# Question About Attaching Plates



## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

Yesterday 12/15/06, A police officer came into my parking lot and siezed my license plates. The plates are in good standing. I sold my car, and took the plates to put onto my new car. After 7 days I still could not go to the registry, so I parked the car in my parking lot, and left the plates on the car. I stopped using the vehicle. Appearently, this police officer noticed at an earlier time that I had these plates from another vehicle attached, so he watched for seven days to see if I would go to the registry to switch them over, and when I didn't he took them and summonsed me to court. Is it legal for him to come into my parking lot to take the plates, and charge me even though I siezed operation of this vehicle? The plates were still in good standing, and he was watching so he knows the car was not moved anymore. Someone please help me as when I go to court, I would like to be able to quote a law, chapter, section, something.
Thank you in advance.
Dave


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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

Yesterday was 12/22/06.


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## justanotherparatrooper (Aug 27, 2006)

andy0921 said:


> Yesterday was 12/22/06.


 only in the real world!


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## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

My mistake, the 15th is when he started watching me.


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## CJIS (Mar 12, 2005)

Before any of us give you advice did you try calling the registry and ask them about your dilemma?


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## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

No, but I called the local state police, and the officer I spoke to said that he would agree with me that he was wrong, and to bring all of it to court, but I was wondering if he has done a wrongful prosecution here. Now I had to pay for registration fees that I would not have encurred if he had not taken the plates from me.


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## HousingCop (May 14, 2004)

*Why are you on this cops radar screen? Even a small town cop has alot more to do than just run plates they know to be expired. Either you have a very distinctive car or you've drawn the ire of the police before and they have an axe to grind. There's definately MORE to this story. *


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## US706 (Nov 24, 2006)

yeah... did you shite on this guys shoes or something?


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## soup (Nov 1, 2006)

The issue here is not so much the "seven day rule", because you acknowledge that the seven days passed. Other than the seven day grace period, the law is clear in that you cannot attach plates that belong to another vehicle ANYWHERE. The officer is correct and you are wrong. Now, I don't know why he would bother, only you and he know that.


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## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

You are all going into the wrong direction here. It is nightime when he came here the first time and saw my vehicle on the street. The police regularly check our street for violators of the parking ban. He saw that the car had a Vermont sticker, and mass plates so he ran the plate. I am in North Adams, and this is common to happen since there is not much crime here. I have a perfectly clean record, and No I have not ever been warned about this before. I have also got a step 9 license, I am involved with the neighborhood watch, I have awards given me by the mayor, etc.. I am not a law breaker. I am not trying to make myself out to be a saint, I am just saying I am way off from being a law breaker. This whole thing was not an oversight on my part either. I did not have to get it registered until the very same day that he took the plates. I got the car on the 15th, I put on the plates on the 16th, he waited until the morning of the 22nd, and took them. I was supposed to have the whole day of the 22nd to get this done. Which I did get the car registered on the 22nd btw, but because of him taking the plates I could not transferr, and I now have to go to court. I called the State police and they said the officer is in the wrong. He said that he could not come onto the property to take the plates. He said that unless I was operating the vehicle, I was not using the plate. The fact he pointed out is that the police cannot come onto my property to remove my vehicle if it is not registered, so he also has no right to take the plates if it is in my parking lot. Also he cannot charge me with illegally attaching plates since it is not illegal to attach them the way that I did. Nowhere in the law states that I have to remove them if I cannot afford to transffer the plates right away. It only states that I cannot operate the vehicle with them, until I transferr the registration. Whether this is true or not, I don't know, this is just what I was told. I wanted to know what you guys all thought. Maybe I am wrong. Either way, I think it is assholish for him to do this just 3 days before Christmas. I know he must have ran my name to see what kind of record I have, and seen that I do not have one, so he should have realized that this was not what he thought it to be. Anyway, I will see what happens in court, and update to let everyone know.
Thanks for the responses, and merry christmas.


