Personal experience: as an immigrant from Russia was a defendant in an American court

A few months ago I was in an accident and my car flipped onto its roof. Many police officers, fire trucks, and ambulances arrived. I thought I was going to get a big bill. Fortunately, this did not happen - but the story does not end there.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

Recently I received a letter with a menacingly red inscription, says Arseniy Khristenko in his Youtube blog. When I opened the letter, I was very upset, because ... I was called to court. For the first time in my life!

Since I was driving an old car, for some reason I decided: why bother insuring it, I’ll just go for a drive. But, as it turned out, everything is a little different. In America, everything is arranged in such a way that money is required for almost everything. And a car is one of the most expensive means of life. I realized from my own experience that they know how to pump money out here.

At first I thought it would be something like how I came to the military registration and enlistment office in Moscow: I went to the window, I reported that I did not want to serve in the army, and they were behind me. In fact, it was not so.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

Price issue

The issue price was 900 dollars. I would have to pay them if my guilty plea. There is nothing special to prove here, because the rule says: if you went without insurance, you have to pay, because you caused damage not only to yourself, but also to the environment (I spilled oil and so on). I understood that the situation is problematic.

I chose the day when I would have a trial - by the way, it is not they who choose, but me. You can pay the fine online or send it in an envelope, but I decided to talk face to face with the person who was dealing with my problem.

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Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

The day of judgment has come. I went into a huge building, there were a lot of people and security guards who checked everyone as if we were at the airport. He asked the officer where to go, defended one line, where it turned out that I needed another. There I was received by a man to whom I immediately began to explain that I was not to blame. I began to make excuses, like a child who was caught eating sweets instead of cereal. But this man just took my paper, put a stamp and said that I need to go up to the sixth floor.

I got up in the elevator, went into the office and realized: I will have a hard time.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

Towards fears

I went into a room where there were about 50 people. In the center there was a policeman, also a security guard, who accepted our documents and put them in a pile. Behind him is the actual counter where the trial is taking place. There, of course, there wasn’t everything that is shown in the films, there were just computers, a woman and her assistant working - I decided that this was a judge. My heart began to pound when I realized that I would have to communicate with her one-on-one and so that others could hear me, since this was a public place. My English is not very good, it is not enough to professionally avoid a fine of 900 dollars. So I was really stressed.

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They turned on a recording where a person talked about our rights for 5 minutes. I decided that this was the usual boring part of the event, so let’s get straight to the celebration. I looked at my colleagues in charge of fines: they looked very carefully and practically wrote down everything that was said. I was suspicious that they were so serious - the atmosphere was oppressive. I expected to come, agree and leave, besides, I had plans for that day.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

The man who decided my fate

Next came the most interesting thing, because the judge came - it was an Asian woman. I liked that the guard was Mexican, the assistant was black, the judge was Asian: this is America, guys! She introduced herself and began calling people one by one. I thought they would just hand over the papers and leave, but in the end each person was forced to speak to the judge by pressing a microphone button. Everyone had the right to choose: he could say “guilty”, “not guilty” or ask to postpone the meeting. In theory, the process could have been delayed for several months—for one girl, the story had been going on since 2009. But I wanted to resolve the issue right away.

I decided to go out into the corridor to talk to the guard and ask him for help. As soon as I said: “Excuse me,” he moved one and a half meters away from me - this is how it is in America. It was strange for me that in the USA everyone treated me as if I were a stranger, not like in Russia: “Be patient, son, everything will be fine.” There is no such thing here. I asked the guard for a translator, but he said that I was late with this question. However, I insisted on a translator, citing the fact that I am a tourist and do not know the language well.

A dark-skinned assistant called somewhere and asked if there was a Russian-English translator in the building. I was told that he would come in about 30 minutes. By this time, everyone else had already finished defending their rights and the judge left - why would she look at me when I can’t say anything in English? All this time I communicated with the security guard, but the translator still did not come. I thought: why can’t I prove my innocence if I’ve been chatting for 40 minutes with a security guard who understands me and whom I understand?

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

Best defense is attack

I said that I intended to refuse the services of an interpreter. This was also very serious: the woman called the same number, reported that the defendant had refused the services of a Russian-English translator, and called the judge. I always wanted to ask - why is it so “cinema”?

The judge came, asked again about the translator, and uttered a phrase that sounded as if a clip of English words had been loaded into the machine and it all came out in one gulp. After that she asked: “Do you understand me?” - and I nodded. The judge suggested trying to talk. I exhaled: the first stage was completed.

I told her my story: I’m an ordinary guy, I came from a small town, I really wanted to see your country, my accident was a big mistake, for which I am very ashamed. I probably made her feel sorry for her. It also worked to my advantage that I already had another car - this time with insurance. I repeated this many times. She asked for a photo of the overturned car and a photo of the insurance. I handed over the phone to her through the security guard, since I had no right to give her anything. She said the photo did look like an accident and made sure she had insurance. Apparently this saved me.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

Decision and Sentence

The judge left without announcing her verdict—I didn’t understand why. I decided that she would call someone, leaf through some directories, as they show in films.

As a result, they gave me the same letter that I still keep. It says that I am acquitted, and I have to pay only 25 dollars, which I did immediately.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Arseny Khristenko

All this was a huge stress for me. Remember that not having insurance in America is a terrible thing. It is better to live according to the rules of the country you are visiting.

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