" huzzah "

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the american justice system always seemed so enthralling to me. my mom was a court interpreter for many years in california. she would take me to with her to work when she couldn't find someone to take care of me for the afternoon, and even though it was a place of formality, i was nevertheless interested int he proceedings.

i would watch justice television programs with my mom on a fairly regular basis. l.a. law featured prominently in our viewing schedule, and because she loved the process of the justice system, i in turn loved it as well.

a few weeks ago, i got a summons to show in court for the crime/misdemeanor or being in prospect park after hours. i felt that i had filled a quota for the young patrol officers of the night, and went home filled with mixed emotions on the subject.

was i to be blanketed underneath the same laws as ruffians, park rapists, and characters with weapons? was it the mere presence in the park after hours that promts the police to hand out tickets? i mean, the answer is always yes, because the police have a job to do, but in that (one-way) interaction, i felt as if there was no leeway for understanding; there was no empathy.

did it matter then, that i was riding my bicycle in the park because the paths are relatively lit, there are no cars (hence less danger of getting hit), or that i was riding with a friend to double our chances of safety? did it matter that i was 3 minutes from home? did it matter that i had my safety lights on?

apparently it didn't matter, and i still got a summons.

but today, i went in for the summons, and received the following printout from the court after waiting for about 30 minutes for the proceedings to begin:

and what does this mean?

is it justice that i didn't get a fine? it seems, in all respect to the police enforcement and legal prosecution systems, that not only did i not get a fine (the language they used was that their records were defective, so the dismissed the case), but the officers neglected to even file the summons to their precinct.

i've learned my lesson, but what happened here? why was there no follow through on their part, after such a fuss over what i thought was nothing?

why stop us at all?

i should feel victorious over a misunderstanding of sorts, but am left sort of unconvinced about the validity of the entire matter.

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novembre 15:

novembre 16:

novembre 17:

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