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## Mikey682 (May 2, 2002)

Thanks for letting us know we are going in the wrong direction by taking the time to explain to you the law that you didn't follow. The instructions are on the back of the citation you were mailed, follow them. You got your law lesson, and then you go on a police officer's internet forum stating the police officer was an asshole for taking enforcement action against you, the award winning crime-watching citizen of North Adams. Thanks for giving us the law lesson about what we can and can't do, I'm sure the North Adams police officers reading this are writing this all down so they don't do it again.


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## 4ransom (Mar 1, 2006)

Yea, that's right, Law Enforcement typically closes their eyes to crime near the holidays. Please, don't be ignorant.

You are in violation of the law. End of story. Get your lazy ass to the registry or to the computer and register your car. If you can afford to buy the car, you can afford to register it on time. If you can't, you shouldn't have bought the car until you were ready.


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

Typical Vermont slug...I was too busy...waaa waa waa...He took my plates....waaa waaa waaa... He can't do that can he, I mean stop some sort of illegal activity can he? waaa...waaa...waaa.

This ain't tree huggin VT buddy, you got 7 days. No suck it up or go the fluck back to VT.


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## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

Ya know what, I could go on here to be a real jerk, but I wont. I will just say that none of you took the time to read anything. I am not from vermont. I am not saying he is wrong about taking the plates. He took them on the 6th day, not the 7th. I did register the car on the 7th day. I will NOT be doing anymore community work. I will NOT be working with the police anymore. I will NOT be donating to the police anymore. You all just showed me what I have been supporting all this time. You are all ignorant, rude, and I have no use for a site that responds like children because I asked a simple question. And one more thing, if you all took the time to actually read that post you would see that I stated a State Police officer said all those things. NOT ME!!! I also stated I dont know if he was right or wrong. So what the hell is all of this pointed at? You guys dont have to worry about me anymore I wont be asking anymore questions on here I will go to a attorney forum and ask them instead. I Will also go out and spread the word about how cops feel about people that give back to the community, and have the nerve to tell about it, which btw I only did so it could help clear up the question asked several times about if I was a habitual law breaker. But you would all know that if you actually read the post before becoming assholes.


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## 4ransom (Mar 1, 2006)

:musicboo:


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## Barbrady (Aug 5, 2004)

God Bless us....everyONE!!:innocent: :85565:


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## OutOfManyOne (Mar 2, 2006)

So you did all this work with the community and the police, thinking that you should be given special preferences and get out of a ticket. Now that it backfired, you hate the police. Too bad, the POLICE hate you too, now f*ck off. Were you driving an old cruiser too?


Oh yeah, Merry X-Mas.


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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

With the exception of SOT:mrgreen: who was rude to you?


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## SUOKKO (Nov 30, 2006)

Way to go guys now someone hates the police...I know I won't be able to sleep tonight!

Merry Christmas Guys.


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## KindaConfused (Mar 17, 2005)

All the "cops" here are wrong. This is right from Scheft's Motor vehicle law book:

Under G.L c. 90 § 2, the purchaser of a motor vehicle has 7 days to transfer his or her registration and insurance coverage onto a newly acquired vehicle. The 7 day period starts on the day of transfer (day 1) and lasts until 5:00PM on the seventh day.

So if the new car was acquired on the 15th, the 7th day would be the 22nd, and he would have until 5pm on that day to finish the transfer which it sounds like he did. The officer in North Adams was wrong and jumped the gun if he did take the plates on the morning of the 22nd


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

waaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaaaa Another VT tree hugging hippie freak all upset over a ticket.

PS it's State Police Trooper dumb ass. And if you were so confident in his answer WTF did you ask the question?



cadauctions said:


> Ya know what, I could go on here to be a real jerk, but I wont. I will just say that none of you took the time to read anything. I am not from vermont. I am not saying he is wrong about taking the plates. He took them on the 6th day, not the 7th. I did register the car on the 7th day. I will NOT be doing anymore community work. I will NOT be working with the police anymore. I will NOT be donating to the police anymore. You all just showed me what I have been supporting all this time. You are all ignorant, rude, and I have no use for a site that responds like children because I asked a simple question. And one more thing, if you all took the time to actually read that post you would see that I stated a State Police officer said all those things. NOT ME!!! I also stated I dont know if he was right or wrong. So what the hell is all of this pointed at? You guys dont have to worry about me anymore I wont be asking anymore questions on here I will go to a attorney forum and ask them instead. I Will also go out and spread the word about how cops feel about people that give back to the community, and have the nerve to tell about it, which btw I only did so it could help clear up the question asked several times about if I was a habitual law breaker. But you would all know that if you actually read the post before becoming assholes.


