Changing Your Plea if the Officer Appears in Court

[dali]

My question involves traffic court in the State of: CA
Hi,
I requested a trial and pleaded not guilty. They gave me an arraignment and court trial date at the Orange County Sup Ct in CA. I did make the infraction- went straight on a right turn only lane (22101d). I am trying my luck and hope the officer does not show up. At what point will I know? Is it before or after I enter the plea? I am asking because if he is there I will probably be found guilty. So maybe I could ask for traffic school? Lesser fine? Also, if I were to recognize the officer, would it be wise to talk to him ahead of time? He is the one who suggested I go to court and tell them I was unfamiliar with the area (true) and realized at the last minute I was in the wrong lane. Thanks so very much.

[That Guy]

I requested a trial and pleaded not guilty.

Explain how you did that. It does make a difference!

[dali]

Explain how you did that. It does make a difference!

Hi,
Thanks for answering. I sent them a letter and told them that I was planning to plead not guilty and that I wanted a court appearance. They sent me a note saying that the cause set for arraignment and court trial is July 26. Thanks

[That Guy]

Hi,
Thanks for answering. I sent them a letter and told them that I was planning to plead not guilty and that I wanted a court appearance. They sent me a note saying that the cause set for arraignment and court trial is July 26. Thanks

OK, so you entered your plea by mail, you do indeed have your arraignment and your trial on the same day and that was made clear to you in the letter.

I'm not sure how your judge will react to you changing your plea on your appearance date. What a lot of people do not understand is that the court system is swamped with cases; most of which are similar to your "trying my luck out to see if the officer will show up"... Well, some judges see that as an attempt to manipulate an already overburdened system that is about to crack at the seams, others may see it as a way to expect that a certain number of trial will quickly disappear off of calender each day.

Some courts will offer you traffic school before the beginning of the court session, some will wait and let the judge decide accordingly. And some may simply not offer traffic school at all at that point.

I can tell you from what I've seen, officers, and while they might be open to discussing a case with an attorney, they usually are not too welcoming of defendant's approaches on the trial date. If your officer told you to approach him then that is a different story. Although I'm not sure what your're expecting he will do, and I highly doubt that he wrote the citation so that he can have you appear in court so that he can simply dismiss it based on an excuse that he could have accepted to begin with. Who knows.

All in all, you are asking us to predict a number of results each of which can go a number of different ways.

As I have always said, it is always best to try for a fine reduction and traffic school at the arraignment. You opted to go in a different direction.

Last but not least, and with you having chosen to plead and post your bail by mail, and pursuant to VC 40519(b), you automatically waived your right to a speedy trial. That is the absolute worst thing you can do when you're hoping that the officer will not appear. Why? Well simply because in your case there is no time limit as to when the trial must be held. So if for some reason the officer failed to appear, or if he had contacted the court to request a continuance, there is a high likelihood that the court and since there is no limited timeline, may continue the case to a different date.

Either way, good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

By the way, this is the third thread in 4 days asking pretty much the same question.

Can You Plead Guilty with Explanation Before Trial in Exchange for Traffic School 07/12/2012

Changing Your Mind After Requesting a TBD 07/14/2012

Changing Your Plea if the Officer Appears in Court 07/15/2012

I have a few descriptions I can use here but I'll leave those to your imagination. Just think about this the next time you're standing in an endless line waiting to handle a traffic matter in court, how many of the people standing in line ahead of you are there for a legit reason, and how many are simply trying to play the system?

Now don't you all start whining when the fines go up dramatically each and every years... Everything has a price!

[dali]

OK, so you entered your plea by mail, you do indeed have your arraignment and your trial on the same day and that was made clear to you in the letter.

I'm not sure how your judge will react to you changing your plea on your appearance date. What a lot of people do not understand is that the court system is swamped with cases; most of which are similar to your "trying my luck out to see if the officer will show up"... Well, some judges see that as an attempt to manipulate an already overburdened system that is about to crack at the seams, others may see it as a way to expect that a certain number of trial will quickly disappear off of calender each day.

Some courts will offer you traffic school before the beginning of the court session, some will wait and let the judge decide accordingly. And some may simply not offer traffic school at all at that point.

