subpoena from the county maggots
Memorial Day weekend, 2006 I witnessed an accident. Briefly, the road was damp from a recent small shower, and because it had not rained recently, I left a bit more braking distance from the car I was following. Some Epsilon-Minus in a pick-up pulled out from a side street and tried to make a left turn, and got squarely T-boned, centered on the truck bed, as a result. Both airbags deployed in the car ahead of me, and since I saw everything, I pulled over and called 911.
Well, even though I insisted that the guy and his passenger stay in the car, they got out, and even though the driver was holding his gut, bending over, and moaning, he refused treatment when the paramedics arrived. I helped the cops push the damaged car to the side, and he took down my name and number. I also slipped my contact info to the victim, fully assuming he would go to the hospital. If he was hurting that bad at the scene, imagine the pain when the adrenaline wears off.
Epsilon-Minus gets a ticket for failing to yield right-of-way. The victim got a ticket for driving without a license.
I got two subpoenas. One of them made sense. I had witnessed the traffic violation by Epsilon-Minus, and the cop had not. Therefore if it went to trial, the county might need me to testify. Of course, the guy paid the fine and I did not have to appear.
The second subpoena was for the guy without the driver’s license. Now figure this out for me. Had that case been tried, there’s absolutely nothing I could say to affect the outcome of the trial. I never even knew he was driving without a license until I got the subpoena. The county would need the testimony of the cop to convict, and the authority that would be placed behind that testimony would override anything I would be willing to put on the record.
So the other day I put my life on hold and appeared before the judge, as ordered. I found out that when you get a subpoena, you’re treated even worse than jury duty.
There’s no way to shift my subpoena to a different date, like what is a common accommodation to the jury pool. I’m not compensated for my time at even sub-minimum wages like the jury pool is. Plus, as a bonus, I got to pay for my own parking!
It was a nice touch that the judge brought the court into session 45 minutes late.
I’m not entirely sure what happens when I refuse to show up for uncompensated labor benefiting the government, but I suppose that the court judge could theoretically issue me a bench warrant for daring to ignore a court order.
In the end, the guy plead guilty, showed the judge his learner’s permit, and he got fined, no points. I honestly think the judge would have taken the case sooner in the day, except the guy failed to inform the court that he needed an interpreter, so I got to wait.
I’m not exactly asking for valet parking, or private waiting rooms with a continental breakfast, but I at least would like to be treated better than cattle. A docket posted at the door would be a nice touch, making sure that I was in the proper courtroom. Making damn sure I was truly needed and compensating me for a half day’s wages for the indentured servitude would be nice too.
