I am a 28 year old ADHD Jersey girl who loves politics, movies, music, popular culture, and being Catholic. I'm just here to share about life. Filed under: Uncategorized
If this is your first encounter with this saga, I highly recommend you start at the beginning with HIT AND RUN, PART I.
Part IV
It was Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Just nine weeks prior I had stood before the municipal judge and had my case dismissed.
I had spent most of the morning in a slight daze, barely able to focus on my work. When lunchtime came the knots in my stomach grew, perhaps in anticipation of what was to come. I headed home to change clothes and prepare myself. After checking myself over in the mirror to ensure that buttons were buttoned and wrinkles were non-existent, I drew in a deep breath and reminded myself that the law was on my side.
The drive to the courthouse was short. As I pulled into the parking lot I scanned the vehicles, looking for the car that had tried to run me off the road. I didn’t see it, but I knew that meant nothing. It was 1:30pm. Court was set to begin at 1pm, but my lawyer had a prior obligation that set back our case until 2pm. I was grateful for that delay. It gave me the opportunity to arrive later than others and not risk seeing my accuser in the parking lot. In truth, I was afraid he’d try to confront me.
I parked my car and headed into the courthouse. I was not surprised to see that the prosecutor was still dealing with pleas and wondered just how long it’d take for court to enter into session. While the worry was eating away at me inside, I was quick to smile and chat pleasantly with the officer who checked my bag and scanned me. He asked if I had a lawyer and when I responded affirmatively, he directed me to the left side of the courtroom.
As I entered the courtroom I stood in the center aisle and scanned the room for my accuser, hoping he had neglected to show as he had previously done. My hope was wasted. I immediately recognized the man, even though he was two rows up and all the way to the right. He was facing forward. I could only see part of his face, but I knew without a doubt that this was the man. I walked to the left side of the room and took a seat in the front row, as close to the wall as possible. I did not know if he had recognized me or even seen me, but I wanted as much distance as possible.
In an effort to calm my nerves I pulled out a Sudoku book and began chipping away at the puzzles. I was pleased to see my lawyer arrive at 1:45pm. He greeted me. Before he could ask I told him that the accuser was present and seemingly without a lawyer. I quickly described the man and his location. He looked, nodded, then added that the state trooper who had handled the matter was in attendance as well. He went over the process that would most likely take place and assured me again that I had nothing to worry about. I, meanwhile, tried to remind myself to breathe.
It was almost 2pm when the judge and prosecutor entered the courtroom. They tended to the cases that had been pleaded out first, saving possible trials for last. I glanced up every once and again from the Sudoku book and caught bits and pieces of stories and charges, wondering if I’d come across anyone I knew.
Incidentally, there was a young woman who was brought forth on assault charges that I recognized. She was a girl I had gone to high school with. A girl that bullied and struck me on more than one occasion. Neither her presence nor her charges surprised me. The charges ended up being dropped by her accuser, her mom. But a stern warning was dealt, as this was not her first appearance in the matter.
I could not help but shake my head after she walked away.
At about 2:40pm the last of the pleaded out cases had been heard and the prosecutor motioned for us to approach as he told the judge of our case.
I grabbed my belongings and followed my lawyer. The accuser approached(lawyer-less) and was directed to sit at the table opposite the prosecutor. Meanwhile, a seat was procured for me at the table with the prosecutor and the trooper. Ultimately, the prosecutor sat closest to the center aisle, followed by the trooper, myself, and my lawyer. (It was determined that the combination of the state having a case against my accuser, and the court seeing me as the victim, that seating me with the prosecution was apropos.)
After the judge looked over the details of the case I was sworn in as a witness and asked to testify. The trial had begun. The judge asked me to explain what had happened, so I told him of the incident. He asked a couple questions of me then asked the accuser if he had any questions for me. The accuser was quick to say yes and even quicker to make a fool of himself.
While attempting to ask questions he injected pieces of his own story which caused the judge to interject several times. Both the prosecutor and judge interjected when he began to ask the same questions over and over. “If I hit your car, why didn’t you pull over like I did?” seemed to be his favorite question. I did my best to answer his questions and refrain from elaborating where it was not needed.
The trial continued, the trooper was sworn in and asked to give his testimony. He testified that had responded to a 911 call. He stated that he found evidence on my vehicle that there had been a collision. He also testified that I had given him information which included vehicle description, license plate number, and physical description of the driver and his clothing. He said that he was able to use the information I had given him to locate the driver at his place of residence. He said that my description of the man was exact, as was that of the vehicle. The trooper also noted that when he saw the vehicle there were markings that indicated that the vehicle had, in fact, collided with mine.
At this point, the judge started to ask the trooper questions, ending with the findings of the trooper as an accident reconstruction specialist. The trooper said that without a doubt there had been a collision and that evidence pointed to the accuser being the responsible party.
After the judge heard the trooper, the accuser had the chance to question him. Again, he was quick to make himself look bad.
The accuser’s second round of questions coupled with the testimony of the trooper to give me hope that justice would prevail.
TO BE CONTINUED….
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