I can tell you from what I've seen, officers, and while they might be open to discussing a case with an attorney, they usually are not too welcoming of defendant's approaches on the trial date. If your officer told you to approach him then that is a different story. Although I'm not sure what your're expecting he will do, and I highly doubt that he wrote the citation so that he can have you appear in court so that he can simply dismiss it based on an excuse that he could have accepted to begin with. Who knows.

All in all, you are asking us to predict a number of results each of which can go a number of different ways.

As I have always said, it is always best to try for a fine reduction and traffic school at the arraignment. You opted to go in a different direction.

Last but not least, and with you having chosen to plead and post your bail by mail, and pursuant to VC 40519(b), you automatically waived your right to a speedy trial. That is the absolute worst thing you can do when you're hoping that the officer will not appear. Why? Well simply because in your case there is no time limit as to when the trial must be held. So if for some reason the officer failed to appear, or if he had contacted the court to request a continuance, there is a high likelihood that the court and since there is no limited timeline, may continue the case to a different date.

Either way, good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

By the way, this is the third thread in 4 days asking pretty much the same question.

Can You Plead Guilty with Explanation Before Trial in Exchange for Traffic School 07/12/2012

Changing Your Mind After Requesting a TBD 07/14/2012

Changing Your Plea if the Officer Appears in Court 07/15/2012

I have a few descriptions I can use here but I'll leave those to your imagination. Just think about this the next time you're standing in an endless line waiting to handle a traffic matter in court, how many of the people standing in line ahead of you are there for a legit reason, and how many are simply trying to play the system?

Now don't you all start whining when the fines go up dramatically each and every years... Everything has a price!

Hi,
Thank you for your extensive answer. I admit ignorance (not familiar at all with courts and laws... ). I had no clue I had a different option, such as the one you mentioned. I guess I should have researched beforehand. When I received the notice, there was no mention of waiving the speedy trial by sending in the plead and the bail. It said that you did not have to go in person, but you could send it by mail instead. Mostly the reason for my plea was the amount of the fine- way too steep for what I did...I had gone straight rather than turn right.. I did not run a red light, or behave recklessly. You do have a point about fines getting higher because too many people abuse the system. However, they could also take into consideration someone's very good driving record, and other extenuating factors (such as being lost, unfamiliar with the area...) Oh well, live and learn they say.
Thank you again for your advice. Hopefully I will not need it in the future. I drive carefully and try to respect the rules as much as possible... but there is always that one time...
Have a great summer. ciao

[That Guy]

Hi,
Thank you for your extensive answer. I admit ignorance (not familiar at all with courts and laws... ). I had no clue I had a different option, such as the one you mentioned. I guess I should have researched beforehand. When I received the notice, there was no mention of waiving the speedy trial by sending in the plead and the bail. It said that you did not have to go in person, but you could send it by mail instead. Mostly the reason for my plea was the amount of the fine- way too steep for what I did...I had gone straight rather than turn right.. I did not run a red light, or behave recklessly. You do have a point about fines getting higher because too many people abuse the system. However, they could also take into consideration someone's very good driving record, and other extenuating factors (such as being lost, unfamiliar with the area...) Oh well, live and learn they say.
Thank you again for your advice. Hopefully I will not need it in the future.

You're welcome. And no one is saying you behaved recklessly. In fact, reckless driving would be a different violation, with fines anywhere between $475 and $1515 as well as two violation points if the officer had witnessed any actions that would justify such a charge. The fine for running a red light is $480, whereas the fine for disobeying the direction of an official traffic control device is $234. Steep? It would be nice if we got to decide what out own penalty should be...

Your driving record should have zero effect on your guilt or innocence. I mean we all start with a clean record, and if every time we violate the law we are allowed to use our "clean record" to circumvent the penalty, then none of us would ever be found in violation of the law, none of us would be penalized for committing any violation! That's not how it works.

but there is always that one time...

Sorry... But to suggest that this is the ONLY time you have ever violated the law... Its inconceivable! It might be the one time you've gotten caught... We've all done it; some more than others!

Good luck!