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courtroom drama and win!

By Ron Kule of Sales Training Services, Inc.

Back in the 1970's I was managing a crew of door-to-door dry cleaning coupon book salespeople, about 22 people. It was a relatively new job for me, and the day I went to court to defend them was definitely a new experience that I will never forget!

It all started when we were scheduled to work a particularly small town in Orange County, CA - a town that had very restrictive licensing requirements for selling directly to homeowners, as we did. Because this town wanted a fee of $100 per person per day to sell there - far too much for anyone to afford - we had worked out a plan to circumvent the exorbitant fees.

The plan was to set each salesperson out in streets from the center of the town and have them work outward to the town borders. This would normally take under an hour for each person. When finished with a street they would be standing outside the town limits; by the time the police were called and arrived on the scene they would be safely outside the town. This was worth the effort for us since we had a crew of unusually good salespeople, and our sales would earn enough to offset any risk taken.

The first hour went off without a hitch. I picked each crew member up and reset them onto another street to sell in the same manner. However, this time we got caught.

Not only was each salesperson picked up, but I was halted and arrested as their manager. We all got stiff fines and spent a few hours in jail while we waited for one of the company partners to come from Los Angeles and bail us out.

We had to appear soon after in court on the arrests and fines. Rather than just pay and walk away with marks against our names, I chose to defend all of my crew and take the heat as their manager, in part because I had been written up for the same violation as my crew, for selling on the streets, yet had not done any selling (this would prove to be an important fact that day in court).

I chose to defend myself without the benefit of a court-appointed attorney. I felt strongly that the expected license fees were actually a tax in disguise; it was the basis of my case to the judge.

I spoke eloquently about my feelings about the "tax" that prevented the spirit of America based on our Constitution, that the guarantee of free enterprise without unnecessary government interference and "...the pursuit of happiness..." were of more importance than the town's licensing ordinance. I told of other towns where we were welcomed for our selling, where we were not taxed so much to operate and where we paid other taxes by eating in their restaurants and buying in their shops.

While I was speaking a number of lawyers present stopped to listen, and the judge was listening. too. What I did not know was that another bunch of attorneys had lined up at the courtroom door to witness my impassioned plea as well.

I was prepared to go on from there, but the judge held up his hand and stopped me. He took a moment to read the actual town ordinance regarding the license fees and came to the conclusion that its wording was, "too ambiguous to be legally binding...and probably unconstitutional." He then ruled in my favor and dismissed all charges against me and our crew!

I had won! Applause broke out in the court.

When I left the courtroom I was greeted by several attorneys who congratulated me in the hallway. They explained they already knew the judge sitting on the bench had a reputation for chewing up and spitting out defense attorneys and they had fully expected me to get similar treatment. When I won they were amazed. They welcomed my tactic because, as they put it, they would be able to possibly have a better time in front of this judge from there on out since I had now set a precedent of law.

If I had known the judge's reputation beforehand I might not have even challenged him at all. I felt like I had definitely dodged a bullet that day!

Today that memory remains one of my favorites...and the only day I ever had to defend myself in court.

Contributor's Note

A citizen defends his rights in court...and wins!

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Ron Kule's personal blog
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Thanks so much for your reply. It was at that time a major win for me...and the crew...and the attorneys! LOL

Wow, what an amazing story. Personally I hate people knocking on the door and trying to sell me stuff, but it's difficult not to take your side in this episode. I guess you have a knack for winning people over.

Thanks for your comment. I understand both sides of the situation, now being a homeowner, too. It was at that time a real win for us all!

Being a Door to Door salesman is a tough profession. Having to do battle in court, to justify your honest way of making a living, makes it twice as hard.
I've done door to door many years.
Great intel.
Frederick

Hi, Frederick.
I did door-to-door in my earlier years and today prefer relationship selling. We (wife and I) are independent distributors for Mona Vie, and the "selling" is more about sharing an opportunity and building relationships with those who come on board as distributors. As sponsors, we bear the responsibility to help our downline distributors succeed at the same activity we do - share the juice drinks with prospective customers and distributors.
Juice is actually a misnomer since these drinks are fully whole foods, not typical concentrates with added water.
Frederick, what have you sold and what has been your success at it?
Ron

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