this recording is from the 18th of july. i had to go to court to fight a ticket, again. after last time, i didn't want to send a letter. it seems that the city gives out tickets at every possible opportunity, even when a ticket is not deserved. this time i got a $50 ticket for parking at a broken meter, even though i put a huge sign on the meter explaining the inoperable status of the meter and the fact that the meter was broken was clear.

while i was waiting for my turn, the court dat or tape recorder also became inoperable and the court officer had to troubleshoot. this recording is one of the judge recording himself and playing back his recording. one of the other parking ticket contesters also waiting to contest a ticket must have been uncomfortable by the silence in the room as the judge tested the equipment. he verbally notes "that's scary." i guess silence can be scary to some, even when it only lasts a few moments.

after the recording ends here the recorder seems fixed and the judge proceeds to call me as the next case on the docket. i was found not guilty of parking at an expired meter and did not have to pay the fee. i have several other parking tickets that i was not at fault for and will have to appear a few more times in the coming weeks. i wish the city didn't randomly hand out parking tickets to cars that are clearly not doing anything illegal, assuming that the person will just pay the ticket instead of waste their time contesting it. i know the parking enforcers have a quota to meet each month, though i wonder if because i was not parked illegally and the court found me not guilty whether the parking enforcer still got to count my ticket as meeting their quota.

i usually do not edit the sound files i put up besides changing the volume and removing the occasional cough or fart. in this sound file though i decided to render the court officer's name unrecognizable.