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## Barbrady (Aug 5, 2004)

:l:


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## KindaConfused (Mar 17, 2005)

cadauctions said:


> I got the car on the 15th, I put on the plates on the 16th, he waited until the morning of the 22nd, and took them. I was supposed to have the whole day of the 22nd to get this done. Which I did get the car registered on the 22nd btw, but because of him taking the plates I could not transferr, and I now have to go to court.


 This is the post I was going off of. If the above is all true, then he had all day of the 22nd to get the car registered.

The only question I have is what day did he sell/get rid of the car that the plates were originally attached to?

If he sold/got rid of his car on the 15th, then the officer was in the wrong. If he got rid of the old car before the 15th, then the officer is in the right. The law says you have 7 days, not 6.2 days.

I just don't understand why everyone has to be such a ^&%$head to people who are just confused about our confusing laws.


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## Mikey682 (May 2, 2002)

We're not hearing the whole story


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

All that you need to know

"After 7 days I still could not go to the registry, so I parked the car in my parking lot, and left the plates on the car."

EOT

Ask A Cop is a sporting forum...


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## 4ransom (Mar 1, 2006)

He's trying to get out of this on a technicality. He is obviously up to no good if he is stretching the law this much. 

And kudos to this trooper for being so observant. This guy got what he deserved.


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## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

KindaConfused said:


> This is the post I was going off of. If the above is all true, then he had all day of the 22nd to get the car registered.
> 
> The only question I have is what day did he sell/get rid of the car that the plates were originally attached to?
> 
> ...


I thank you for being kind anyway. Obviously I am wrong for judging all cops since you show that there are still some out there who take your job the way it should be. Now here is the whole story and you will see that I am not lying. The other jerks are just too quick to jump to an officers side cause that's waht they are.
I had a car accident. A women ran a red light and totaled my car. So my mom was kind enough to give me a car to use until I got my insurance check. It had 222,000 miles on it, so it was registered by me with the intention of just using it until I got my new car. When I got the insurance check, I bought a car for $1000.00, and it turned out to need a transmission. So I went onto ebay, and found a car for sale in vermont. At this point I still had car1(Moms Car), and car2(My car) both of them 100% registered and legal. Now, I left some of these things out because I did not think they really mattered. I bought the car I found on ebay (Car3), and it was in vermont. So I sold car 1 on the 14th. I had to wait 1 day to go get the car in vermont because the previous owner was on a business trip in Pennsylvania, so I went on the 15th to vermont to get the car. I took the plates from car 1 with me. Now before I did any of this I called the police to see what the law was on attaching plates. They said I could do it for 7 days. On the 21st I parked the car in my parking lot because I knew I could not register it on the 22nd, so I parked it an used the one with a bad transmission Car2. At exactly 12:50 A.M. on the 22nd, he took the plates. He says he saw the car parked on the street with the vermont sticker, and the plates from mass, and started to watch and he also saw car 1 still in my parking lot without plates so he assumed I did not sell it. The reason for this is because I sold it to my neighbor 2 doors down from me, but he never registered it. Now, He took my plates almost 12 hours earlier than he was supposed to. And I borrowed money to get it registered on the 22nd. Now here is an update for you. I called him today to appoligize to him after you all said the rotten things you said to me, and he ended up appoligizing to me, and he said he was not trying to dick me, but it looked bad to him because my neighbor had the car (Car1) still there unregistered. He said when we go to court that nothing is going to happen because I was not in the wrong as he assumed I was. If you don't believe me, then all I can say is I will take a scan of the paperwork after court is over and prove it all to you. Those of you who were mean and miserable through this, all I can say is being rude, and ignorant just makes you all very bad at your jobs, and I thank god I don't live around you guys. I didn't expect anyone to say I was right or wrong. I wanted to know the law. I asked for information on the law. I did not ask you all to give me shit over the law. And I can almost guarantee that a lot of you would have overlooked something like this if it was someone you were related to, or someone who does you favors. So dont give me this happy horeshit about me wanting to get away with it. I like everyone else do not want to go to court for something I did not do. PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!


