. The baliff says"Raise your right hand" and all of that. The judge then proceeds to explain to me that this guilty plea will be with me for the rest of my life and do I agree to it? Well, no since that's not what the prosecutor said. The then judge goes through this long process of telling me how it's not suposed to go on your record but there's a chance it can and the insurance people can find it anyway. And then he asks me if I was speeding. I said, "I was probably going a couple miles over the limit but not as fast as I am being accused of going." So he goes into this long explanation of how they want the justice system to work for everyone and doesn't want me to agree to something that I am not comfortable with. So I said, I don't plea. All the official people in the courtroom sighed and looked very put off that I wasn't pleaing. So they took me and the kids to a room to wait for my trial.

By this time it is nearing lunch time and the kids are getting wacky. Vivian is starting to eat formula as well as nurse and I didn't have another bottle for her, so I new my time was running out. The judge sent a public defender in to talk to me. He said basically, that I would not win if I went to trial. He tried a couple other please that the judge wouldn't agree to. And in the end for my sanity, I plead guilty with the original plea. The judge calls me in again and I go back up with wo of the kids and talk to him. He goes into this long talk again about the justice system and how he didn't want me to leave thinking that the justice system didn't work for me. I said I was fine but I really don't think it worked for me at all. They basically wore me down.

As we were walking out Mackenzie wanted to know why I lied and said that I did something that I didn't do. Ouch! I explained to her that I told the judge that I wasn't not speeding but I had to plea b/c it was the best thing for us. We had to get out of there. She seemed to understand. What an experience!