Re: Pay it or go to court?
Traffic tix are kind of a strange animal. In Calif, and I presume similar elsewhere, you have less than an 90% chance or prevailing at the hearing, and less than an 85% of prevailing if you appeal. No other court has such a high conviction rate, and its all based on his word vs my word.<br /><br />If you are not guilty, you have an obligation to yourself and the community to go to court. You prob wont prevail, but there is a chance the cop wont show up and if so, the case will be dismissed. Happens all the time. If he does show up, you have served the community by taking a bad cop off the streets for the time it takes him to appear.<br /><br />ASAP like right now! Write to the agency the cop works for and ask for ALL information pertaining to your citation, including a copy of the cops notes and both sides of your ticket. If the agency doesnt respond, and the often dont, none of that can be used at the hearing and you should be able to prevail. In general, cops look stupid on the stand without their notes. If the cop walks in with any papers in his hands, as soon as he speaks, you can/should immediately object.<br /><br />If you go to the hearing, first thing you will be asked how you plead. This is the arraignment part of the hearing. You have a right to be arraigned, a hearing where the charges are read, and you enter a plea. A hearing follows, depending on your plea. You may respond that you have not waived your right to be arraigned within the time limit specified by the state, usually something like 2 or 3-days of your arrest. (You were effectively arrested when the cop decided to issue the citation, and released when you signed it.) You may ask for the case to be dismissed on a due process error, you were not called for a timely arrignment. Might work if you are toward the end of the calendar, might not if you are near the top because others in the courtroom may copy your example, and everyones tix would be dismissed that day
loss of revenue.<br /><br />Also check your states laws regarding a statement of decision. Should be in your state's civil code. You want to request one. A SOD is a written explanation of what evidence was presented and what laws applied when the commissioner/judge decided your case. It is also used for filing appeals. Judges do not want to issue SODs, but are required to when requested, usually within something like 10-days. It basically makes them accountable for their decisions, not something a lot of commissioner/judges are comfortable with. You can take that SOD and use it when filing an appeal based on the due process error.<br /><br />I encourage you to follow thru with this as far as you can take it. In the grand scheme of things, the cost of losing and paying the fine is nothing compared to the education you will gain of this part of the legal system. Youre paying for it with your tax dollars, might as well jump in and learn what its all about. Theres also a certain fear factor that comes with standing before a judge (on appeal), a class of people that can do virtually anything they want with impunity, and speaking your mind. If you are sane, and likeable, dont be surprised if the tix is tossed on appeal for that reason alone. By going to court in America, you will be swimming thru a cesspool of corruption. Go, and learn about it.<br /><br />Also, I think judges are impressed with people that take the time to learn about the process and procedures, and make honest attempts are defending themselves.