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## OutOfManyOne (Mar 2, 2006)

> Those of you who were mean and miserable through this, all I can say is being rude, and ignorant just makes you all very bad at your jobs


You f*cking pussy, go crawl under a rock. Now that's mean. Merry X-mas.


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## 4ransom (Mar 1, 2006)




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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)




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## Barbrady (Aug 5, 2004)

I hope he gets the point ....


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## tomcats (Aug 26, 2005)

Why don't you stop whining you friggin wannabe! No one here gives a healthy dump what you got from the mayor or what citizens patrol you are involved with. Go to court and whine to the liberal judge. You'll get off! I take serious offense to you coming on here and telling people they are bad at their jobs. If you want to ask a question here fine but don't get pissy when you get called out! Merry friggin Xmas you jerkoff


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

cadauctions said:


> I thank you for being kind anyway. I am a complete flucking moron. I did something wrong, got busted for it, and like most hippies, I now want to blame the police and try and squirm out of it. Instead of sucking it up and paying a fine for something dumb that I did, I choose to blame everyone else. I only came here in hopes of you telling me I was right, or to get a quick tip on how to get out of this thing. Since I did not get what I wanted, I'm going to continue to throw a tantrum. I am a disgrace to my family, myself, and my country. Not that I care, I'm just saying that's what I am. The truth and reality mean nothing to me I will continue to change my story until such time as I get the answer I am looking for. Until then I will blame the whole world, never thinking it's my fault...


Dude I fixed it for ya. Ya god damn hippie freak.


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## tomcats (Aug 26, 2005)

Roger That Sot_ii.....out Friggin Standing!!!!!!!!


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## Guest (Dec 26, 2006)




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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

Feeding the trolls is part of the sport of Ask A Cop....you gotta lure them in and get them just angry enough to keep posting their idiotic blather.


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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

SOT is right.


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## Rock (Mar 20, 2005)

cadauctions said:


> I called the _local state police_.....


Do they have such a thing? Must be a Western Mass thing.


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## soup (Nov 1, 2006)

15,16,17,18,19,20,21 (at 5pm)................That is seven days! The Officer was not wrong and I can't see why he would think he was. A police officer can come on to you property to seize the plate. It sounds as if you live in an apartment building anyway. Don't the police drive through it every once in a while to make sure your neighborhood is safe?


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## MarathonRunner (Feb 7, 2006)

If you used the plates on the car on the 15th the clock was running. Day 1- 15th, Day 2-16th, Day 3 -17th, Day 4 -18th, Day 5 -19th, Day 6 - 20th, Day 7 -21st, *Day 8 - 22nd.*


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## 4ransom (Mar 1, 2006)

Who cares?


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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

yawn


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## 94c (Oct 21, 2005)

KindaConfused said:


> All the "cops" here are wrong. This is right from Scheft's Motor vehicle law book:
> 
> Under G.L c. 90 § 2, the purchaser of a motor vehicle has 7 days to transfer his or her registration and insurance coverage onto a newly acquired vehicle. The 7 day period starts on the day of transfer (day 1) and lasts until 5:00PM on the seventh day.
> 
> So if the new car was acquired on the 15th, the 7th day would be the 22nd, and he would have until 5pm on that day to finish the transfer which it sounds like he did. The officer in North Adams was wrong and jumped the gun if he did take the plates on the morning of the 22nd


Scheft is wrong. You may have 7 days to register a car but you have ZERO days to insure it. (You still need the RMV-1 stamped by the insurance co.)

