Well this is the thread where it started,(third post) which I had a hell of a time finding.
Back in early August I got a letter from Lancaster County Juvenile Court informing me the little bastard was finally coming to trial on the 17th. In juvenile court it’s not called a trial but an Adjudication hearing. It said as the victim I’m allowed to attend.
The next day I got a subpoena telling me I had to attend and to contact the victim/witness services first.
So I called and got the low down on where to park, how to get into Juvenile court, and collect witness pay.
At about 4pm on the 16th I got a call from the Police Department making sure I would be there and telling me the witness had been subpoenaed too. Not 10 minutes later the District Attorney’s office calls to tell me the state had withdrawn the case. When I pressed for an explanation, he stonewalled for a bit then said he had to call the police and the witness. I tried not to choke on the smoke coming out of my collar.
I was pissed for 9 days, when I received another letter, exactly the same as the first except the date had been changed to September 6th and no subpoena this time. I figured this was a ploy to not have anyone show up to testify the day after Labor Day so I didn’t tell them I was coming, complete with photographs, (with a paragraph on the back), my letters from my insurance company saying they had not been able to collect from the car owner and a raft of other crap.
On the 6th, as soon as I checked in with the clerk, the victim/witness services dude hustled me into a conference room. I asked him if the cop and witness had shown up and he said no because the kid had changed his plea to guilty at the last minute, the adjudication hearing had been on the 17th and this was the sentencing hearing. I told him about the phone call and showed him my letter….both letters to which he mumbled the second letter and phone call were both mistakes.
OK, so now he asks if I want to address the court to which I declined saying he’s been found guilty and if I open my mouth I’m liable to end up in jail for contempt at this point. He relayed this to the assistant DA and she came to see me, checked out my letters and said “You’ve been screwed all the way around, haven’t you?” She told me the Judge was already pissed that the bastard had stonewalled for almost two years then changed his plea after the courts had spent considerable money preparing the case and subpoenaing everyone. She urged me to speak my piece rather than regretting not doing it down the road.
She said since this was juvenile court, they don’t punish anyone but try to set them straight. She also said the court could order him to pay me but even though they could pressure him they couldn’t make him pay.
Ok, so I go into the courtroom and there he is standing at the rail in handcuffs with two lawyers, his father and his mother or an interpreter. Standing very close behind are three armed deputy sheriffs and by the other door is a K-9 officer and his dog.
Something tells me there is more going on than I know about.
The Judge was reading the kid the riot act about him being 19 now and any probation violation would result in directly to jail without collecting $200.
They called me up and I spoke my piece, telling him that this had caused me a lot of money and aggravation but I realize accidents happen. I am however still angry that this punk didn’t even consider stopping, since his brake lights never went on, and made me chase him for over a mile flashing my lights and blowing my horn before I forced him to stop. He not only dissed me but the laws that the rest of us have to follow. No, I didn’t wave a flag.
The Judge ordered him to pay me my insurance deductible and the court their costs. He asked if the kid could pay $100 a month to which the lawyer replied no because he is unemployed. He did, however promise to pay when he got a job. Yeah sure. Exit stage right
So they validate my parking, thank me profusely and try to get me to sign on for their “Victim/Offender Reconciliation Program.” That’s where they get us together to talk until we hug. I declined because the little bastard still doesn’t speak any English.
The very next day I get a call from the DA’s office saying the kid indicated he was ready to settle his debt to me and the court. Huh? He was calling to verify the amount and my address. It’s like child support in that he pays the court and they pay me….I should expect a check in a month. If it happens, I’ll be surprised. They pitched the program again and I declined again citing his lack of English…again