Legal trouble, part 1
On Dec. 5th an APD cop and an animal control guy came to our door because one of the neighbors complained about one of our cats being out (whom they then took into custody).
Apparently it is the law in Albuquerque that all cats must be fixed, microchipped, and kept in your own yard. (I don't know how you're supposed to accomplish that, outside of sophisticated and expensive electronic restraints.) They were pretty nice about it, and gave the cat back, and the animal control guy wrote me three tickets. Unfortunately, these are not "pay it and move on with your life" tickets. I had to go to court over them in the following 5 days.
So I went to the courthouse, and they said they weren't in the system yet, but they'd send me something about when I would have a Hearing. That hearing was this past Monday.
The only other time I've been to court was when I totalled a car. I sat in a waiting room for a couple of hours, then a lawyer-guy from the DA's office talked to me, we agreed that I'd plead to "Unsafe Vehicle" and pay $40, and that was the end of it. Not this time.
I had a formal Arraignment in front of a judge, who commanded me to plead Guilty or Not Guilty. Not knowing what else to do, I said, "Not Guilty." Now I have a CRIMINAL TRIAL on March 12th, and I need to get an attorney before then, apparently. Each of my 5 counts carries up to 90 days in jail and up to a $500 fine (that's 15 months in jail and $2500, for anyone who's counting).
Because I didn't spay my cats? Seriously?!?!? The Albuquerque justice system has nothing better to do than this?!?!?
I've never been in any kind of legal trouble, so I'm terrified by this situation. Anyone with advice to offer, I'd be glad to hear it (especially from kittyfufu, if she's reading this).
Apparently it is the law in Albuquerque that all cats must be fixed, microchipped, and kept in your own yard. (I don't know how you're supposed to accomplish that, outside of sophisticated and expensive electronic restraints.) They were pretty nice about it, and gave the cat back, and the animal control guy wrote me three tickets. Unfortunately, these are not "pay it and move on with your life" tickets. I had to go to court over them in the following 5 days.
So I went to the courthouse, and they said they weren't in the system yet, but they'd send me something about when I would have a Hearing. That hearing was this past Monday.
The only other time I've been to court was when I totalled a car. I sat in a waiting room for a couple of hours, then a lawyer-guy from the DA's office talked to me, we agreed that I'd plead to "Unsafe Vehicle" and pay $40, and that was the end of it. Not this time.
I had a formal Arraignment in front of a judge, who commanded me to plead Guilty or Not Guilty. Not knowing what else to do, I said, "Not Guilty." Now I have a CRIMINAL TRIAL on March 12th, and I need to get an attorney before then, apparently. Each of my 5 counts carries up to 90 days in jail and up to a $500 fine (that's 15 months in jail and $2500, for anyone who's counting).
Because I didn't spay my cats? Seriously?!?!? The Albuquerque justice system has nothing better to do than this?!?!?
I've never been in any kind of legal trouble, so I'm terrified by this situation. Anyone with advice to offer, I'd be glad to hear it (especially from kittyfufu, if she's reading this).