noise violation/disorderly conduct...?

[triumphant675r]

So, I have court on Friday for something that happened back in February. I was bartending for a place called mango's on westhiemer/taft and it was Dub night, so there was a DJ playing regge dub, a sound guy, me, and a barback tending to a litttle over a hundred people. I had asked the sound guy twice to turn the bass down a little, which he did, and two patrol cars stopped by the bar. Avant garden, the bar next door wasw having an outdoor performance and was written a ticket for noise violation. Long before the officers even got out of their car to walk next door I had the sound guy cut the volume even lower. After they were done next door the officers came into mangos demanding to speak to the owner. (I recognized one as the officer who had been there a few weeks back, whom I very politely told i would need a decibal reading before i signed a ticket, and he left) Now he was with his SGT. I told them the owner was picking up inventory and would be back shortly. The sgt refused to show me a decibal reading, and insisted that because the owner was not there, I was going to recieve the ticket. I reminded the officer the person in charge of the establishment is to be held responsible for the volume, and that was not me. He told me to give him my ID so he could write the ticket and "go back to a dark hole to drink my coffee". I said, "I'm not sure i have my ID with me, and even so, I'm under intructions by the owner, who I just called, not to talk to you, but to wait for his arrival, but I will happily ask the dj to quit playing until this is resolved" he then gave me two options. Find my ID and take the ticket, or go to jail. So I gave him my ID, he wrote the ticket, and added disorderly conduct to it.:banghead:

What can i expect to happen friday? I have trial by judge at 1400 lubbok, court 1. If he doesn't show does it get dismissed? If not, what size fine am I looking at?

[NewRider]

What can i expect to happen friday? I have trial by judge at 1400 lubbok, court 1. If he doesn't show does it get dismissed? If not, what size fine am I looking at?

What size fine are YOU looking at?? Don't you mean your boss??

I don't think they have a leg to stand on, but I'm no lawyer...:shrug:

[camaroz2866]

u need to bring the owner with you and the owner needs to get u a attorny

[DvlRacer]

Most stories like this there is a lot left out, but for anyone who has met Cory, this is likely the entire situation and the cop(s) were just on ego trips. Good luck dude, let me know if you need any help.

And big +1 on this being the owner's issue, make sure he lawyers you up and he covers any and all expenses.

[triumphant675r]

u need to bring the owner with you and the owner needs to get u a attorny

the owner and I are not in good standing, because when I got my W-2 it said SS got 4g from me and when i called them they didn't even recieve half of that amount, and through snooping around i found he was stealing money from our payroll, our checks had "misc. witholdings" in the hundreds with no explanation, but that's another issue entirely. so it's just me...and no money for an attourney

[witchdoctor575]

hope you still don't work there still!

[triumphant675r]

Most stories like this there is a lot left out, but for anyone who has met Cory, this is likely the entire situation and the cop(s) were just on ego trips. Good luck dude, let me know if you need any help.

And big +1 on this being the owner's issue, make sure he lawyers you up and he covers any and all expenses.

thanks man lol, and yeah there had been several times that officers told us to shut it down and i told them not untill you give me a decibal reading, because that music/band etc is the only reason people come to drink and tip me lol. so i'm sure they were pretty pissed by then

[camaroz2866]

sounds like u need to contact texas worksourse or whatever their called. that handle all that for u. i don't see why the judge wouldn't side with you on it, thats ridiculous but then again i have court on friday for something even more ridiculous!!! a guy pointed a gun at me and i pulled mine out to defend myself(was driving) and just chambered it, didn't even point it at him and he called cops and they didn't even search his car or him and i got arrested! thats all to the T in documents and all. and the da wont dismiss it. so now i gotta pay my attorney to fight it, have pretrial this friday

[DvlRacer]

Verse yourself on the laws in their entirety, it's not unheard of for cops to write tickets that don't even apply to the situation in the hopes of the person admitting guilt and paying the fine. Go into court and make it obvious you know what you're talking about unlike 95% of the un-lawyered defendants that will be there. Also, call or PM Fresnel on this forum, inquire about some type of payment plan with him for his services and discuss what legal and monetary recourse you have against your former employer after the trial.

[craigntx]

yeah how much is the noise thing? i have a wknd gig overseeing parties, i gots to know this sh!t

[K. Oliveira]

Dude, good standing or not he still needs to fulfill his obligations and responsiblities as owner. Not your bar, he needs to help you out with this or he should find himself in court against you.

[triumphant675r]

Verse yourself on the laws in their entirety, it's not unheard of for cops to write tickets that don't even apply to the situation in the hopes of the person admitting guilt and paying the fine. Go into court and make it obvious you know what you're talking about unlike 95% of the un-lawyered defendants that will be there. Also, call or PM Fresnel on this forum, inquire about some type of payment plan with him for his services and discuss what legal and monetary recourse you have against your former employer after the trial.

That's what i'll have to do, it's how i got that gnarly toll violation dismissed :)
I'll be doing some research before friday. I'm afraid it might be too late to secure representation at this point, but it's worth a try :)

[wackjum]

Depending on how they charged you for the disorderly, there could be a Constitutional double jeopardy violation. One of the causes of action for disorderly conduct is making an unreasonable noise. I would say this requires the same elements that go towards proving the city noise ordinance.

Both offenses are a maximum $500 fine, plus court costs. The specific amount of your fine, if found guilty, will be up to the fact finder (judge or jury) within the range of $1 to $500.

Incidentally, my case set for Friday has been moved to December. So I am available for Friday.

[triumphant675r]

pm en route