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Problems with the law.
- Thread starter The modifier
- Start date
)I agree. That's what I said earlier...if there's no noise ordinance pertaining to 6 o'clock then there's no reason for this cop to be throwing his weight around in the first place. I think it should be pretty obvious when a cop is just needling people because he can. Cops do it with skateboarders, too.
And Borp and Bad Brains, all three of them banned. Apparently, he just can't get enough.
If this cop needlessly harassed these people and wrote a $300.00 ticket, and there is no noise ordinance to support it, I want to hear all about it.
For the time being, I have my doubts.
For the time being, I have my doubts.
Hi folks. This thread has been cleaned. Please report troll posts and dupe accounts rather than responding to them in order to make the mods' workload lighter. Thanks!
If you would hang around TBOT 24X7X365, you wouldn't miss out on big events like guys who got banned coming back and opening two or three or four accounts so they can keep posting.
-Mike
Really? That'll be news to my retired cop guitar player.
electracoyote said:
This. If the police want the can always find something hang on you and they have the full power of the state behind them. It makes zero sense to anger them. And fyi, I can't tell you how many tickets I haven't gotten because I and nice and respectful to the officer.
Yes.
Not yet determined.
As someone who has received (and fought and won) a noise ordinance violation in which I was in no way violating the noise ordinances... don't assume that because he got a ticket he was actually violating the law.
Maybe, maybe not.
Easier? No.
More satisfying and part of our duty as a citizen? Yes.
My advice is always to shut your pie hole and say yes sir -THEN after they're gone you call the lawyer and start planning your court action. You can beat the cops in court, you'll never beat them on the street.
How is this?, I was simply running my fingers on the fretboard with the amp off and the violation was for "loud music", id understand if I had been doing what I did do with the amp on @ full blast, but at the time it was off, an unamplified bass guitar will not produce a sound loud enough to justify a "loud music" charge.
At least they didn't take your gear. a law was passed in San Diego a few years back to prevent loud parties, noise, etc.. coming from a residence that was considered a habitual offender. Meaning it's the discretion of the officer whether or not on the first offense they can confiscate your stuff for being a nuisance. So basically jamming in your garage (with a complaint from a neighbor) could lead to your stuff getting taken if you be an a$$ to the cop. even if it was the first time you had been reported. not many bands are willing to play house parties (or do garage jams in the beach areas) without noise permits now.
Fight the female crap though.. that's just wrong. if something so simple as a misspelling of a name can get stuff thrown out, i'm sure confusing you for another gender could be taken the same way. sounds like the dude already had a chip on his shoulder and you happened to be the recipient of his emotions..
Fight the female crap though.. that's just wrong. if something so simple as a misspelling of a name can get stuff thrown out, i'm sure confusing you for another gender could be taken the same way. sounds like the dude already had a chip on his shoulder and you happened to be the recipient of his emotions..
This is mostly what I was going to say...based on my experience as a reserve deputy.
I'd take this to court in a heartbeat.
MOST critical, research the noise ordinance. Is it written as a specific noise level, like "90dB at 25 feet from the source"? If so, then the officer MUST be able to produce patrol notes showing that the noise level was measured at that specific distance using a specific device, and that the device was calibrated before the measurement.
And if the cop didn't follow every rule, then he IS wrong, has no valid evidence, and you can say so in court.
If it's something like "Objectionable to the public," then you have a tougher obstacle to overcome. but chances are that the ordinance is not that vague.
I suspect you can also point out any inaccuracies in the citation (such as gender, name, etc) and ask for a dismissal based on those errors in facts. You may or may not get that to fly.
Be respectful but assertive, and DO NOT lose your temper.
I can't believe he detained you(put you in the cop car) for a noise ordinance ticket I would call a lawyer and talk things over with them.
Been there. Done that.
First: The vast majority of cops would rather give you a verbal warning then hear you guys all politley agree to stay quiet so they can go hang out at the Dunken Donuts for the rest of the night without having to be called back to your practice place an hour later for the same thing.
If the cops hear you acting like smart asses this tells them that you haven't gotten the message and need to pay a $300 ticket in order to understand that they mean business.
Second: Just because the cop wrote a ticket doesn't mean you are guilty of violating the noise ordinance. FIND A COPY OF THE NOISE ORDINANCE AND READ IT. I know from experience that many noise ordinances have specific decibel levels permitted at specific times of the day and that there are rules the police must follow whern enforcing the ordinance.
