Submitted by seaawhisperer t3_zkx7zj in jerseycity
hi! wondering if anyone else has dealt with getting a court summons for a path fare evasion ticket in jersey city before? dealing with right now and would be immensely grateful for some advice. this is the first ticket i've gotten for anything in my life and it was a stupid mistake and i would take it back if i could, but alas we are here and it'd be great to speak to someone who has or is currently going through this. thank you
Look on the bright side - by the time you get out, all this construction will be done!
We found the optimist!
Whole Foods will be done?!?
Don’t waste your money on a lawyer. What’s going to happen is you’re going to plea guilty and apologize and promise not to do it again, the judge may or may not take you over the coals for a bit depending on their mood, and then you will have to pay a small fine, like 100 dollars or something. Whole thing should take like half an hour.
The $100 is nothing, but if it doesn’t get dismissed, will it not show up on OP’s criminal record? Avoiding that would totally be worth a lawyer in my book …
Not to my knowledge, plus something minor this really shouldn’t matter in the long run.
What? No! The OP should DEFINETLY get a lawyer! And remember: You get what you pay for! Don't just hire the ambulance chaser with the lowest hourly. You should be looking for $500/hr+
You’re a fellow lawyer huh?
Nope, but the OP could be facing serious, serious consequences and should exhaust all resources to avoid said consequences!
Agree completely. Can’t risk saying the wrong thing in front of the judge and getting thrown in prison for 20 years.
Right?
Better get a rock hammer and a poster of Rita Hayworth. You goin to Shawshank
it was stupid, i know. but im just anxious and have never been through anything like this before and wanted to get some advice
“I was stupid”, more like - I got caught. The path doesn’t even have emergency exit doors which means you probably jumped over the turnstile knowing what you were doing
Don't bother. Back in the day I pissed in public and got caught. It was a $75 piss. I went and pleaded guilty. Paid the fine. And got made fun of by friends and family. Done.
Use some of the money you saved and reach out to the bar association and find a lawyer who will answer your questions.
It's like $50 to get 3 recommendations from the Hudson County Bar last I checked, seemed too much without even checking if they have capacity to take a case first. Google & reviews can work too if money's tight
Call the court and ask to pay it online, it works.
i did call yesterday and they said id have to show up in court, plead guilty, and then the payment will be made available online. But i'll try calling again, thanks!
Got to tack on those court fees!
Dude your fine, show up be respectful plead guilty pay the fine. This is literally nothing to be anxious over. Stop jumping the turnstile or pay more attention to your surroundings before you do so.
....what's that like, $100?
i think! i dont mind paying the fine i just want to know more about the court process and everything.
ah. yea, it's so far from as serious as you're expecting. judge will barely give a shit, you'll talk to them for like 15 seconds good chance you'll get it dismissed, but you'll pay court fees that are like half that $100 anyways. weird they saying you have to show up tho. def confirm the online payment issue.
Jail. Easily.
It costs 2.75 dollars to not make that mistake.
Doesn’t answer the question mr perfect lol
Looool
At which station were you caught?
Op, at which station did you get caught?
I knew a guy who went to court for fare evasion.
I knew him…
I think you would have to go to court, plead guilty and pay the fine. There is no other way. Depending on the charge, this may or may not show up on your record (perhaps as civil offense/violation, definitely not a crime).
Sorry to have this happen to you man. In a perfect world, PATH, and all public transit for that matter, should be free.
Advice: don't evade fare. Pay it.
And pay your ticket.
Just go to court, pay the fees and be done! That’s all! You don’t have to speak in court and all. You can’t do it online.
All they want is their money. If they ask make up an excuse. I had to go to work but my paycheck was late cuz I'm new.....etc. whatever.
You will receive a notice (if you haven't already) providing instructions on how to sign up to get the Zoom link. When you do that, you will be instructed to watch a YouTube video explaining the virtual Municipal Court process.
This dude is definitely getting 3 months behind bars. You better learn how to throw those hands or its going to be a loooong 3 months.
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There should be instructions on how to pay the ticket. Just pay the ticket. I dont even think you need to show up- not if you are pleading guilty. I was caught on the light rail once.
i have to show up in court unfortunately, at least it’s virtual but yes I’ll be paying the ticket
You'll have to pay 100 bucks for trying to get a $2.75 fair for free
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Last time I saw Carl he had just said something similar... that was 5 years ago.
You're probably going to prison for a long time.
Can you send the zoom link so we can share your hearing online? This needs to be a warning for other people who evade paying the fare.
Might as well skip the court hearing, too. Thug life.
Totally agree. The baller move here is to not show up for court. F the man! And be sure to post about it on insta of tiktok or whatever
AWarTimeConsigliere t1_j02aokg wrote
Not going to sugarcoat this for you so I’ll just come out and say it…You’re likely going to jail. Now, when you get in there you’re going to have to make a statement to the rest of the people in there, so I want you to find the biggest, baddest guy in the room and knock him out. This will assert your dominance.
If you’re not a fighter then lay low and use your body as currency. You can become someone’s GF and they will protect you.
God speed. We’ll see you when you get out.