Well that was easier than I thought it would be. Let me back up and explain the story.
You may remember a month or so ago when I got pulled over for having a "(TINTED) LICENSE PLATE COVER" that was really clear. I decided to not pay the fine ($75--$105 with traffic school/supervision since it was a moving violation. Are you kidding me?) and spend a morning in court.
Today was my morning in court. I arrived a few minutes early--surprisingly the lines for the metal detectors were empty--and was greeted by a flurry of lawyers/public defenders finding their clients, but only 2 officers, neither of which were mine. At exactly 9am, in stroll 6 officers together. One looks like he could have been my officer, but not quite a fit, so I'm pretty sure my officer didn't even bother to show.
Out of the 10 or so cases before me, most were DUIs, and most were continued for one reason or another. 2 cases before mine, the guy had the same officer (by badge number). The court asked for the officer, someone mentioned that he also had court in Addison this morning and was on his way up. Petty offense, case dismissed, officer not present. My hunch was correct. During the next case, the officer strolls in. Oh well, can't get off on a technicality.
I'm called up. The judge looks at the citation and I could almost see her rolling her eyes.
Judge: Did you remove the tinted license plate cover
Me: Yes Ma'am, I have photographs as well.
States Attorney: (looks at photos; reads license plate to judge for verification)
Judge: Case dismissed.
Me: Thank you.
That was it. I have my license back, and it only cost me an hour of my time to keep a silly thing off my record. I'm glad it was treated as a simple fix-it ticket and not a moving violation. If it had been written as a fix-it, I believe I could have just gone to the station to clear it up and not had to waste anyone's time other than my own.
In general, the judge seemed like she was having a good day and was pretty laid back. The officer had at least 2 (didn't stick around to find out if he had any more) cases dismissed today. Does that count against them? These things I do not know...
