GA State Patrol

So, I was arrested on November 30th, Thanksgiving weekend. Not a big charge, just driving on suspended license. But I spent 5-6 hours in jail, had to spend almost $250 to get out and get my car back. Had to get my mother to come up and bond me out, and to drive me to the other end of the county to get my car out of impound (about an hour drive). So, I call the Department of Driver's Services the very next day, to figure out what's going on, and how to get the license reinstated. They tell me: No, my license isn't suspended, all that's on it is two notes that I can't get a CDL. They recommend that I come in and get an MVR to prove it. I do, that very next day, and go ahead and get my license redone with my new address (haing recently moved) while I'm there. Then I go to court for the ticket. And the prosecutors/solicitors have already dismissed the case or decided not to pursue it or whatever, because they already discovered that my license wasn't suspended. So I then call the GSP to try to get back my money.

I am told by the GSP...that they are still in the right. The lieutenant I spoke to supposedly watched the video and everything. And I hereby call him either a liar or a fool. Now, I did not present my license to the arresting officer, but I did explain to said officer that it was with my other documents in the boxes in the car, for my move, and I OFFERED TO DIG THROUGH AND GET IT! The officer refused, said it wasn't necessary. GSP Lieutenant Brown says that my arrest is still valid, because I could've been arrested for not presenting that license. So, if the GSP pulls you over in GA, you apparently have to force your license on them; if they refuse to see it, it's your fault. Ladies, if you keep your license in your purse, you're fucked.

So, I do the responsible thing and get my license updated with new address, and that counts against me. I offer to get my license out from where I had it packed with my other documents, to keep them all safe...and the OFFICER'S refusal to let me is somehow MY fault.

Before I spoke to the lieutenant, I was also told to speak to the legal department. When I did, I was interrupted and told that they weren't responsible for that money, because none of it was paid to the GSP. I find that to be a rather interesting precedent. So, if someone were to bash in their windshields, that person would not be responsible for the repair costs. Because, of course, none of that money was paid to them. Therefore, it's the mechanic's responsibility.

And what makes this even more lovely, is the fact that each person I spoke to jumped so quickly to a position of high defense and self-righteousness that I was interrupted often, and gave up on going through several of these points with the actual people. So, when Lt. Brown told me the part about me having my license remade with my new address (or 'reissued' as he called it), like I'm legally supposed to do after having moved, I had given up by that time on having him hear me. The GSP is incompetent, ignorant, and will defend their position with lies and/or further ignorance. As well as with defenses that, last I heard, are not legal ("well, maybe you shouldn't have been arrested for that, but we could have aressted you for this, instead.") All compounded by an assumption of guilt, necessitating proof of innocence; I had always thought it was supposed to be the other way around.