How to Avoid a Record for FTA, Order of Suspension

[citizen1800]

My question involves traffic court in the State of: CA

Los Angeles CO Superiour Court.

I got an "Order of Suspension" from the DMV today. It says your driving privilege is suspended as of Jan 21, 2011. My understanding is that I can continue to drive without penalty until that date.

Sections Violated :
16028AVC 4000A1VC
40508AVC 405095VC

Fine Amount : CONTACT COURT

About a year back I was stopped by a cop and asked for proof of Insurance. My insurance card had expired by a couple of weeks, even though my insurance had been renewed. But, I explained that I do have insurance and am waiting for my new cards from the insurance company.
I was issued a ticket. The officer said its not a big problem and I just need to mail in my proof of insurance.

I went online at www.lasuperiorcourt.org and was playing around on the website. I think the only option listed was to choose a court date. I ended up choosing a court date and the earliest one I got was for a date 8+ months later.

Since the date wasn't acceptable to me. I called the number listed on the ticket and they told me that I just need to send in my proof of insurance and since my insurance was valid on the date the ticket was issued, I don't need to pay fine.
I mailed in my proof and happily closed the issue from my head.

That was a year back. And now I have this suspension in my hands. I am trying not to panic.
For one, I cant afford to have any legal records in my name. I am afraid it could affect my work status as I am a foreign citizen. Also, It would take me hours to get to work a car. And, I can't comfortably afford a lawyer.

Hence, I am looking for help online.

How do I proceed. Whom should I contact first. Some of the options I am thinking are
a) Call the court
b) Goto court
c) call collection agency
d) goto DMV
e) lawyer (worst case ) ?

I would appreciate and be very grateful for any help in this regard.

PS:
Further Information from on my citation online ( am not sure if its helpful )
Violation Date: 12/12/2009
Initial Due Date: 01/27/2010
Case Status: 40509.5 Holds
Disposition:
Last Action: Failure to Appear Hold
Last Action/
New Appearance Date: 11/15/2010 in 063

Your citation has been referred to a collection agency. Please call the GC Services Collection Agency at (800) 352-3778 for English or (800)571-0734 for Spanish. Click here to go to GC Services.
.................................................. .................

[citizen1800]

I just managed to access GC collection services website.
Mind blowing ...
The amount is 1764.00 $

This will kill me.

Is there anyway to negotiate this amount with the collection agency ?
And if I pay this entire amount online , does that mean I will not have any misdemeanor charges ? Its imperative I avoid it, even if I have to not eat out for the next several months.

Is it risky to call the GC collections and request a court date VS paying the amount online ?

[That Guy]

... I just need to send in my proof of insurance and since my insurance was valid on the date the ticket was issued, I don't need to pay fine.
I mailed in my proof and happily closed the issue from my head.

Actually, and in addition to sending proof of insurance, you also have to pay a $25 administrative fee to the court for the dismissal. Also, (from the code sections you listed above), you were also cited for not having valid registration... That too requires you to present proof of valid registration in addition to another $25 administrative fee to get that violation dismissed... So merely sending proof of insurance (without correcting the registration violation and without the administrative fees ($50 in total)) would not have resolved the matter.

Now you have a failure to appear in addition to all of that... You need to contact the court, request that they schedule you for a court appearance where you can speak to the judge...

Once you've done that, you will have to request that the court clerk send an abstract to the DMV to notify them that the matter is being handled in court so that they can lift the hold off of your license. You may have to also go to the DMV to pay them a $55 fee to have your license reinstated.

Also, keep in mind that "calling the court" is not going to work... As far as I know, L A County courts have not had live operators to speak to for over a year now. So you'll have to "go to the court house" where your case was filed.

[citizen1800]

Thanks "That Guy". I will see if the collection service can schedule a court appearance or goto the court directly.

Now, for me considering that I am not a citizen. The issue surrounding misdemeanor ( from what I read FTA is one ) record is more of the issue here. Any suggestions on how I can avoid that ?


Also, If I need to find a decent attorney ( that wont cost an arm and a leg ), is there a good reference source I can choose one from ?

[That Guy]

I will see if the collection service can schedule a court appearance or goto the court directly.

