Posted on 04/06/2024 2:20:42 PM PDT by Twotone
A stay-at-home mother in Texas said she was shocked when she was informed that there was a warrant out for her arrest over an unreturned library book.
Kaylee Morgan said it was an oversized book for home-schooling about Vincent Van Gogh that she borrowed in 2023.
She got the bad news after trying to get her driver's license renewed and was rejected.
"When I get there, they told me they can't renew it because I have a warrant out for my arrest," the mother of five children told KPRC-TV. "I am just shocked. I literally laughed out loud. I said this has to be a joke and it wasn't."
Morgan admits that she was unable to return the book in a timely fashion because she was pregnant at the time, had complications, and also went through a move to a new residence, so she didn't receive notices about the late book. However, she feels that the consequences she is facing are far too steep.
She was charged with theft of government property and had to drive hours away to plead her case to a judge. Morgan said that the judge was completely unsympathetic to her explanations.
"It was not a pleasant experience," she said to KPRC.
Morgan told the judge that her husband had tried to return the book but that it did not fit into the drop-off box and he could not go inside because the library was closed when he went. After they returned the book, they did not receive any notices because they had moved away and believed the issue had been settled. But it was not.
"She told me to stop making excuses and I needed to take responsibility," Morgan explained. "She said it was my responsibility to update the library with my change of address because we moved."
She said she offered to pay for the book, but the judge said they were long past that point.
Morgan began a GoFundMe account to help her pay the fine and to pay for her legal expenses. She's already gotten enough donations to pay the original fine.
"I’m just a mom with 5 kids trying to homeschool and spread kindness," she wrote. "This is unjust. Please spread the word."
FINALLY got her.
or as an illegal who couldn’t understand the fine print and is therefore not guilty.
After they returned the book, they did not receive any notices because they had moved away...
She's being hassled, refused a driver's license, and had to drive for HOURS to face a snotty and unsympathetic judge, and this is after returning the book.
I hope if you're ever in a similar situation, you receive more sympathy than you're willing to bestow to her.
Or an illegal LGBTQ Pro-Palestine Trump-hater.
Some things should not be enforced with the death penalty and a library book is one of those things.
This could have been easily handled with a replacement charge for the book and a small fine to pay for the paperwork.
I think the move came after she gave birth. At least, that is what it sounds like to me.
Thanks.
Figures
Probably been watching Leticia James.
In the meantime, libraries are downsizing book collections by the thousands... irony.
One of the best episodes, hilarious.
I am a private pilot.
The 1st flight I did was from Fort Pierce Florida to Indiantown airport.
Went in to the trailer office and there was a poster, The 10 biggest Lies in flying.
#1, hi I am from the FAA and I am here to help.
That seems to be the same throughout when it comes to any damned thing grub mint.
The local library in our previous town regularly fined us for books that had been returned on time. In every case we had the librarian on duty follow us to the books location on the shelf and they admitted it was their fault and removed the fine. A lot of library worker are lazy.
Libraries are always downsizing. Cause it’s really not downsizing, it’s size maintaining. Lots and lots and lots of books come out every year, and shelf space is finite. If you want them to have any of the thousands of books that will come out this year, they have to get rid of thousands.
Was the judge also white?
Nowadays, when you count in gas and driving time and inconvenience, it’s almost cheaper to buy a used book on eBay for $4 with shipping than it is to go to the library. Plus, you then own the book.
Plus a lot of good books are in the public domain and you can download them for free on https://www.gutenberg.org/ or https://archive.org/. Archive.org has audiobooks and movies and more.
Ha, immediately thought of that! Love that show.
This judge should be kicked off the bench IMHO.
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