Keep your papers in order.

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
05/15/2016 at 18:09 • Filed to: None

Cops just nabbed me on my way to Autozone with the Civic’s plates on the Miata since I haven’t gotten around to registering it yet. No problem, I’ll just show them my title— oh, fuck. When I thought I was going to sell the car I cleaned it out and the title and proof of insurance were both sitting at home on my desk. Boom, misdemeanor and a court date. So much for my clean record. Do I go register the car before the court date or not? I’m so out of my element on what to do in this situation. If I go register it won’t they take the title and I have to wait for a new one in the mail? What if it doesn’t get back in time for the court date?

DISCUSSION (26)

Steve in Manhattan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:13

This from a lawyer - mindlessly obey the rules. That way you can say to the judge: hey, I corrected everything that was wrong. EVERYTHING.

Übel > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:13

Cops just nabbed me on my way to Autozone with the Civic’s plates on the Miata since I haven’t gotten around to registering it yet.

Why, of all the cars you own, would you choose the one that is not registered for road use to use on the road?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Steve in Manhattan
05/15/2016 at 18:19

Yeah I have proof of insurance and the title sitting here on my desk. Gonna go register it (which, annoyingly, I was planning on doing anyways now that the car is drivable again) Tuesday. Misdemeanors show up on a permanent criminal record, right? Any chance of this affecting employment opportunities? That’s my biggest concern. Fines can be paid off then they go away, so none of that’s my concern.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Übel
05/15/2016 at 18:20

Because it’s been sitting broken for months and I just got it fixed last week and have not yet had the opportunity to register it. Also the Buick is stuck across town and the Mustang has no gas in it.

Steve in Manhattan > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:24

All of your questions depend on state law, and no one knows the laws of each state. I would say to the judge that, I made a mistake, but I’d like this not to affect my permanent record if you will do that, your honor. Always call them “your honor.”

Xyl0c41n3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:26

Any chance of it affecting your employment? Lol. For an offense involving a vehicle that you own? You’re kidding, right?

No1curr unless it’s a misdemeanor drug offense, a felony offense, or if your skin is black or brown.

You literally have nothing to worry about.

Register your car. Get the right plates on the right vehicles. Go see the judge. Speak to him/her respectfully at all times. Pay whatever fine they assess. And then go on about your merry way.

Racin'Jason001 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:34

Tuff luck, bro. Hope it works out for you.

Clown Shoe Pilot > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:42

I don’t know the laws in your state, but in Texas, moving plates around between cars AIN’T gonna fly. If you’ve got a car that doesn’t have plates of its own and you’re taking it to get plates, drive it plateless.

Birddog > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:43

Hire a lawyer. A good traffic attorney can make this pretty painless. Not that I’ve ever done such a reprehensible thing.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Birddog
05/15/2016 at 18:45

I have no money until I can get the Mustang sold, which so far hasn’t happened. The thought of a fine even as little as $650 is making me cringe pretty hardcore right now.

Klaus Schmoll > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:45

Shit! I’m not going to yell at you for doing an obviously stupid thing, not the right time.

What is the worst case scenario? You mentioned something on your criminal record which sounds bad, but maybe you can prevent that. What about getting your license suspended?

Google the shit out of it and get that Mazda registered first thing Tuesday morning. Just my $0.02. Good luck!

Xyl0c41n3 > Clown Shoe Pilot
05/15/2016 at 18:48

Meh. Here in Texas, it’s at most a Class B misdemeanor (could be considered a Class C, except Jake here is admitting to knowingly using a fictitious plate) with a maximum $200 fine. There are moving violations that carry similar fines. The judge can vacate the fine if the issue is resolved before the defendant appears in court.

http://www.easylawlookup.com/Texas-Law/Tran…

Clown Shoe Pilot > Xyl0c41n3
05/15/2016 at 18:51

Yeah, I don’t want a Class B misdemeanor on my record in Texas.

http://www.fairdefense.org/resource/what-…

Xyl0c41n3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 18:53

Relax, dude. I don’t know what state you’re in, but in Texas, this isn’t a jailable offense. It’s an offense where they’ll only assess fines.

It’s illegal to be sent to jail for an inability to pay a fine.

