in court most of this week, after nearly 3 1/2 years (Page 2/4)
maryjane APR 27, 01:04 PM
day 2 of the county's part began and I was on the stand for about 45 minutes. Will be re-called once the defense mounts their side of it.
ls3mach APR 27, 05:08 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:

Yeah... being subpoenaed as a witness always places the burden on the witness. I understand the need for it, but it does become a pain in the ass. Especially since most courthouses won't even validate your parking. You're entitled to pay for the day, but there's so many God-damned forms to fill out for it that no one does it. They hand you a clip board with like 6 sheets of paper on it that need to be filled out. It should be 1 sheet of paper... address to send the check. I've been subpoenaed three times for witnessing an accident. Never been called up to give testimony, just the simple fact that I show up changes the course of the defense... which is a waste of my time. If I'm going to be there, I plan to say **** .

I was asked to be an expert witness on a Federal appeals case in support of the U.S. Government (Office of General Council), and I enjoyed that... the whole thing was done in one long day, and it was in Dallas... so I only had to drive from SA the night before, and leave after the case.



I don't even bother stopping and saying I am a witness just for this reason. I have heard Samaritan laws going both ways so unless it is a deserted area, I am not even stopping for accidents I see. Stopped doing this probably 15 years ago.

I still pick up strangers I see walking, but I realize that if I get stopped and they have drugs on them, they are for sure ditching them in my vehicle and blaming me, so I may even knock this off too. I can't tell you how many people I've pulled out of ditches, snow drifts, changed flats, etc. Normal things I was taught as a gentleman to do. Now as an adult I am admonished for manors and potentially in trouble for helping. Despite the fact that helping was already an inconvenience I hadn't scheduled for that day.

Today I heard they had a free pet food give away. I assumed this would be a bunch of close dated or out of date stuff, but figured I'd check it out. It was 100% not what I expected. I got there way too early, about 45 minutes, as I thought it was further away. This area was suspect. It was at a child's park too. Low low end, then I see a 90k truck parked at a house with a fence and gate worth more than the neighbors house. It was as though I was playing spot the drug dealer. I take few laps around the park. The truck pulls up with its' trailer of food. Lots of old and disabled people, so I go offer to help setup. I get all their tables and chairs setup. Turns out it is actually some kind of food pantry thing. They were also helping people with their Medicaid and Medicare stuff. I helped until the pet stuff showed. They were giving away 4.25lb bags of a decent dog food and they only had cat treats. I don't have any doggies, so I am just going to give that away.

No idea where the hell that was going, but it felt nice to be able to help and not worry about it interrupting my life. I doubt I do it again, unless a handful of friends want to go. It wasn't enough dog food to matter (8.5lbs total) and cat treats aren't terribly expensive either. I am not impoverished so I took none of the people food. I doubt I go again since I don't need dog food and they only sometimes have cat food. We get on hard times I am letting his ass outside to go find food for himself.

Todd I didn't know that about how the pay worked. I thought everyone got a flat rate and it just kind of happened. I have been salary off and on since about 19, but even when I take hourly money I can't imagine they reimburse for that full amount, right?
82-T/A [At Work] APR 28, 09:44 AM

quote
Originally posted by ls3mach:


I don't even bother stopping and saying I am a witness just for this reason. I have heard Samaritan laws going both ways so unless it is a deserted area, I am not even stopping for accidents I see. Stopped doing this probably 15 years ago.

I still pick up strangers I see walking, but I realize that if I get stopped and they have drugs on them, they are for sure ditching them in my vehicle and blaming me, so I may even knock this off too. I can't tell you how many people I've pulled out of ditches, snow drifts, changed flats, etc. Normal things I was taught as a gentleman to do. Now as an adult I am admonished for manors and potentially in trouble for helping. Despite the fact that helping was already an inconvenience I hadn't scheduled for that day.

