My Trial is Not Where I Got My Ticket or Where I Live

My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: CA

I got my ticket around Lamont, CA, 25 min away from me.

I did my TBD with the Lamont branch

The county seat is Bakersfield, CA (where I am)

I got assigned a trial de novo of Taft, CA, over an hour away from me!)

The letter says "no continuance of court date". Is there any way I can get this changed? I can't go over an hour away because that means I need to take a full day off of work instead of going to work late and working late.

What court (court name and city) did the ticket specify?

usually you need to demand the county seat at the time you are ticketed.

The ticket specified the Lamont branch. I've been dealing with the lamont branch throughout. This Taft branch thing came out of nowhere for the trial de novo.

I don't need the county seat, btw. I just need the trial to be in Lamont because that is closer to work. The Taft will be so far.

Contact the court clerk, explain that you will go to the court identified on the citation, but not the other. See what they say!

Yes, I will definitely call them tomorrow and post an update here. I guess no point in worrying from now until 8am tomorrow. I wish I had noticed the location earlier. I got the notice in the mail a week ago. :mad:

Okay, I called and they said since I did a TBD with Lamont, I cannot have a physical trial at the same court because they can't hear it twice. The trial has to be at that farther court.

If I had known this I would not have done a TBD since I can't reschedule a trial de novo and it has to be that far court at a weird time. At least she said f I don't go, I just lose my case. No failure to appear. It seems designed to be in their favor.

Never heard of such a thing.

Tell her you want it in the county seat.... if the 'prosecution' can change the venue, YOU should be able to change the venue. Call back, if she refuses, write a certified, return receipt letter explaining it is an unreasonable burden, that there is not state law nor court rule that allows for a transfer of venue to the prosecutor by not the accused. (I am out of my league here, but perhaps someone else will chime in....)


I strongly recommend getting something in writing to them objecting to the change of venue... no matter what else you do... over the phone the clerks will bully you, once a letter is received their tone MAY change.


My TBWD was heard by the same corrupt judge that heard the denovo... he was forced to find me not guilty in the public (appeal-able) trial.

GL

A

So it's not a rule that a trial de novo has to be in a different ( I assume a superior) court? You think it's just the prosecution pulling strings?

To me it made sense that a trial de novo has to be in a superior court. I just wish places like ticket assassin would have mentioned it.

The clerk says "All trial de novos go to Taft. It's just how we do it."

Here are the LOCAL RULES OF COURT - SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF KERN

I will only cite a couple that I felt are pertinent here:

Rule 1.8 SUPERIOR COURT, COUNTY OF KERN, Departments, Divisions of the Court and Venue. (Effective 7/l/08)
Rule 1.8.1 Apportionment. The Presiding Judge per California Rule of Court 10.603 (b) (1) (B) shall apportion the business of the Court. Nothing in this Rule shall abridge the authority of the Presiding Judge to assign cases in any Division or Branch as deemed necessary. The Presiding Judge may order a transfer at any time without motion or hearing in his or her discretion for reasons stated in the order to transfer. (Effective 7/l/08)

That gives the presiding judge the authority to set certain trials (traffic infractions, for example) to be heard in a certain department or a certain division.

Rule 1.8.2 Operations. The Court consists of all the Departments, Divisions, Branches and Sections wherever they are located and whatever their function. These include all facilities located in the Metropolitan Division, East Division, North Division and South Division. The hours of operation are published on the Superior Court website, other legal publications, and are posted at each location. (Effective 7/l/08)

That says the Kern County Superior Court is one and the same regardless whether a certain case is set to be heard in one department/division/branch/section...

And lastly:

Rule 1.8.
(m) Venue for Adult Traffic/Minor Offense Cases. Venue for traffic and minor offenses charged against adults will be in accordance with the zip codes as set forth in Appendix A.2 except that cases arising in the City of Bakersfield must be filed in the Metropolitan Division, Traffic Department. (Effective 7/l/08)

However, "Appendix A.2" is NOT part of that document... I'm not sure where or how you'll find it! Still, and even if Appendix A.2 showed that the trial for an alleged offense that was committed in XXXXX zip code will be scheduled in a specific branch, I can assume that the presiding judge has the discretion to change that set up pursuant to Rule 1.8.1 and I quote: "Nothing in this Rule shall abridge the authority of the Presiding Judge to assign cases in any Division or Branch as deemed necessary."

It is possible that the court where you submitted your TBD does not have sufficient space for court trials and therefore, all trial are held at a different branch... I don't know :confused:

While I will agree that the reasoning given you by the clerk sounds less than convincing, my guess is that you were not randomly selected but that it is part of the process utilized in that particular branch of the Kern County Superior Court...

My opinion, (and you're free to try and get it moved to the closer location), but you are fighting an uphill battle that is not going to get resolved before the TDN date and more importantly, it is a battle that is bound to get you nowhere (you won't get a dismissal if they refuse your request to change venue, not even on appeal).

In other words, and even if you can get the case moved to the closer location, that still leaves you having to come up with a defense. If you fail in your attempt to get the case moved, you still have to come up with a defense!

So rather than busying yourself with a fight that seems pointless, work on your defense, drive the 1.2 hours and hope you will prevail.

And who knows, maybe the citing officer is also an hour or so away from the courthouse where the trial is scheduled... Maybe he too is dreading the drive, and maybe he will end up not showing up!

Quote:

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Quoting cola123

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You think it's just the prosecution pulling strings?

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If by "the prosecution" you mean the county D.A., my guess is that he/she is not even aware of your case, nor do they care where traffic infractions are tried...

Quote:

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Quoting cola123

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The clerk says "All trial de novos go to Taft. It's just how we do it."

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That's more like it... Like I said before, it is possible that ALL traffic infraction trials are all scheduled and heard at that location. Which means your motion for a change of venue (assuming you can even get it heard before the TDN) will most certainly be denied!

Wow, thank you so much for your research and insight. Yes, it looks like I will have to take time off from work and drive out there, but it's still better than having a point on my license if I can get found not guilty or get traffic school.

I think no matter how it turns out, I will be very tempted to be like most ppl and just pay up and do traffic school if I ever get a ticket again.

The ironic thing is I drive like a grandma (I get passed constantly when I drive and am rarely on the 1st lane) and got a ticket for speeding.