Insurance Companies give no grace period.


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

94c, I don't think that's correct...RMV's FAQ on seven day transfers:

http://www.mass.gov/rmv/forms/21426.pdf



> MGL c175 s113a:
> 
> Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a policy covering a registered motor vehicle or trailer which is being transferred as provided in section 2 of chapter 90 shall continue in force and cover a newly acquired new motor vehicle or trailer or a newly acquired used motor vehicle or trailer for a period beginning from the date of transfer of the registered motor vehicle or trailer until five o'clock post meridian of the seventh calendar day following the date of transfer within the period for which the transferred motor vehicle or trailer was registered; provided, however, that the number plates issued upon registration of the transferred motor vehicle or trailer shall be attached to the newly acquired vehicle.


I don't think you can get the insurance company to provide you with a RMV-1 form if you don't provide them with the title first anyway.


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## 94c (Oct 21, 2005)

frank said:


> 94c, I don't think that's correct...RMV's FAQ on seven day transfers:
> 
> http://www.mass.gov/rmv/forms/21426.pdf
> 
> I don't think you can get the insurance company to provide you with a RMV-1 form if you don't provide them with the title first anyway.


I see nothing in that law that talks about insurance (only registration). If you buy a vehicle and pay for it outright all you can do is apply for a new title which comes in the mail much later. (the only way you'll have the title is if it's a private sale and the title wont be in your name anyway.)

I just bought a used car from a dealer a few weeks ago and have yet to see a title.
(the vehicle is registered and insured already)


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

94c said:


> I see nothing in that law that talks about insurance (only registration). If you buy a vehicle and pay for it outright all you can do is apply for a new title which comes in the mail much later. (the only way you'll have the title is if it's a private sale and the title wont be in your name anyway.)
> 
> I just bought a used car from a dealer a few weeks ago and have yet to see a title.
> (the vehicle is registered and insured already)


I forgot that a lot of dealerships try to handle all the registration stuff for you these days. I'm assuming they at least had you sign the title before they sent it in to the RMV. I've never bought a used car from a dealer in MA.


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## soup (Nov 1, 2006)

This Is Ridiculous ! The Date Of Transfer Was The Day You Put The Plate On The Car ! The 15th ! Day Seven Is The 21st At 5pm ! Suck It Up, You Are Wrong And The Officer Was Right. Please Tell Us What He Cited You For. I'm Sure That If He Made Any Mistake, It Was Not Loading Up The Complaint Sheet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!1


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

Guys,

I haven't dealt with this in a while and may not be up-to-date on the current law, but as I read the kid's original post the vehicle was parked on *private* property. If it were on a public way, fair game. As it is, it's kinda cheap...so I'd have to surmise that there is a background to history here...there's more here than meets the eye...:???:

In any event, quit bawling and appeal the cite.

I'm sure the Berkshire Beagle will be more than happy to chronical this abuse of power by those dastardly North Adams storm troopers.

</IMG>


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## cadauctions (Dec 23, 2006)

Ya know at first I was angry with all of your post, but now I am just laughing my ass off. You have all shown to be ignorant assholes who have moved on from highschool physically, but mentally you are all still 16 year old punks that like to gang up on one person to make yourselves feel superior to all the other losers who take power trip jobs so you can pick on those who actually are paying your salary. I did not come on here to ask, Hey assholes, my day is not bad enough yet, could you all jump in here and call me some names? I came on here to ask for some suggestions, and I said plain and clear for all to see if I am wrong, I will pay the citation, and move on. But you all have to feel like big tough guys, and jump on me. You can all go screw yoursleves. By the way, Disgrace to my family? For attaching plates? You need a serious mental health evaluation! And also, How many of you DON'T use the fact that you are cops to get yourselves out of tickets and such? My guess is NONE!!! Seems to me that it is all of you who are WHINING Over me having the nerve to ask a question. And you who said you take offense to me, TOUGH FU**ING SHI*! You don't think I took offense to all of you pricks calling me names? I could'nt give a shit less who I offended at this point. I was being civil. It is all of you who turned this into a game of lets attack the citizen. This could go on forever, and I am done with it. I will never be in here again. I did however get a call from an officer last night asking for a donation to the policemans association. I will still give that, since I do every year, and I know I should not punish all cops just because you bastards have to make the common assumption of cops so appearently true on here. Take care losers!!!