Today I heard they had a free pet food give away. I assumed this would be a bunch of close dated or out of date stuff, but figured I'd check it out. It was 100% not what I expected. I got there way too early, about 45 minutes, as I thought it was further away. This area was suspect. It was at a child's park too. Low low end, then I see a 90k truck parked at a house with a fence and gate worth more than the neighbors house. It was as though I was playing spot the drug dealer. I take few laps around the park. The truck pulls up with its' trailer of food. Lots of old and disabled people, so I go offer to help setup. I get all their tables and chairs setup. Turns out it is actually some kind of food pantry thing. They were also helping people with their Medicaid and Medicare stuff. I helped until the pet stuff showed. They were giving away 4.25lb bags of a decent dog food and they only had cat treats. I don't have any doggies, so I am just going to give that away.

No idea where the hell that was going, but it felt nice to be able to help and not worry about it interrupting my life. I doubt I do it again, unless a handful of friends want to go. It wasn't enough dog food to matter (8.5lbs total) and cat treats aren't terribly expensive either. I am not impoverished so I took none of the people food. I doubt I go again since I don't need dog food and they only sometimes have cat food. We get on hard times I am letting his ass outside to go find food for himself.

Todd I didn't know that about how the pay worked. I thought everyone got a flat rate and it just kind of happened. I have been salary off and on since about 19, but even when I take hourly money I can't imagine they reimburse for that full amount, right?




Yeah, I still do it because I strongly believe that good people need help, and bad people need to own up to their mistakes. We all make mistakes, but it's different when you hit someone else, are clearly at fault, and try to get out of it ... which leads the other person having to foot the bill for your (proverbially speaking) screw-ups. In every case I've been involved in, that was the result. Had I not shown up to them, the insurance company wouldn't have paid out, and the other person would have been liable for their own damages. Because I showed up, the defendant for the person allegedly causing the accident ended up having their insurance pay... which is how it should be. That said, the courts always end up being super lenient... like, fining them $50 bucks and then letting them off. Not for me to say... I'm just there to give my side of the story when asked.

The expert witness duty was fun though, I liked that.


You absolutely should not be picking up strangers. The ONLY time I ever did that, was I saw a Fiero on the side of the road, and the guy needed help, and I was in my Fiero. I drove the guy to the gas station so he could make a call and get a tow truck, and that was all he needed. But you're really asking for trouble. Everyone has a cell phone today. When I helped that guy, it was ~20 years ago. If you have insurance, almost all insurance companies come with roadside assistance now. So you don't really NEED to stop for anyone, unless it's an old person, and they sure as **** carry roadside assistance now too.

But yeah... on the pay thing. I recall that it was $32 or $35. I don't think it was hourly... so I don't know. I think it was just the cost to cover parking and our time. It's not like $32 was so unimportant to me, but I wasn't about to fill out 6 forms for it... so I just handed it back. When I was an expert witness, I was a Federal employee, so it was just time worked... travel and time in court.
maryjane APR 28, 10:31 AM
We have no parking 'validation' here. The whole town (county seat) has only 860 people in it. Ya just find a place to park and pull in.



This has been a big inconvenience, as it has halted most of my packing and moving efforts. Even when/if not in court, I'm in zoom or face to face conference with either prosecution or defense team.

82-T/A [At Work] APR 28, 11:18 AM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

We have no parking 'validation' here. The whole town (county seat) has only 860 people in it. Ya just find a place to park and pull in.



This has been a big inconvenience, as it has halted most of my packing and moving efforts. Even when/if not in court, I'm in zoom or face to face conference with either prosecution or defense team.




How was the Taco Express? Any good?
maryjane APR 28, 12:39 PM
I ate at the Paradise grill each day.
2.5 APR 28, 02:24 PM
Interesting both sides want to talk to you in court. Are you being led by both?

"objection, leading the witness"!



Here's hoping its over soon.

[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 04-28-2022).]

theBDub APR 28, 03:52 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:

Yeah... being subpoenaed as a witness always places the burden on the witness. I understand the need for it, but it does become a pain in the ass. Especially since most courthouses won't even validate your parking. You're entitled to pay for the day, but there's so many God-damned forms to fill out for it that no one does it. They hand you a clip board with like 6 sheets of paper on it that need to be filled out. It should be 1 sheet of paper... address to send the check. I've been subpoenaed three times for witnessing an accident. Never been called up to give testimony, just the simple fact that I show up changes the course of the defense... which is a waste of my time. If I'm going to be there, I plan to say **** .

