While attending the three day long trial of Rich Paul, friend of Free Keene ‘Amish Paul’ was ticketed twice in two days. During that trial, courtroom doors were locked between breaks in which no re-entry was permitted. Having received a green flier from Robin Hood of Keene suggesting he consider challenging the ticket, Paul took the two tickets to court, and on October 17, a trial was held in his honor.
Paul was requested to arrive at 10:00am, and entering the courtroom shortly thereafter, he found one parking enforcer already awaiting the proceedings in the audience. The state’s prosecutor approached Paul and informed him that one ticket was being prosecuted today, and the other dismissed, as only one of the two parking enforcers who had issued the tickets was available for court. Delighted to have achieved one victory before the contest started, he would wait through another forty-five minutes of pretrial hearings and plea deals before the parking ticket case was called.
Being Amish Paul’s first time in district court, he requested assistance at the defense table, which I provided with information at each juncture. It’s a given that anyone representing themselves in court will be nervous and perhaps neglect to cover all elements of their case. Like any challenge, experience builds confidence, and contesting a five dollar parking ticket can be useful practice for future court ventures. Be sure to do like Paul and contest your parking tickets as soon as possible, before the fees for late payment engage as scheduled.