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## Buford T (Feb 12, 2005)

Feelin the love....


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## Killjoy (Jun 23, 2003)

> I will still give that, since I do every year, and I know I should not punish all cops just because you bastards have to make the common assumption of cops so appearently true on here. Take care losers!!!


I gonna cry myself to sleep over that remark.....


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## 94c (Oct 21, 2005)

I take it asking you to borrow your lawnmower is now out of the question?


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## Irish Wampanoag (Apr 6, 2003)

cadauctions said:


> I thank you for being kind anyway. Obviously I am wrong for judging all cops since you show that there are still some out there who take your job the way it should be. Now here is the whole story and you will see that I am not lying. The other jerks are just too quick to jump to an officers side cause that's waht they are.
> I had a car accident. A women ran a red light and totaled my car. So my mom was kind enough to give me a car to use until I got my insurance check. It had 222,000 miles on it, so it was registered by me with the intention of just using it until I got my new car. When I got the insurance check, I bought a car for $1000.00, and it turned out to need a transmission. So I went onto ebay, and found a car for sale in vermont. At this point I still had car1(Moms Car), and car2(My car) both of them 100% registered and legal. Now, I left some of these things out because I did not think they really mattered. I bought the car I found on ebay (Car3), and it was in vermont. So I sold car 1 on the 14th. I had to wait 1 day to go get the car in vermont because the previous owner was on a business trip in Pennsylvania, so I went on the 15th to vermont to get the car. I took the plates from car 1 with me. Now before I did any of this I called the police to see what the law was on attaching plates. They said I could do it for 7 days. On the 21st I parked the car in my parking lot because I knew I could not register it on the 22nd, so I parked it an used the one with a bad transmission Car2. At exactly 12:50 A.M. on the 22nd, he took the plates. He says he saw the car parked on the street with the vermont sticker, and the plates from mass, and started to watch and he also saw car 1 still in my parking lot without plates so he assumed I did not sell it. The reason for this is because I sold it to my neighbor 2 doors down from me, but he never registered it. Now, He took my plates almost 12 hours earlier than he was supposed to. And I borrowed money to get it registered on the 22nd. Now here is an update for you. I called him today to appoligize to him after you all said the rotten things you said to me, and he ended up appoligizing to me, and he said he was not trying to dick me, but it looked bad to him because my neighbor had the car (Car1) still there unregistered. He said when we go to court that nothing is going to happen because I was not in the wrong as he assumed I was. If you don't believe me, then all I can say is I will take a scan of the paperwork after court is over and prove it all to you. Those of you who were mean and miserable through this, all I can say is being rude, and ignorant just makes you all very bad at your jobs, and I thank god I don't live around you guys. I didn't expect anyone to say I was right or wrong. I wanted to know the law. I asked for information on the law. I did not ask you all to give me shit over the law. And I can almost guarantee that a lot of you would have overlooked something like this if it was someone you were related to, or someone who does you favors. So dont give me this happy horeshit about me wanting to get away with it. I like everyone else do not want to go to court for something I did not do. PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!


MGL ch90/sec23

any person who attaches or permits to be attached to a motor vehicle or trail a number plate assigned to another motor vehicle or trailer......

or

who fails to display on a motor vehicle or trailer the number plate and register number duly issued thereof (Seven days Maxium in the State of Mass)

90/23 which prohibits the wrongful attachments of improper license plates* does not have to take place on a public way after the seven day grace period has passed.*

Unfortunately you private residence will be not be a defense. It would have been better to not attach a plate at all to your vehicle while it was parked in your driveway but once you did it was a violation of this statue.

Good Luck


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## serpico (Dec 17, 2005)

On the contrary I


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