Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 (TR!!)

[NozeCandy]

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So for pleading not guilty, I'm going to end up paying $146, versus the $94 ticket I could have just paid. I guess it might be worth it to get the charges dropped.

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For my MIP (alcohol), the fine would have just been $300. But since I went through the steps to get it off my record, I had to go to court 4 times. First, to see the magistrate. Second, to meet with the prosecutor. Third, to meet with an alcohol counselor to see if I had a problem (who contradicted herself immensely in the report she filed), and fourth, to actually see the judge. I then had to go to a MADD sob session for mothers who had their kids killed by drunk drivers (even though my offense had nothing to do with a car and it was pretty well proven that I had zero plans to operate a vehicle that night) and a session at my school that went over the effects of alcohol. Oh, and still pay a fine and court fees.

All told, between the fines, fees, travel costs, missed work time, and paying for the counseling/MADD/alcohol effects sessions, I paid somewhere around $1200 for drinking alcohol in the middle of a house (the cops walked right in the front door) when I was 19.