Left in Limbo with My Trial by Declaration

[babsworm]

My question involves traffic court in the State of: California, Los Angeles Superior Court

I got a traffic ticket on September 5th and chose the Trial By Declaration option. I sent in my check, wrote 'not guilty' on the check and waited for what seemed like ages (~8 weeks) to get some acknowledgment from the court. Not being able to speak to a live person, I started to get nervous about when the forms were due. This is my first time doing a TBD. I checked the status of my ticket via www.lasuperiorcourt.org and it had a due date. So even though I had not received anything back from the court, I assumed the due date was the correct date and subsequently prepared my TBD paperwork, and overnighted the package to the court in time. I have confirmation that the package was delivered before the due date (November 16th). Just my luck, literally one day after having sent everything in, I received the paperwork saying that the TBD was due at a later time - it was extended to December 14th.

Since I've sent the paperwork in, I've received no communication whatsoever about the status of my case. I again checked the status of my ticket via the website, and now the status says "court" and has the last action/new appearance date as January 27th. I'm really worried as to why the status says "court" and not "TBD" as it said previously. I would appreciate some insight as to how long it takes to hear back from the court on the decision regarding the TBD. I would also appreciate some input about whether I am expected to appear in court on January 27th. Please advise. Thanks.

[quirkyquark]

how long it takes to hear back from the court on the decision regarding the TBD. I would also appreciate some input about whether I am expected to appear in court on January 27th.

No, 27th is when your TBD will be decided. Mailing the decision to you may take a couple of weeks though.

[California student]

Technically speaking, both your declaration and the officer's declaration are read and decided in court (the actual mechanics of how that works is unknown to me). As such, your name will appear on the calendar, even though you aren't expected to show up. The court makes a decision and the results are returned to you and posted, hopefully in a timely manner (for example, the Temecula branch of Riverside Superior Court is running almost 2 weeks behind for some reason right now, which is really painful since their online system provides a lot more information). So, for all intents and purposes, the next action for your case is a court date that you are not expected to appear for.

Edited to add:

To illustrate the TBD, here's a set of court minutes for a TBD that will hopefully be similar to your court minutes.

[babsworm]

Thank you both for your prompt replies!!! Your clarifications have calmed my anxiety of the unknowns of the TBD procedures. Since LA Superior Court's phone system doesn't have a published way to speak to a live person or to send an email, at the very least, their website should be more informative about what the status codes mean so the process and timelines aren't such a mystery. Also, it would be helpful if they sent email communications confirming receipt of payment, receipt of paperwork, that sort of thing. Cheers to you both for picking up the slack of the info black hole of LA Superior Court!

[gmorris]

I had a very similar situation. I did a written TBD. I sent in my argument and evidence with the bail amount several weeks ago when it was due Jan 31, 2012. Status has said "court" for a while now and I noticed the appear date said March 2 but like you I had not heard a WORD about it, nothing in the mail. From what I read here it sounds like that was the day they needed to make the decision and hopefully in a couple more weeks of patiently waiting I will hear back.

[babsworm]

Unfortunately, based on the experience I am having with my TBD, expecting a turnaround in a "couple of weeks" from your March 2nd TBD date may be unrealistic if you are dealing with Los Angeles Superior Court. To date, it has been ~6 weeks from when my TBD was scheduled to be decided (e.g. Jan 27th) , and I have not received anything in the mail and their website still says "court" next to the citation number.

When I hear back about my TBD, I plan to update this thread so that folks can gauge their expectations with regard to my experience with how long this process actually takes.

[quirkyquark]

If you want a metric, my TBD decision took 8+ weeks to arrive in the mail, from LA Metro. It WAS decided 6/8/11 (said so on the decision), but wasn't mailed out until around 8/12/11.

[babsworm]

As promised, here's a follow up on my TBD. I received the Decision on March 24, 2012 - the court found me guilty, unfortunately. I don't owe any more money - the bail was applied the fine. The decision was mailed on March 22, 2012 and signed by the judicial officer on January 30, 2012 for a TBD that was originally scheduled to be decided on January 27, 2012 for a ticket that was issued on September 5, 2011. Bottom line is that it takes over six months for a ticket to go through the TBD process. I suppose it could take longer if you a request an extension.

The court returned my evidence, but not my statement, though I have a copy of it as part of my records. What is frustrating is that the decision did not include any of the police officer's evidence that was used to make the decision. Is there any way I can get a copy of their evidence?

As I understand it, I've got 20 days from when the decision was mailed to me, to file for a Trial de Novo. I am undecided as to whether to pursue this further. It would help to know their evidence to decide whether to pursue further action. Any suggestions on this matter would be appreciated. Thanks!

[That Guy]

What is frustrating is that the decision did not include any of the police officer's evidence that was used to make the decision.

You easily frustrate yourself, I think....

The Notice of Decision is only intended to inform you of the outcome. If you would like to review the evidence against you, you can either go to court and ask to be given an opportunity to review you file, or you can request copies of the evidence submitted by the officer!

Any suggestions on this matter would be appreciated. Thanks!

You have not given us not even a hint of what you were cited for, what happened and how it transpired, what arguments you have in your defense...

You can flip a coin and you'd have better odds of guessing right than we do!

[uwti]

Persue it to the ends of the earth! 6 months? state of Califonia is floating your bail money! so even if things go in your favor (Not Guilty) they benefit from sitting on your money and earning interest on it before they give it back to you. Don't let them get away with it!

I found your post beacuse I am going through exactly the same thing, very frustrated and cannot speak to a live person about it. If I am found guilty I will submit for a new trial. The officer is less likely to show up than he is to respond to a declaration by mail.

As promised, here's a follow up on my TBD. I received the Decision on March 24, 2012 - the court found me guilty, unfortunately. I don't owe any more money - the bail was applied the fine. The decision was mailed on March 22, 2012 and signed by the judicial officer on January 30, 2012 for a TBD that was originally scheduled to be decided on January 27, 2012 for a ticket that was issued on September 5, 2011. Bottom line is that it takes over six months for a ticket to go through the TBD process. I suppose it could take longer if you a request an extension.

The court returned my evidence, but not my statement, though I have a copy of it as part of my records. What is frustrating is that the decision did not include any of the police officer's evidence that was used to make the decision. Is there any way I can get a copy of their evidence?

As I understand it, I've got 20 days from when the decision was mailed to me, to file for a Trial de Novo. I am undecided as to whether to pursue this further. It would help to know their evidence to decide whether to pursue further action. Any suggestions on this matter would be appreciated. Thanks!