Florida
Two Department of Environmental Protection officers pulled me over in Fort Myers Florida, near the beach, for "using a transport tag for recreational purposes," a criminal misdemeanor. My husband owns a mechanical shop and the car belonged to his shop after the customer refused to pay for a new motor. I was making a weekend trip from sarasota to fort myers (hour and 15 minutes away) on business and he asked me to take this car and let him know how it performed at higher speeds and with more use than it would get on short test drives around our city. He wanted to know if it was suitable for resale (it's a 93) or if the motor should just be pulled and the car scrapped. This is legal under the statute (320.133 (1)) but these two officers didn't seem to realize this. Insurance, license, and all other paperwork was presented to back up what I was saying, but they still cited me, arrested me, searched my vehicle and purse and then un-arrested me and sent me on my way five minutes after arresting me... yes, I have filed a formal complaint with their supervisor and it has been deemed valid at first glance and should be dealt with this week.
They say they can't just make the citation go away, so my question is - how can I walk into court and get these charges dismissed without having to incur the costs of legal help, something I feel is unfair to me considering I have not done anything wrong.
These two young officers had no idea what a transport tag is - and how it is supposed to be used - they didn't even know that the information for the tag had to be secured to the back of it. They thought the tags were to be used only for moving a vehicle from "point A to point B," something that's difficult on a test drive.
I was not speeding or under the influence of anything and they found nothing in the car, by the way, but I was on the side of the road for a total of 1 hour and 10 minutes while they bumbled their way through countless radio and telephone calls. I'm sure they just briefly arrested me so that they could search the car and purse without my permission, and I know that kind of fishing expedition without probable cause is not good...
My citation and order to appear in court is under 320.133 (1) and there is nothing else on the ticket.
How can something like this happen, particularly with the Department of Environmental Protection?!
I need this dealt with quickly, as I have to leave the country ASAP to be with my sister who is awaiting a liver transplant, so what I want to do is represent myself and just have the case dismissed, since even the sheriff's department said I shouldn't have been cited anyway!
How do I do that in Florida? I cannot afford a lawyer, particularly in an instance when I haven't even broken a law!
Please tell me what to do???!!!
Thanks,
Two Department of Environmental Protection officers pulled me over in Fort Myers Florida, near the beach, for "using a transport tag for recreational purposes," a criminal misdemeanor. My husband owns a mechanical shop and the car belonged to his shop after the customer refused to pay for a new motor. I was making a weekend trip from sarasota to fort myers (hour and 15 minutes away) on business and he asked me to take this car and let him know how it performed at higher speeds and with more use than it would get on short test drives around our city. He wanted to know if it was suitable for resale (it's a 93) or if the motor should just be pulled and the car scrapped. This is legal under the statute (320.133 (1)) but these two officers didn't seem to realize this. Insurance, license, and all other paperwork was presented to back up what I was saying, but they still cited me, arrested me, searched my vehicle and purse and then un-arrested me and sent me on my way five minutes after arresting me... yes, I have filed a formal complaint with their supervisor and it has been deemed valid at first glance and should be dealt with this week.
They say they can't just make the citation go away, so my question is - how can I walk into court and get these charges dismissed without having to incur the costs of legal help, something I feel is unfair to me considering I have not done anything wrong.
These two young officers had no idea what a transport tag is - and how it is supposed to be used - they didn't even know that the information for the tag had to be secured to the back of it. They thought the tags were to be used only for moving a vehicle from "point A to point B," something that's difficult on a test drive.
I was not speeding or under the influence of anything and they found nothing in the car, by the way, but I was on the side of the road for a total of 1 hour and 10 minutes while they bumbled their way through countless radio and telephone calls. I'm sure they just briefly arrested me so that they could search the car and purse without my permission, and I know that kind of fishing expedition without probable cause is not good...
My citation and order to appear in court is under 320.133 (1) and there is nothing else on the ticket.
How can something like this happen, particularly with the Department of Environmental Protection?!
I need this dealt with quickly, as I have to leave the country ASAP to be with my sister who is awaiting a liver transplant, so what I want to do is represent myself and just have the case dismissed, since even the sheriff's department said I shouldn't have been cited anyway!
How do I do that in Florida? I cannot afford a lawyer, particularly in an instance when I haven't even broken a law!
Please tell me what to do???!!!
Thanks,