I was asked to be an expert witness on a Federal appeals case in support of the U.S. Government (Office of General Council), and I enjoyed that... the whole thing was done in one long day, and it was in Dallas... so I only had to drive from SA the night before, and leave after the case.



I've served on jury duty a few times, which I assume is a similar pay structure. It was something like $15/day, it was absurd.


quote
Originally posted by ls3mach:


I don't even bother stopping and saying I am a witness just for this reason. I have heard Samaritan laws going both ways so unless it is a deserted area, I am not even stopping for accidents I see. Stopped doing this probably 15 years ago.

I still pick up strangers I see walking, but I realize that if I get stopped and they have drugs on them, they are for sure ditching them in my vehicle and blaming me, so I may even knock this off too. I can't tell you how many people I've pulled out of ditches, snow drifts, changed flats, etc. Normal things I was taught as a gentleman to do. Now as an adult I am admonished for manors and potentially in trouble for helping. Despite the fact that helping was already an inconvenience I hadn't scheduled for that day.

Today I heard they had a free pet food give away. I assumed this would be a bunch of close dated or out of date stuff, but figured I'd check it out. It was 100% not what I expected. I got there way too early, about 45 minutes, as I thought it was further away. This area was suspect. It was at a child's park too. Low low end, then I see a 90k truck parked at a house with a fence and gate worth more than the neighbors house. It was as though I was playing spot the drug dealer. I take few laps around the park. The truck pulls up with its' trailer of food. Lots of old and disabled people, so I go offer to help setup. I get all their tables and chairs setup. Turns out it is actually some kind of food pantry thing. They were also helping people with their Medicaid and Medicare stuff. I helped until the pet stuff showed. They were giving away 4.25lb bags of a decent dog food and they only had cat treats. I don't have any doggies, so I am just going to give that away.

No idea where the hell that was going, but it felt nice to be able to help and not worry about it interrupting my life. I doubt I do it again, unless a handful of friends want to go. It wasn't enough dog food to matter (8.5lbs total) and cat treats aren't terribly expensive either. I am not impoverished so I took none of the people food. I doubt I go again since I don't need dog food and they only sometimes have cat food. We get on hard times I am letting his ass outside to go find food for himself.

Todd I didn't know that about how the pay worked. I thought everyone got a flat rate and it just kind of happened. I have been salary off and on since about 19, but even when I take hourly money I can't imagine they reimburse for that full amount, right?




quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:


You absolutely should not be picking up strangers. The ONLY time I ever did that, was I saw a Fiero on the side of the road, and the guy needed help, and I was in my Fiero. I drove the guy to the gas station so he could make a call and get a tow truck, and that was all he needed. But you're really asking for trouble. Everyone has a cell phone today. When I helped that guy, it was ~20 years ago. If you have insurance, almost all insurance companies come with roadside assistance now. So you don't really NEED to stop for anyone, unless it's an old person, and they sure as **** carry roadside assistance now too.

But yeah... on the pay thing. I recall that it was $32 or $35. I don't think it was hourly... so I don't know. I think it was just the cost to cover parking and our time. It's not like $32 was so unimportant to me, but I wasn't about to fill out 6 forms for it... so I just handed it back. When I was an expert witness, I was a Federal employee, so it was just time worked... travel and time in court.



I've picked up probably 20 people or so over the years. The last 5 or so were all incredibly entitled and treated me like a taxi. Now that even homeless people have cell phones, I've ended that. Back when I did pick up strangers, I'd keep a knife in my car. I've been meaning to set it up again (I strap it to my seat so it stays out of the way and out of sight) but keep forgetting.
Patrick APR 28, 04:00 PM

quote
Originally posted by 2.5:

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE



Andy Griffith belongs in Mayberry. This is a job for a pro.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 04-28-2022).]

williegoat APR 28, 04:28 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Andy Griffith belongs in Mayberry. This is a job for a pro.




quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

We have no parking 'validation' here. The whole town (county seat) has only 860 people in it. Ya just find a place to park and pull in.





Sounds like Mayberry to me.