Oh, Thank You God
A huge answer to prayer just came in today. I found out that my brother Marv got a plea deal so he won't be going to jail. I didn't think he would be going to jail over a car accident; but from the way the judge spoke to him you would think he was a career criminal.
My brother was driving home from work one day and got into an accident. He wasn't paying close attention, ran a red light, and got t-boned by a woman in a nissan murano. The problem was he didn't have insurance. He had just gotten his car fixed. He doesn't make much money, and he's been helping Mom out financially. When his $200 dollar car broke down, he didn't have the money to get it fixed right away. So he let the insurance lapse while he shared Mom's car with her until he got the money to fix it up.
A few days after it was up and running, he got into this accident. He fully admitted to being in the wrong, and the police officer gave him a ticket for running a red light and for driving without insurance. She told him that he would have to go to court.
He got a letter from the court, and took the day off to go down to the courthouse to get everything taken care of. There was one problem - he had misread the date on the letter. He thought it said 4/4, but instead it was 4/2. He called around and found out there was a warrant for his arrest. They told him to bring down some bail money and to come down to the station.
He paid $500 for bail and rescheduled his court date. They told him he should get $450 of it back if he showed up for court.
On the day of court, he went in to plead guilty. The judge asked him if he had paid the lady's insurance company for the claim. Marv had called the insurance co, and they were very nice to him. They told him that he could pay them back over installments and spread the payments out over a year if he needed too. They even told him he could wait a month or two until his legal fees were paid to start paying them back.
Well, the judge didn't hear any of that. After Marv said that he had not paid the insurance company back, the judge cut him off and started yelling at him. Before Marv could explain, the judge told him Marv if he pleaded guilty, he would be sent to jail for 60 days. Marv was nervous and said then he'd have to plead not guilty, which would mean this would go to trial.
When I heard about all this I was pretty mad. I wish the judge had actually listened to my brother. Yes, he did something wrong, but he was taking steps to correct the situation; and he was perfectly amenable to paying back the lady's insurance company. I think Marv was pretty surprised by the judge's behavior. Everyone had been kind to him during the process, except for the judge. The lady he hit had been nice and understanding, and so had the insurance company.
Marv's judge reminds me of what I've seen on court t.v, like Judge Judy. I know it is their job to be, well, judgmental; but they don't have to yell at people.
Marv met with his court appointed lawyer today who had already received a plea deal. It basically boils down to getting a special type of insurance. This insurance costs more, but if he lets it lapse, they call the dmv which will immediately suspend his license.
I'm really happy because he's not going to jail. It seemed ridiculous that he would go to jail. Yes, he caused an accident, but he has never stolen, did drugs, or hurt anybody. He was not drunk when he got into the accident. I was just afraid of some crazy judge thinking he was low life scum b/c he couldn't afford a lawyer or that he didn't want to pay back what he owed when really he's just broke.
My brother was driving home from work one day and got into an accident. He wasn't paying close attention, ran a red light, and got t-boned by a woman in a nissan murano. The problem was he didn't have insurance. He had just gotten his car fixed. He doesn't make much money, and he's been helping Mom out financially. When his $200 dollar car broke down, he didn't have the money to get it fixed right away. So he let the insurance lapse while he shared Mom's car with her until he got the money to fix it up.
A few days after it was up and running, he got into this accident. He fully admitted to being in the wrong, and the police officer gave him a ticket for running a red light and for driving without insurance. She told him that he would have to go to court.
He got a letter from the court, and took the day off to go down to the courthouse to get everything taken care of. There was one problem - he had misread the date on the letter. He thought it said 4/4, but instead it was 4/2. He called around and found out there was a warrant for his arrest. They told him to bring down some bail money and to come down to the station.
He paid $500 for bail and rescheduled his court date. They told him he should get $450 of it back if he showed up for court.
On the day of court, he went in to plead guilty. The judge asked him if he had paid the lady's insurance company for the claim. Marv had called the insurance co, and they were very nice to him. They told him that he could pay them back over installments and spread the payments out over a year if he needed too. They even told him he could wait a month or two until his legal fees were paid to start paying them back.
Well, the judge didn't hear any of that. After Marv said that he had not paid the insurance company back, the judge cut him off and started yelling at him. Before Marv could explain, the judge told him Marv if he pleaded guilty, he would be sent to jail for 60 days. Marv was nervous and said then he'd have to plead not guilty, which would mean this would go to trial.
When I heard about all this I was pretty mad. I wish the judge had actually listened to my brother. Yes, he did something wrong, but he was taking steps to correct the situation; and he was perfectly amenable to paying back the lady's insurance company. I think Marv was pretty surprised by the judge's behavior. Everyone had been kind to him during the process, except for the judge. The lady he hit had been nice and understanding, and so had the insurance company.
Marv's judge reminds me of what I've seen on court t.v, like Judge Judy. I know it is their job to be, well, judgmental; but they don't have to yell at people.
Marv met with his court appointed lawyer today who had already received a plea deal. It basically boils down to getting a special type of insurance. This insurance costs more, but if he lets it lapse, they call the dmv which will immediately suspend his license.
I'm really happy because he's not going to jail. It seemed ridiculous that he would go to jail. Yes, he caused an accident, but he has never stolen, did drugs, or hurt anybody. He was not drunk when he got into the accident. I was just afraid of some crazy judge thinking he was low life scum b/c he couldn't afford a lawyer or that he didn't want to pay back what he owed when really he's just broke.