As an example, an ordinance might prohibit noise exceeding 70dB, A-weighted, as measured from the nearest point on public or private property adjacent to the location of the noise complaint. If this is how your noise ordinance reads then it will be necessary for the police to demostrate through use of an SPL meter that the ordinance was indeed violated. Assuming he didn't you have a lot going for you if you contest the ticket. Of course, this assumes you can be very polite and respectful to the judge as you're explaining your side of the case.
Even if the noise ordinance is purposely vague or doesn't require anything more than an officer's statement that you were "too loud", you might still be able to ask for leniency from a judge on the basis that you weren't intentionally being loud and would have gladly kept quiet if you had been given a warning instead of just a ticket right up front. This isn't really a legal defense but instead is a shameless "begging for mercy" so they might at least reduce the fine since you're a poor, starving musician. Again, this assumes you can truly pull off acting polite and respectful to the judge - and this is walking a fine line, because they've heard this song and dance before. It's worth a shot, though, if you have nothing else to lose.
Good luck.
First: The vast majority of cops would rather give you a verbal warning then hear you guys all politley agree to stay quiet so they can go hang out at the Dunken Donuts for the rest of the night without having to be called back to your practice place an hour later for the same thing.
If the cops hear you acting like smart asses this tells them that you haven't gotten the message and need to pay a $300 ticket in order to understand that they mean business.
Second: Just because the cop wrote a ticket doesn't mean you are guilty of violating the noise ordinance. FIND A COPY OF THE NOISE ORDINANCE AND READ IT. I know from experience that many noise ordinances have specific decibel levels permitted at specific times of the day and that there are rules the police must follow whern enforcing the ordinance.
As an example, an ordinance might prohibit noise exceeding 70dB, A-weighted, as measured from the nearest point on public or private property adjacent to the location of the noise complaint. If this is how your noise ordinance reads then it will be necessary for the police to demostrate through use of an SPL meter that the ordinance was indeed violated. Assuming he didn't you have a lot going for you if you contest the ticket. Of course, this assumes you can be very polite and respectful to the judge as you're explaining your side of the case.
Even if the noise ordinance is purposely vague or doesn't require anything more than an officer's statement that you were "too loud", you might still be able to ask for leniency from a judge on the basis that you weren't intentionally being loud and would have gladly kept quiet if you had been given a warning instead of just a ticket right up front. This isn't really a legal defense but instead is a shameless "begging for mercy" so they might at least reduce the fine since you're a poor, starving musician. Again, this assumes you can truly pull off acting polite and respectful to the judge - and this is walking a fine line, because they've heard this song and dance before. It's worth a shot, though, if you have nothing else to lose.
Good luck.
fight it. Not fighting something like this is why racial/age/etc profiling happens.
A badge does not suddenly cure someone of being a bully and an idiot.
My outlook is that I will always treat an officer with respect, speak when spoken to, listen when asked to listen and give the guy the benefit of the doubt. If the guy's a douche, then I'm going to court and will fight the idiot tooth and nail if I had to.
A badge does not suddenly cure someone of being a bully and an idiot.
My outlook is that I will always treat an officer with respect, speak when spoken to, listen when asked to listen and give the guy the benefit of the doubt. If the guy's a douche, then I'm going to court and will fight the idiot tooth and nail if I had to.
I've had numerous (upwards of a dozen) friends get out of tickets/fines because of things as simple as spelling errors on the ticket.
By him putting your gender down as female, he gave you a VERY VERY VERY easy out.
Forget looking into noise ordinances and all that jazz...you got this beaten already if you care to.
By him putting your gender down as female, he gave you a VERY VERY VERY easy out.
Forget looking into noise ordinances and all that jazz...you got this beaten already if you care to.
"cops are just ultra-conservative and have the same chip on their shoulder they've had for the past 50 years, where musicians, hippies and anyone with long hair are their enemies just for the hell of it so he wrote "girl" on your ticket. It's a stupid way to view the world but what can you do?"
Sounds to me like you have a similar chip on your shoulder where anyone wearing a badge and a gun is your enemy.
Sounds to me like you have a similar chip on your shoulder where anyone wearing a badge and a gun is your enemy.
