Perry Mason

Today I had to go to traffic court. I know it has nothing to do really with Perry Mason because hes a criminal lawyer and well I'm not a lawyer at all. But I have dreamt of playing one on tv tho LOL.

I had a quick look back and didn't find a post about this so I will fill you in...

December 24, 2007 I remember it as if it were only yesterday.....

It was a cold winter night on the island and it was damp from some earlier rain. I was working at Vic Truss on the graveyard shift and decided to do something nice for the guys. I drove to Mill Bay to pick up coffee and doughnuts for the boys. I was driving Patty's car as the heater in mine doesn't work.

I had left at around 12:30am to give me time to be back around 1:00am when the boys were going to take break. There was nothing unusual about the drive there although I had taken a different road than I had ever taken before. It was just to save time but I was a little nervous I might get lost. I found the Tim Horton's no problem but that is where things started to take a turn for the worse.

When I went into the Tim's I noticed that the racks were all pretty bare. When I had asked for the coffee there was none ready I would have to wait. I tried to get a dozen doughnuts but they only had six so I had to get some muffins which were very low in stock as well. I was feeling anxious knowing that the guys in the shop would take break if I was back or not. I finally got my order and rushed out to the car. It was now 12:55am.

I was feeling a bit ticked off so I turned the stereo up and headed out onto the hwy back to Vic Truss. There was a great driving song on and I'm almost positive it was Radar Love. I was just about to take a sip of my pop and that's when I seen it. A pair of headlights and the red lights of a police cruiser. I took a quick look around as I pulled my foot of the gas peddle but there was not another car in sight so I knew it was me he was gunning for. I never even noticed what speed I was doing.

The rest is a bit of a blur but I'll tell the story as best as I can recall....

I pulled over to the side of the hwy and watched the police cruiser pull up behind me. I turned the music down as the officer had exited his car and then I pounded on the steering wheel cursing under my breath. I was so freaking polite to the officer and did everything I was asked. I produced my license and insurance and even the registration. He took the info back to his car and I sat and hung my head in shame. He came back and handed me my info back then he shoved a black book in my face asking me to sign his little ticket. I did all the time mumbling under my breath what a jerk this guy was on Christmas eve. He peeled of my copy and handed it to me then said drive safe as he turned to walk away.

Now this is where I think the story took a little bit of a turn. Because as he walked away I looked out the window and said Merry Christmas. He stopped and went huh and then said oh Merry Christmas to you. The ticket was almost 300 bucks for excessive speeding. I don't think he ever told me how fast I was going.

Well fast forward to today. I had filed on the last day allowed because I really didn't know what I was going to fight it on. I just thought I had to take a chance. So I got a letter in the mail about a month ago that said to dispute this ticket you must show up at her majesty's court on June 6, 2008 in the city of Duncan at 1:30pm.

So today at 1:00pm I went to the court house and found where I had to go. There were a few other people sitting with me and when I started to talk to them I realized they had all been through this before. I was still pretty nervous and told them I was just hoping that the officer didn't show up. The guy beside me said he had the same officer and that his name was on the docket at least 6 times so he would probably be there.

I didn't even recognize him until I seen his name on his shirt. Actually I didn't recognize him then either but he did have the right name on his shirt. He started asking everyone outside what they were there for and what they were going to plead. When he asked me I said I guess I'll dispute the fine as most of the others had said. I was the 3rd or 4th person he had talked to but when we got in the court room he had taken every one else that was there before me. Everyone that plead guilty with a reason had their fine dropped to a normal speeding ticket and 196 dollar fine.

The officer looked around the court and I was the only person still sitting there. He came over and asked my name and I told him like I had told him outside the court room. Then he went back and started to shuffle through his papers and I started to get a bit excited because he didn't seem to be able to find mine. Then all of a sudden I notice him pick one up and start thumbing through the pages. I knew it was mine and he turned and looked at me and said Mr Gower please step forward. I wanted to yell out I was framed it wasn't me but I quietly walked up in front of the judge and took my place with my head hung low. The judge said are you Kevin Gower and I said yes I am your honour good afternoon. He said good afternoon to you too sir. Then the officer flipped a couple pages of his notes and said your honour it appears that I didn't put down any notes to substantiate this claim. The judge said then your telling me that you don't have the evidence to proceed and the officer said no your honour. Then the judge said in the matter of the crown vs Kevin Gower the charges are with drawn and you are free to go. I looked up amazed and said thank you your honour and then turned and said thank you to the officer.

I'm free, I'm free !!!! WEll at least I'm not more broke then I already am.

So I jumped in my car, peeled out of the gravel parking lot with out stopping or signaling and rushed home to write this blog.

So there you have it!!!