Hi all,
In the summer of 2011 I was driving from Goodfellow AFB, Texas [San Angelo] to Austin, Texas. I drove there on a Friday and while on the way there I had just entered Bertram on State Highway 29. Apparently the speed limit went from 70 MPH to 55 MPH, but I didn't see any signs for it. The officer wouldn't let me go with a warning. I made the return trip on a Sunday and planned to drop off the pamphlet the officer gave me (the one with the not-guilty plea and my contact information). When I got there, both the court building and police office were closed. The instructions on the pamphlet read to drop it off or mail it, so I left it in the doorway of the police station because I couldn't see a drop-box anywhere. I find it funny that the police station was closed (as if crime stops happening on Sundays) and there was no drop box.
Nearly a year went by, and suddenly I got a phone call from a Bertram police officer saying that there is a warrant out for my arrest. I promptly called them back and later spoke to the court. They told me that I owed $505 total for the speeding ticket and failure to enter a plea on time. Apparently they had been mailing notices to the address on my Illinois state driver's license - the residence that I no longer lived at, and hadn't attempted to contact me any other way, nor did they receive the plea I had left there 2 days after I received the citation. The clerk asked me to enter a plea, and since I was intent on fighting it, I entered not guilty, and sent in a rebuttal. 2 months go by and I still haven't heard anything from them, so I call just to find out they haven't received my rebuttal. I send it in again, and when I follow up this time I am told first that the rebuttal hasn't been received, second that it was received but there is no plea on it, and third that there is a plea on it. It took this clerk three times to get her facts straight.
During this same conversation, the clerk informs me that I need to pick a date for trial. I ask her if the judge has reviewed my documents and she says yes. I tell her that it is not feasible for me to travel all the way there from where I live just to appear in court. She does not back down, nor does she seem to understand that this situation is not completely my fault - there seems to be a lot of incompetence on her end. We left off that there would be a court date scheduled in January of 2013, and that she would send me a plea packet which I would reply with before a trial date is decided. I gave her my address so she could send me a plea packet. Instead of getting a plea packet, I get a notice in the mail on January 2nd, 2013, stating that I have failed to appear. Inside the letter is a copy of a nonresident violator compact that has been sent to New York in an attempt to suspend my license. This notice is dated 12-21-12, and again, I received it on the 2nd of January. I gave Mrs. Shader (the clerk) another call on the 3rd. She seems to think I received it on the 31st of December. Apparently she used the address I gave her to dig up my New York driver's license info and pull a fast one, instead of sending me a plea packet like she said she would.
She also said that I have done nothing to resolve this since July of 2012 and that I've been trying to dodge this entire thing. I told her that is not true, but she insisted. I felt like telling her how incompetent she is, and that she made this much more difficult and confusing than it needed to be. Regardless, I asked her to again send me a plea packet, and this time I offer to plead guilty to the speeding ticket and ask that the other fine for failing to enter a plea/failing to appear (I don't even know which one is in their system anymore) be removed due to the circumstances (I made an effort to enter a plea, and they had failed to actually get in contact with me for a year after I made that attempt). She said I would have to ask the judge, as she cannot do something like that. The conversation ended and now I'm here, asking for help. I really do not want my otherwise spotless driving record to be pockmarked permanently for something like this - I don't think they have sent the compact yet but I know that the 15 days are up at this point.
What can I do?? I've been seeking out legal help services for veterans in Texas but I don't know how to handle the administrative problems that can arise from situations like this. I can imagine there being an administrative snag somewhere along the line (Bertram, Texas Public Safety, NYS DMV, or maybe even Illinois DMV).
In the summer of 2011 I was driving from Goodfellow AFB, Texas [San Angelo] to Austin, Texas. I drove there on a Friday and while on the way there I had just entered Bertram on State Highway 29. Apparently the speed limit went from 70 MPH to 55 MPH, but I didn't see any signs for it. The officer wouldn't let me go with a warning. I made the return trip on a Sunday and planned to drop off the pamphlet the officer gave me (the one with the not-guilty plea and my contact information). When I got there, both the court building and police office were closed. The instructions on the pamphlet read to drop it off or mail it, so I left it in the doorway of the police station because I couldn't see a drop-box anywhere. I find it funny that the police station was closed (as if crime stops happening on Sundays) and there was no drop box.
Nearly a year went by, and suddenly I got a phone call from a Bertram police officer saying that there is a warrant out for my arrest. I promptly called them back and later spoke to the court. They told me that I owed $505 total for the speeding ticket and failure to enter a plea on time. Apparently they had been mailing notices to the address on my Illinois state driver's license - the residence that I no longer lived at, and hadn't attempted to contact me any other way, nor did they receive the plea I had left there 2 days after I received the citation. The clerk asked me to enter a plea, and since I was intent on fighting it, I entered not guilty, and sent in a rebuttal. 2 months go by and I still haven't heard anything from them, so I call just to find out they haven't received my rebuttal. I send it in again, and when I follow up this time I am told first that the rebuttal hasn't been received, second that it was received but there is no plea on it, and third that there is a plea on it. It took this clerk three times to get her facts straight.
During this same conversation, the clerk informs me that I need to pick a date for trial. I ask her if the judge has reviewed my documents and she says yes. I tell her that it is not feasible for me to travel all the way there from where I live just to appear in court. She does not back down, nor does she seem to understand that this situation is not completely my fault - there seems to be a lot of incompetence on her end. We left off that there would be a court date scheduled in January of 2013, and that she would send me a plea packet which I would reply with before a trial date is decided. I gave her my address so she could send me a plea packet. Instead of getting a plea packet, I get a notice in the mail on January 2nd, 2013, stating that I have failed to appear. Inside the letter is a copy of a nonresident violator compact that has been sent to New York in an attempt to suspend my license. This notice is dated 12-21-12, and again, I received it on the 2nd of January. I gave Mrs. Shader (the clerk) another call on the 3rd. She seems to think I received it on the 31st of December. Apparently she used the address I gave her to dig up my New York driver's license info and pull a fast one, instead of sending me a plea packet like she said she would.
She also said that I have done nothing to resolve this since July of 2012 and that I've been trying to dodge this entire thing. I told her that is not true, but she insisted. I felt like telling her how incompetent she is, and that she made this much more difficult and confusing than it needed to be. Regardless, I asked her to again send me a plea packet, and this time I offer to plead guilty to the speeding ticket and ask that the other fine for failing to enter a plea/failing to appear (I don't even know which one is in their system anymore) be removed due to the circumstances (I made an effort to enter a plea, and they had failed to actually get in contact with me for a year after I made that attempt). She said I would have to ask the judge, as she cannot do something like that. The conversation ended and now I'm here, asking for help. I really do not want my otherwise spotless driving record to be pockmarked permanently for something like this - I don't think they have sent the compact yet but I know that the 15 days are up at this point.
What can I do?? I've been seeking out legal help services for veterans in Texas but I don't know how to handle the administrative problems that can arise from situations like this. I can imagine there being an administrative snag somewhere along the line (Bertram, Texas Public Safety, NYS DMV, or maybe even Illinois DMV).
