Most you've paid in fines, penalties, jail/bail, convictions, attorney fees, etc?

[QuarterMillionMan]

1) One night in jail for petty misdemeanor solicitation, no bail and released the next day on my recognizance, attny fees $1000, conviction $1000 in 1995 in Hawaii.
2) $500 fine for no fishing license in California in 2009
3) $50 parking in red zone in front of BOA to use ATM, I had gotten out closed my door saw a parking enforcement officer pull behind me, I apologized and intended to leave but she said if I leave I will get the ticket in the mail, never got to use the ATM. She was strict.

[disneysteve]

Um, zero. I've never been arrested, convicted, gone to jail, needed bail, etc.

[kork13]

Hmm.... I don't remember the details, but I had a speeding ticket once back in '09 (maybe 15mph over?) in the $100-$200 range. A parking ticket more recently (overtime on the meter) was ~$50. Gratefully I think that's about the extent of anything along those lines that I've had to deal with.

[disneysteve]

I did once get a parking ticket in the mail saying I had been illegally parked somewhere in Pittsburgh. Only problem was I was in Philadelphia at the time and could prove it. Also, the description of the car written on the ticket didn't match my car at all. They had probably gotten one character of the license plate wrong.

A couple of years ago, I also got a mail violation from EZ Pass for not paying the toll at the Lincoln Tunnel entering NYC. The notice included a photo of my license plate, except it wasn't my license plate. Not even close. How that ever got associated with me I have no idea. It took a couple of times of me mailing them proof that the car in the photo wasn't mine before I never heard from them again.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Interesting stories. For the $500 fishing license or lack thereof I truly was ignorant being that coming from Hawaii no license is needed in Hawaii for shoreline fishing so I thought the same thing applied to California, costly mistake on my part. I was at Dockweiler rock jetty (just outside of LAX airport) fishing along with about 4 other fishermen. A game warden showed up asking everyone for their licenses. One guy was handcuffed I guess he had a warrant. I bought a license after the fact for $80 (now it must be $100). I figured on trying to contest it in court. Everyone at the court was there mainly for "fix it tickets" or driving infractions. When I told them mine's was for fishing they looked at me puzzled, lol. I was honest with the judge and asked if I could get a fix it ticket sort of deal since I now had a license. She summoned the bailiff to retrieve my license and made sure it was legit. My original $500 fine was then dropped it to $150. It was worth it going to court and not having to pay $500. And now I know not to fish without a license.

[jenn_jenn]

$500 for a speeding ticket a few years ago. I considered fighting it for a second before coming to my senses and accepting that I deserved it. I’d been pulled over multiple times before for different things (nothing terrible) and have always been let go with a warning, one of these times it was bound to stick.

$300 for having my rental car impounded in Belgium. I had parked in a spot that was a loading zone but had no clue because I didn’t read or speak the language. I was fortunate that a police man saw my distress when I came back from my day of adventuring and couldn’t find my car and offered to drive me back to the station to see if we could find it. He was very nice and gave me a tour of the city on our drive over. Was stressful at the time but it’s a funny story now. That’s how I learned that the French didn’t invent the French fry, it was the Belgians. I also do not drive in foreign countries anymore.

$200 or so in parking tickets over the years. The most expensive was $50 for parking in a commercial loading zone (intended for move in/move out and deliveries) at my small apartment building in my early 20s. Everyone always used it for quick in and out things. I usually didn’t but one day I parked there for less than 2 minutes because I had literally run inside to grab something I’d forgotten and came out to a ticket. I still have no idea how, the parking enforcer would have to have been hiding in the bushes, and they were no where to be seen when I came out. I suspect our building manager had something to do with it. He once hid behind boxes in my apartment hallway entrance to try and “catch” me having a dog in my apartment. He scared me immensely when he popped out. It was my friend’s service dog that was visiting for the day and I wasn’t violating my lease. He apologized but I was always uncomfortable around him after that. He was a weird weird dude.

[ua_guy]

Nothing exciting here. $100 for a speeding ticket a few months ago. First one in two decades, and I deserved it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Jail was not fun, lol. In the cell block there was about 20 guys only God knows what they were in for. There's only 1 stainless steel toilet (no toilet seat) and a stainless steel water fountain. Privacy, forget about it everyone shares 1 toilet. Upon entering they give 1 mattress which sleeps on the floor, nothing else. And it was freezing cold w/the A/C cranked on high. In the morning they serve peanut butter sandwiches and coffee. After breakfast they chain up about 5 guys to a chain and load everyone into a van which takes everyone to court where you are arraigned then the judge either keeps you longer or releases you. I was released and got out of there like a bat out of hell and vowed to myself never to return.

[QuarterMillionMan]

One guy later I saw at Walmart and another guy working at a fast food place and I asked if they had stayed out of trouble and both guys said they never returned as well.

[bjl584]

$100 speeding ticket when I was 17.
That's about it

[calivincollin]

My worst was getting caught without a permit while rock climbing in Yosemite ($1,000 fine) then accidentally skipping my court date, so they tacked on a $250 bench warrant fee. Toss in $500 for a public defender and I’ve got a cool $1,750 gone. Lesson learned: read the fine print on those park regs.

[Fishindude77]

Just boring stuff here; couple speeding tickets when young and a boating violation or two.

[james.hendrickson]

Lets see..my divorces cost like $8,000 - that wasn't great.

And I've had a couple of periods of life where I paid a ton of parking tickets, so that was maybe $800 each time. Also not great.

[disneysteve]

Since this thread got dredged up...

I was in an auto accident in May which was my fault. I got a $150 ticket. I took it to court and won but still had to pay a $50 fine and the lawyer cost me $500. Why didn't I just pay the original fine? Because fighting it kept it off my record so no points on my license and no surcharge on my insurance. That was worth the $400 extra expense to me.

[Stump1000]

The whole bail process can feel like a blur if you’ve never dealt with it before. I had to help someone recently and used King Stahlman Bail Bonds in California, they walked me through everything without making me feel dumb for asking basic stuff.

Even if you’re just helping a friend or family member, it makes a huge difference having someone who actually knows how the system works and doesn’t treat you like a criminal just for being involved.