I would contact the court before calling the collection agency. If this is your first FTA on this citation, you should be able to have a court appearance scheduled where you MAY be able to get the fine reduced (if you have proof of insurance and a valid registration)... Whereas the collection agency will tell you that the full amount must be paid before your license can be reinstated.

Now, for me considering that I am not a citizen. The issue surrounding misdemeanor ( from what I read FTA is one ) record is more of the issue here. Any suggestions on how I can avoid that ?

While a 40508(a) FTA is listed as a misdemeanor, it is typically handled as an infraction when the matter is heard by the court (penalized by a fine only/no jail time). I doubt that it will affect your immigration status any...

Also, If I need to find a decent attorney ( that wont cost an arm and a leg ), is there a good reference source I can choose one from ?

We don't do referrals here... You'll have to click on the "Lawyers" tab at the top of the page, use the yellow pages and/or call around.

Good luck!

[HonkingAntelope]

Just relax. This is not the end of the world as long as you stay focused and take care of it RIGHT AWAY. First off, don't talk to the collection agency, period!

As TG said, you were cited for not having your registration and insurance papers on you. What you need to do is to find the copies of your registration and proof of insurance for the time period when the citation was written. If you have both of those papers, drive down to the court and show those to the traffic clerk and the first two charges will be dismissed for a total of $50.

To deal with the FTA, you'll have to schedule an appearance with the judge. Technically FTA is a misdemeanor, but they are almost always reduced to infractions that carry no criminal record. If the original charges are taken care of, the judge shouldn't jam you up on the FTA matter even though you may have to a fine under $500 for that.

My only concern is whether the clerk will be able to give you a court date before your suspension goes into effect and whether there is any way for you to be able to drive legally if they can't. I'd have to look that up unless someone more knowledgeable about FTA's and LA court system chips in.

[That Guy]

My only concern is whether the clerk will be able to give you a court date before your suspension goes into effect and whether there is any way for you to be able to drive legally if they can't. I'd have to look that up unless someone more knowledgeable about FTA's and LA court system chips in.

Highly doubtful the that court will schedule the appearance before January 21st... It will more likely be a few months out... However, once the case is scheduled for an appearance, the court can send notice to the DMV (citizen1800 might have to pay a $10 abstract fee to the court).

Once that is done, Citizen should still contact the DMV as it is possible that they will require him to pay the reinstatement fee (and take the written test) for them to remove the hold/suspension.

[citizen1800]

Thanks a lot guys. I got a court date and I paid only 10$ total today.

I had a copy of registration and insurance cards that covered that period.

I went to the courthouse at 1 pm. Stood in line at the counters called "cashier". A security officer said thats where I would get a court apt.
Stood in line for 2 hours. I was then given a printout and asked to goto GC services ( collections ) counter and ask for a court date. Another hour of wait. Got the apointment in september 2011. Went back to the cashier counter and paid 10$ for the abstract.

I am gonna go to the DMV tomorrow or monday to do the necessary to prevent my license from being suspended.

One curious thing though. The lady at the cashier counter said the FTA will go away by tomorrow. Does that mean the misdemeanor charge is dismissed ? I would assume only the judge can do such a thing. Could you guys shed some light on this.

If not for this forum and another lawyer I wrote to at http://www.fredthia.com ( avvo rating 10.0 ) , I would have ended up paying 1753$ to collections thinking thats the best course of action.

In any case, the court case is months away. Any tips on what I should be doing for that ?

PS: So much ghetto crowd there. There was this female who was rude to me. And then the same female was saying "screw you" to the cashier/clerk for some reason. I also witnessed an almost taser situation at the GC counter.

[That Guy]

One curious thing though. The lady at the cashier counter said the FTA will go away by tomorrow. Does that mean the misdemeanor charge is dismissed ?

No... That simply means that you are no longer subject to the provisions of Vehicle Code section 40509.5 which include the license hold/suspension. As for the 40508(a) (as well as the 16028(a) & 4000(a)) those will be adjudicated when you appear for your arraignment in September.

And DO NOT, under any circumstances, miss that court appearance... Failing to appear a second time will mean that a full payment of the entire amount will be due before your license can be re-instated...

I had a copy of registration and insurance cards that covered that period.

Save those copies and take them with you when you appear in September.