Now that Baltimoreans and other Marylanders have survived another year with our sanity intact, today seems like an appropriate time to briefly cover some topics I wasn’t able to write about.
1. My day in Baltimore County traffic court: In September a Baltimore County police officer gave me a ticket for driving my beat-up 1991 Honda Accord with expired plates. I explained the situation, and he told me to appear in traffic court and explain it to the judge, who would probably understand.
The court date was set for Dec. 15. The morning started off badly: I misplaced the summons. I’d remembered the date, but forgotten the time and the Baltimore County district courthouse where the traffic hearings would be held. Here’s a hint for those of you who may be as asleep at the switch about these things as I am.
If you have a computer, go to the Web site www.courts.state.md. Click on “Search Court Records.” Then click on “Case Search.” You’ll have to check a box indicating that you agree with the terms, limitations, conditions and all that nonsense.
Once you’ve done that, click on “Continue.” This will bring you to the “Maryland Judiciary Case Search” screen. It’s pretty much self-explanatory from that point. I just typed in my name (good thing I was able to remember that, huh?) and selected “District Court Only.” In a matter of minutes I’d learned my hearing would be at the Wilkens Avenue district court at 9 a.m.
What happens if you don’t have a computer? Better call somebody who does.
The judge suspended the $34.50 fine and charged me court costs of $25.50. He was as understanding as the officer said he would be, though he did chide me for knowingly “taking a chance” by driving with suspended plates.
Taking a chance? I wondered if this judge had seen how people DRIVE in the Baltimore-Washington area. I figure I’m taking a chance with my life every time I get behind the wheel of my car. I don’t even sweat taking the chance of driving with suspended plates.
2. My case in Baltimore district court: The reason I was driving with suspended plates is because the Motor Vehicle Administration refused to let me renew the tags because of an unpaid parking ticket issued in the city. It was unpaid because I was waiting for a court date to explain to some judge, any judge, why the city of Baltimore was just as responsible as I was for my parking illegally.
It went something like this. In February of last year I did a story about President Bush visiting a halfway house in East Baltimore. So of course city honchos did all they could to make covering the story as hard as possible for the media.
I ran into a traffic jam coming off Interstate 83, because city cops had closed Preston Street, the route I was planning to take get to my destination. After a long detour I finally got reasonably close to where I was going, only to find out cops had blocked off several streets near the halfway house and there were no parking spaces close to it.
As I told the judge in Baltimore district court: “I grabbed the first parking space I saw. My goal was to get in, do the story and get the hell out of East Baltimore because I’m from West Baltimore.”
“I’m not even going there,” the judge answered. But I’m sure he understood the sentiment.
It took nearly eight months for this case to get on the Baltimore district court docket. My first mistake was making the request for trial online, at the Baltimore city government Web site. A word of caution: Never, NEVER do anything using the city government’s Web site. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. I just read the ticket and took seriously the advice to make my request for trial online.
So I went to the Web site, entered the info, clicked a button and thought I was done. Instead of a notice to go to trial, I got a testy, nasty note saying pay up or else. My online request for a trial must have been lost in cyberspace.
I’ve learned my lesson, in case our new president ever decides he wants to visit Baltimore.
Gregory Kane is a columnist who has been writing about Baltimore and Maryland for more than 15 years. Look for his columns in the editorial section every Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at [email protected].
