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Posted by David Sherman on Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 01:38:54 :
In Reply to: Re: The exact wording posted by Arthur P. Bloom on Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 00:52:27 :
Again, we don't know the exact law or what he was cited for. Leon mentions two separate violations; having an unlicensed vehicle in his yard for more than 30 days, and having a land use that's in conflict with the zoning. It _appears_ that the latter is what he's being cited for, in which case the 30 day thing isn't a factor. Then we get into where in the zoning code a junkyard is defined (if his use doesn't meet the definition, he's off the hook), and what the stipulated procedure is for dealing with land use violations (typically a per-day fine after notice is formally given).
All of these details are what matter, and we don't know them. One thing a lawyer will do is help a distraught, confused, or ignorant person get their facts in order.
Another legal point here is that with a civil complaint, the government only needs to prove their case by a "preponderance of evidence", rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt" as in a criminal case. That's why governments like to write as many new laws as possible as civil, rather than criminal, matters. All of your ordinary traffic tickets, for example, are civil complaints. There's no end to the fines they can charge you via a civil complaint. They just can't imprison or execute you over a civil complaint. But the government doesn't want to put anybody in jail if possible because fines bring in money, whereas jail costs money.
I really think Leon needs to either hire a lawyer, look up the laws himself and start thinking like a lawyer, or just pay the fine and hide the car. Without being more factual about it, appealing the fine to whatever board or magistrate you appeal it to will be just as effective as all the people who challenge their speeding tickets by saying their car won't go that fast, they were late for work, or the cop was a jerk.
The other alternative, back east at least, is find somebody in your family who's in the mob, and drop his name to the judge when you get to court. My father got arrested for reckless driving in New York during the war. He was just a farm boy from Oregon, and a soldier passing through, and they no doubt figured he was an easy mark. His fiance's Italian uncle had a "restaurant supply" business that didn't look like much but seemed to keep the man living in high style. Before my father went to court, somebody in the family said "Tell the judge you're a friend of so-and-so" (I met the uncle when I was little, and I'm still not sure it's safe to reveal his name). My father thought that was a stupid idea, but when he got to court and the judge had been very stern with him, he asked him what he was doing in Middletown, New York anyway? He said he was there because he was going to get married to so-and-so's niece. As my father told the story, at that point the judge turned white, got very angry, and said "Why didn't you tell me that at the beginning? Get out of here!" At that point, the farm boy learned that things work differently in Middletown, New York than they do in Molalla, Oregon. So, there is always that option, as "plan C", depending on who your relatives are.