Court Summons - no idea why or when or what to do (Howe: crime, lawyer)

[helendha]

So, today I opened the mail and my husband is being summonsed to court on 11th May for a 'Landscape Watering Code Violation'. Given that there have been no water restrictions so far in 2010, I'm assuming this is related to an incident in 2009, though I'm not sure how even that would be possible as our irrigation system has been set to the worst-case water restriction schedule since the day we closed on the house in August 2009.

Here are my problems:

1) I've no idea what they are talking about. I'm not American and am not familiar with the legal procedures here, but wouldn't there have had to be some sort of ticket or citation first offering you the chance to dispute or to pay a fine? Surely they don't just send you a random summons out of the blue giving you no details at all about what is going on, and threatening to issue a warrant for your arrest if you don't attend?! And I know for sure we've had no such notification of a violation;

2) Hubby is active duty deployed and so clearly cannot attend on the date in question. I'm his attonrey-in-fact but the POA document is only of a general nature so I don't know whether I am supposed to attend in his place?

I'm very overwhelmed and have no idea how to proceed. There is no phone# on the letter, only an address - and I suspect even if I did call with the case# they're not going to speak with me.

Any advice appreciated.....

[majormadmax]

OK, I'm no lawyer so take this as just a common man's advice...

First, what is the address on the summons? You should be able to call information (411) and get a number for the office/court that sent it. Contact that office/court and tell them of your situation. They will advise you on what your options are. If that doesn't work, it may require a trip downtown to the address on the summons.

Secondly, with a general power of attorney, you should be able to represent your husband in this matter. A general power of attorney covers a broad range of issues, a specific power of attorney is for a single matter.

Of course, that only means you can stand in his place for the summons, if it is a complicated legal matter than you may want to either see about delaying the proceedings until he returns or obtaining the services of legal counsel.

I don't see this being any worse than a speeding ticket, a misdemeanor that at most will end up in a nominal fine. However, I will admit that this is the first time I have heard of anyone receiving a summons for illegal watering. Considering the number of violations I personally witnessed last summer during the restrictions, I am at least happy that someone was doing their job in addressing the violators. It sucks it was you, but regardless of how your irrigation system was set, you are still responsible for any illegal watering...

Good luck! M2

[BamaSailor]

You should also contact base legal to see if/how they can help you.

[majormadmax]

Good point, they won't be able to represent you but; they can advise you!

Cheers! M2

[hadleyzoo]

Go to your base's legal office. We were subpoenad to appear in court about a case in which a crime was committed against my husband and I. The case was in Utah, we're in Texas. I was deployed as a contractor and hubby is military. We called the court and they told us to file some papers (I don't remember what they were). So hubby went to the legal office and they told us exactly what to file and even helped us fax the documents to the court in Utah. Didn't have to appear.

There's a provision in the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act passed in 2003 that addresses this type of thing.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by helendha

So, today I opened the mail and my husband is being summonsed to court on 11th May for a 'Landscape Watering Code Violation'. Given that there have been no water restrictions so far in 2010, I'm assuming this is related to an incident in 2009, though I'm not sure...

The "Year Round" water restrictions are in effect now. For example, you can't water with a sprinkler after 10am or before 8pm. The "Stage 1, 2, 3, etc. restrictions each place additional restrictions on when you can water.

This is the first I've heard of someone actually being taken to court for water restriction violations. The summons should state the date, time, and nature of the violation. I was under the impression that something like that happens only to repeat violators who were previously issued written warnings.

Given the number of repeated flagrant watering violations I see in my neighborhood, this can't possibly be happening to very many people.

[majormadmax]

Yep, this straight from SAWS.org:

Year Round watering restrictions are in effect when the Aquifer level is above 660 feet mean sea level at the monitored well.

* Water waste is prohibited at all times. Allowing water to run off into a gutter, ditch, or drain or failing to repair a controllable leak is considered water waste.

* Residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural Edwards Aquifer water users should use common sense and best practices to avoid water waste.

* Landscape watering with an irrigation system or sprinkler is permitted any day of the week between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 a.m.

* Hand watering with a hand-held hose, drip irrigation or bucket is permitted any time of day.

* Washing impervious cover such as parking lots, driveways, streets or sidewalks is permitted without runoff to avoid water waste.

* Non-commercial washing of vehicles and mobile equipment (e.g. washing vehicles at a residence) is permitted any time. Use of an automatic shut-off nozzle or bucket of 5 gallons or less is recommended to prevent water waste.

* The use of commercial vehicle wash facilities is permitted any day.

Cheers! M2

[helendha]

Thanks for the suggestions all. I guess I will be taking a day off work to go to base legal. Oh joy.

I'm at a loss to know when this 'event' mght have occurred. We have our system set to run one morning a week at 3am, corresponding to our house number. We did this when we moved in (as restrictions were in place) and never changed it. I know they run on that morning as that's the only morning I ever see a amall amount of splash onto the paving. That same morning, the other houses roundabout with the same house number also run - so I'm positive it has to be the right day.

I know when we moved in, the builder had it running twice a day every day - I guess they were covered by some kind of exemption for a new home/new lawn. As I have no information on when this violation occurred, I can't discern whether it was around those days that we closed on the house.

Really, if we accidentally broke the rules on one occasion I would have no objection to them issuing me a ticket and my paying up. It was an accident, we are very careful to follow the rules and certainly don't flout them - apart from anything else we're trying to teach our kids about conservation etc. But it's hard to answer a summons when you have no idea what it's for. And I truly don't think we can be repeat violators - especially as this is the first we've ever heard of it. We've never had so much as a knock on the door from an officer, let alone a ticket or a written warning.

I'm looking at the summons right now and it gives no details at all of the time of the violation. It states 'Offense - Landscape Watering Code Violation' and then goes on to state he is summoned to appear on X date at Y time. That's it.

[majormadmax]

You could always "lawyer up," but that will probably cost you more than the fine.

And it shouldn't take an entire day to visit the legal office. Call and make an appointment first, and maybe it will only require you to miss a couple of hours of work at the most.

Also try calling the legal office at the 67 NWW on Security Hill, being a smaller office they may be able to get you in quicker than the main Legal Office on Lackland.

Good luck! M2

[sapphire]

Is it from SAWS? Bexar Met?