You have rights, even if found guilty of this offense. Those rights mean you can ask to pay the fine in installments, to reduce the amount of the fine, to pay off the fine via community service, or some combination of those three options.

If you get assessed a huge fine, reiterate to the judge your willingness to make the situation right, but ask if any of those options are available.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Xyl0c41n3
05/15/2016 at 19:03

Just looked it up. Just for the plate/registration thing the minimum fine is $500. The insurance thing can be dealt with before court, though.

Xyl0c41n3 > Clown Shoe Pilot
05/15/2016 at 19:04

For a first offense with no other history, though, he has a pretty good chance of this getting knocked down to a Class C (if it's even greater than a Class C where he lives). Or even of being given deferred adjudication where, as long as he keeps his nose clean for a certain amount of time, it’ll come off his record.

Xyl0c41n3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 19:05

Eeep. What level offense is it?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Xyl0c41n3
05/15/2016 at 19:07

Hell if I can find it. Kansas legislature is notoriously awful. I took a glance at Texas and it was like comparing a quantum mechanics to basic addition and subtraction.

Xyl0c41n3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 19:11

Yeah. Texas ain’t always perfect, but hot damn is it easy to look up and index our legal code here.

Xyl0c41n3 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 19:23

Found the law: http://kslegislature.org/li_2012/b2011_…

Looks like you’re looking at $600 minimum in fines — $500 for not having the car registered, and $100 (or more) for using a tag that didn’t belong to that car.

Two things to me that are a bit murky:

1. Violating the second part of the law (the fake plate) requires that you surrender the plate. I dunno how that would actually work since the plate is valid for another vehicle you own.

2. I’m not sure what an “unclassified misdemeanor” is in Kansas. Here in Texas we have three levels of misdemeanors — A, B, and C.

Class C misdemeanors are mild and don’t show up on background checks (think speeding tickets or jaywalking). Class B and A are more serious, with A being the worst and can require jail time and/or probation.

I don’t know what an unclassified misdemeanor means in your state or how they are treated by employers or whatnot.

So, you might want to go to a lawyer after all and just get some clarification about what all these legal terms mean in your state and how they could affect you.

Boxer_4 > Xyl0c41n3
05/15/2016 at 19:56

It looks like an unclassified misdemeanor just means it isn’t classified as A,B,or C.

From what I can tell, it appears that unclassified misdemeanors follow the same terms as class C, unless specifically stated.

Source: http://kslegislature.org/li_2012/b2011_…

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Xyl0c41n3
05/15/2016 at 21:25

Yeah, I was able to finally find that law that you’re referring to. The plate is valid for a vehicle I *did* own, that is, the one I traded for the Miata. And I have no idea what levels there are in Kansas. I would hope they aren’t all lumped together and treated equally. Either way, a $600 is pretty impossible to swallow at this stage where I’m trying to sell the Mustang, move out of my dad’s house, and start my damn life finally.

The real bitch? I was caught with the previous owner’s tags on the Riviera in the city where I work, and the cop just made some jokes about it (which had the side effect of making me believe, combined with the sheer amount of people I know riding on dirty tags, that it isn’t a really huge deal). Cops in my city are notorious assholes due to policies by our idiot police chief.

FoilyDoily > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/15/2016 at 21:26

Please don’t take legal advice from people over the internet. Nothing good can come from it - especially if you’re worried about how this might impact your record. If you need legal advice, find a local attorney who handles cases like this.

Go get the car registered. As soon as possible.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Xyl0c41n3
05/15/2016 at 21:28

Tomorrow I’m going to steal money from my savings account and register the Miata, then go straight to the courthouse with the registration and proof of insurance and see if I can get it dropped. Court date isn’t scheduled until 6/16/2016. According to Kansas legislation I can get the insurance thing dropped by providing proof of insurance within 10 days of the summons being issued, but I dunno about the registration thing.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > FoilyDoily
05/15/2016 at 21:30

Car’s getting registered tomorrow. I can’t afford to even look sideways at an attorney. I’m going to take all the requisite paperwork to the courthouse tomorrow and see if I can get the whole thing dropped by showing the necessary papers.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/16/2016 at 01:34

Maybe check with a local law school or your state bar association about getting a free or cheap consult on this?