The Chainlink

So I was hit by a cab who pulled into the bike lane on Kinzie back in October and went to court in November. The driver said he had a lawyer but the lawyer didn't show and they rescheduled for December 27th. I was told not to show up because this next hearing would be to enter a plea and set a date for trial. Just logged into the circuit court website and the case was dismissed for "want of prosecution"...awesome. Not sure if this has happened to anyone else or what can be done at this point but I'm going to stop by the Daley Center tomorrow and ask a few questions.

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Was this a traffic ticket that was heard in a courtroom in the concourse level of the Daley Center?  Who told you not to show up?  If it was a "minor" traffic ticket, most judges will not continue a case again if there is no complaining witness.  It would not be unusual for the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution.  You can try talking to the corporation counsel assigned to the courtroom to see if they are willing to ask the judge to vacate the dismissal.  I don't know how likely that is since they have hundreds of cases each day.

Well yes, it was supposed to be heard on Nov 18 but the defendant's lawyer didn't show.

DRV VEHC BIC PATH PROHBTD SGNS

Talked with the corporation counsel this morning. Explained that I came to the original court date and how a second date was set and showed him the piece of paper he gave me with "CW Dismissed" written in his handwriting. Apparently someone forgot to write the part about me being dismissed from this second appearance on the actual court documents. He's going to talk with his supervisor about reinstating the case.

Yeah, who told you not to show up?  That makes no sense to me because without you there they can throw the ticket out.

Get an attorney that specializes in bike cases.  

There are 2 right now on the sidebar that advertise that many cyclists here have used.  

And call the Active Trans crash hotline.

And search the forums here...

Original court date was Nov 18. The Corporation Counsel told me that since the cab driver's lawyer didn't come on this day we needed to reschedule. This second date would be (Dec 27) for him to enter a plea and no testimony was needed. Guilty: he pays a fine and it goes on his record. Innocent: a trial date is set and I'm notified of when to show up. I was given a piece of paper saying I was dismissed from the Dec 27 hearing. This information was not copied/entered into the court documents.

Thanks Julie, Active Trans and the forums have been very helpful. It's how I knew I had to be there on the original date.

Posting this is an attempt to pay it forward...in case it happens to someone else. The attorney made it sound like this rescheduling thing was normal.

notoriousDUG said:

Yeah, who told you not to show up?  That makes no sense to me because without you there they can throw the ticket out.

Update: After talking with the corporate counsel and showing him the document the city has moved to reinstate the case. Arguments to be heard next month.

Nice, Daniel.  I hope the corporation counsel told you to be there. :-)

Ha! Yeah the letter was pretty specific.

Congrats!

Daniel Stone said:

Update: After talking with the corporate counsel and showing him the document the city has moved to reinstate the case. Arguments to be heard next month.

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