Trust me it doesn't have a thing to do with saving lives it's all about money. Let me preface what I'm about to say, by admitting that at 36 years
old, the one thing other than war I've seen the most people die prematurely of is drug and alcohol related incidences usually involving motor
vehicles. Everyone should have the experience of getting a DUI, it is truly enlightening in the machinations of the Criminal Justice System in the US,
and what really matters to it, that being $$$$$.
So, after being indoctrinated by SADD and MADD ( by the way never give money to those organizations as they consistently rank near the bottom of
charities due the fact that almost all money taken in is spent on either salaries or further fundraising) propaganda during my high school years
followed by 3 years of repeated admonitions of "DO NOT GET A DUI" in the Army, I found myself on the side of 85 South coming home from an evening of
revelry in Buckhead blowing in a machine held by a Coweta County deputy after being pulled over for going 115 mph.I blew a 0.15 BAC, almost twice the
legal limit.My education had just begun.
So, I was taken to jail, then called my folks to see if they'd post bond. Luckily, this was my first adult offense so my folks posted a property bond
in a different county and had it transferred to the county that I was being held in. The night in the holding cell wasn't so bad, I vaguely remember
seeing some crazy lady being restrained by the overnight jailers, and sleeping of my intoxication on a cold metal bench underneath an old wool
blanket. It wasn't a hardship at all for someone who'd spent several months earlier in the year sleeping on a cold metal floor of a M-109A6 howitzer
under an old wool blanket.Breakfast was nothing special but for someone who was used to MREs and T-rations it was digestible, and helped ease the
hangover I'd earned. So, the jailers let me out as my mom shows up with the paperwork for the bond.I was greeted with the statement "This is the one
time we'll get you out for this." First thing I do is find my car. I'm not paying a minute more of storage than I have to. So I track down the Tow
service who luckily still has my car on his wrecker. I go to his house, pay him the tow fee in cash, I think it was $75 or so. I get home and everyone
in my family is there. I get the obligatory tongue lashing from my mom, stepdad, aunt, and grandparents. After that there is a funny point when every
man in my family owns up to the fact that they've spent a night in jail at some point in their life, for something to do with alcohol.
So, after getting home and sleeping off my hangover, I have to find a lawyer. At this point in my life I'm a full time student, luckily I've got a
little bit of money stashed from when I was deployed earlier in the year. So, I do a bit of research and find a scummy lawyer who'd only recently
entered private practice after being an Assistant DA in the county I was arrested in. I show up, pay him $500 dollars cash and begin the process of
getting this behind me. The traffic violation I was pulled over for is as bad as the DUI in it's fine potential, so we've got to do something about
that. I tell the lawyer I've got a problem with my speedometer/odometer and it doesn't work right. He's says," find someone to fix it, and get me some
documentation". So I pay a mechanic about $150 to fix it and he gives me the proper documentation to take to court.
Court day arrives, my lawyer tells me to be able to pay the fine in full and in cash and he can keep me out of the required 24 hours in jail. We plead
guilty to the DUI and the judge throws out the speeding charge. I pay $1200 cash to the court (fine and court costs) and wait in the back of the court
house a couple of hours and am then released. Part of my sentence was 80hours of community service with supervised probation until complete and then
unsupervised for a year.
Here's where I knew it was about the money. As I was doing the community service I found so many people who were in similar situations but couldn't
pay a lawyer and the fine money at one time like I did. Their fines were higher, they spent the time in jail, and had more hours of community service
for the exact same first offense.
I'm running short on space so I'll summerize all the other costs I incurred from this experience.
$40/week probation fee paid to the probation officer until community service was completed.
$50 drug and alcohol assessment followed by $200 2 day DUI school
$200 License reinstatement fee for the DMV.
Massive jump in car insurance premium that took nearly 5 years to go away.
Lost wages from missed work due to court and community service.
That was my one adult trip through the system. I no doubt deserved it, but because I had cash I was able to mitigate it in ways not available to
others. Haven't been arrested for anything since, but I came out of it with an appreciation for what really matters in US Justice, $$$$$$
edit on 14-5-2013 by jefwane because: (no reason given)
edit on 14-5-2013 by jefwane because: (no reason given)