Very late one Saturday night I was on my way home from a function and usually I will just take the street way home... Well with it being nearly 5 am I decided to hope the freeway for a quicker faster way home. The freeway was so dark. Me and another car followed each other for miles. By the time we both threw the breaks on, the cruiser had already pulled out of the center where they tend to sit while they are clocking drivers for speed. Close to a exit both me and the other car opted to get off to avoid the cop... Now to add extra suspense to this familiar tale, I will share with you that at the time of this incident, I had been driving for months with an expired license and tags, for my own private study on how long I could get away with it..... apparently only 4 months :-( . From my experience almost every car that I known to have caused an accident seemingly never have any insurance or a driver license. I decided this year to take my chances and see how long I could get by with expired tags and license) The exit we happened to choose was a three lane exit. I chose to go left, the other driver chose to go right and the cop sat in the middle lane until the light changed green. As soon as I made the turn so did he, and the lights brightly came on. I banged my hand on the steering wheel because I knew my current status. The police officer approached my car and gave me a ticket for one of the two offenses as if he was doing me some favor. The total cost came up to $95 dollars. I was so irritated although clearly wrong.... I decided to take my chance in the courthouse to refute the charges. Now, I was obviously guilty, but that wasn't a deterrent in the least because in this country, guilt is no indication that one will actually be convicted for their crimes. As we all know Mr. George Zimmerman is a recent example of how obvious guilt can walk free without receiving any related charges, which I kindly explained to the prosecutor that tried to convince me to simply pay the ticket instead of taking it to trial. He said to me, "Obviously you were driving without your license in order, what is there to negotiate?", and I responded, candidly (in popular Afrikan Superstar fashion) "In a country where George Zimmerman walks free, I will certainly take my chances, schedule my court date please." And just like that, he was silenced...... but all the more amazing, was how prior to the court date, I was offered to settle for only the court costs of $50, which I felt like was a reasonable cost to pay.The prosecutor told me they didn't want to have to pay the officer overtime to appear in court. I'm astonished that my guilty persistence paid off..... that despite my obvious crime... I was able to lessen my out of pocket costs.... on a small scale this is the type of abuse that runs rampant in our judicial system... and it is so sickening. However..... with it being a new year.... I'm on a new tract, and that tract is #PushTheEnvelope; #NotGuilty. From this point on.... I will not hesitate to try my hand at any favorable outcome. It is a mind boggling concept for those of us who believe in being right, and disciplining ourselves to do right even when others are not looking, however, I am learning in my adulthood that in many many cases, chances are to be taken. If by chance the courts would have found me guilty, No sweat, because I have never not once disputed my guilt, however, I was going to ride the wagon until the wheels fell off. :-)
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