Beat: Lawyer didn't show up

[bills217]

Brag: Got to spend the summer in Fort Myers watching a balla condo for my folks.

Beat: I got a speeding ticket there in June, on my way down, in the final 15 minutes of a 15-hour drive. (That in itself was a beat, esp. since I got clocked by an airplane, but that's another post.) I had already gotten one in March (only other week I was in Florida all year, go figure), and had used my once-per-year traffic school on that, so I found a lawyer to fight it for me. My dad is an attorney, and he spoke to him and the lawyer said it would be no trouble, he did it all the time, and he would do it as a professional courtesy to my dad and there would be no charge.

The lawyer and I went to the county clerk's office to request a court date, got it, I was gonna be out of town, lawyer said he would take care of it as long as I did online traffic school again and gave him the certificate before I left town (He said he got a friendly judge who would usually dismiss it when presented w/ a traffic school certificate on the court date assuming it was just a standard speeding ticket.) I did traffic school, gave him the certificate, as well as a gift certificate for helping out (esp. since I wasn't paying him), and went back home. This was about two weeks before the court date, Aug. 24.

I never heard back from anyone and assumed it was over and done with.

Yesterday, I get a letter saying my license will be revoked if I don't pay my fine of $171 by Dec. 8. I call to inquire, clerk's office says no one showed up on my court date.

Variance: Tried to get in contact w/ the lawyer's office today (like I have any recourse anyway), busy signal.

[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]