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What Happens if You Lose Your Traffic Ticket Trial

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  • 09-30-2011, 11:40 AM
    brunotg
    What Happens if You Lose Your Traffic Ticket Trial
    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California

    i got an speeding ticket on 4th of July, i was doing 97 on a 70 zone in I-5 (i was not doing 97, i was doing 92, but the office wrote that on the ticket), i was driving from seattle to california, the ticket was issued over redding, CA.

    i moved to california a month ago, but i'm still 5 hours away from Redding, so i called several times, to see how to deal with this. i have requested for court trial, they send me a letter for this, i would like to get the ticket reduced by half [it's a $459] by pleading not guilty, but the written request for trial involves waiving the right to have a trial within 45 days. I'm also sending them the $459 bail.

    if i lose , besides losing the bail, is there any other further consequence ? will i have to pay more money ? go to jail ?

    the trial request says that "the maximum sentence is a fine and assessment of $380 though some may go as high as $950"

    about the ticket circumstances, the officer did not hear my reasons , instead he was arrogant and did not understand that i was trying to get my sick parents to the hotel, this is the second ticket in 2 years . [the other one, i was doing 41 on a 35 zone] and i'm a good driver, and in fact i was just getting into the highway after stopping at a gas station, i was not driving like that for more than 1 minute.

    thank you so much for any feedback you may have.

    Kind regards,
    Bruno
  • 09-30-2011, 02:54 PM
    HonkingAntelope
    Re: What Would Happen if I Lose in Trial - Speeding Ticket
    Quote:

    Quoting brunotg
    View Post
    i got an speeding ticket on 4th of July, i was doing 97 on a 70 zone in I-5 (i was not doing 97, i was doing 92, but the office wrote that on the ticket), i was driving from seattle to california, the ticket was issued over redding, CA.

    Doesn't matter, unfortunately. 71mph in a 70mph zone is no more and no less illegal than 99mph in a 70 zone. The only difference is the donation you'll be required to make to the near-bankrupt state of CA if you lose. The big issue you have is that you are not automatically eligible for traffic school due to 25mph over cutoff. Only the judge can grant traffic school to you now, assuming you haven't attended one in CA already in the last 18 months. Some judges are cool about this, and some are jerks. It really depends on the court and the judge you get the day your case comes up.

    Quote:

    i moved to california a month ago, but i'm still 5 hours away from Redding, so i called several times, to see how to deal with this. i have requested for court trial, they send me a letter for this, i would like to get the ticket reduced by half [it's a $459] by pleading not guilty, but the written request for trial involves waiving the right to have a trial within 45 days. I'm also sending them the $459 bail.

    if i lose , besides losing the bail, is there any other further consequence ? will i have to pay more money ? go to jail ?
    There is absolutely no way you'll get any sort of fine reduction by phone. You'll need to show up in person and pray that the judge will agree to reduce the fine. Bear in mind the considerable risk of getting ANOTHER ticket if you're going to be on the road for 10 hours and the fact that very few judges offer any sort of fine reductions for speeding violations. A lot of these rural counties are broke as a joke, and shaking down passing motorists is one of the few ways they can raise revenue without raising taxes on the locals. If you choose to simply pay up, the whole matter goes away with the conviction going onto your public record and a possible insurance increase depending on your ins. co's policies. There is no jailtime in CA for simple speeding violations or additional fines for contesting the violation (unless you SERIOUSLY piss off the judge). The best way to contest any traffic cite in CA is to request a TBD, and if you lose, file a request for trial de novo.

    Quote:

    about the ticket circumstances, the officer did not hear my reasons , instead he was arrogant and did not understand that i was trying to get my sick parents to the hotel, this is the second ticket in 2 years . [the other one, i was doing 41 on a 35 zone] and i'm a good driver, and in fact i was just getting into the highway after stopping at a gas station, i was not driving like that for more than 1 minute.
    Sorry to hear about your parents, but neither the police nor CA legislature care one bit about it. Even if they were on the verge of death and your cell phone died at the wrong moment, you must still obey the law. When CA passed VC 22349a/b and 22356b, their intent was simple. Anyone who drives as little as 0.1mph above the maximum speed must receive a ticket. There are no exemptions for medical emergencies or any other reason. It's nothing personal - the officer was only doing his job properly.
  • 10-01-2011, 12:56 AM
    quirkyquark
    Re: What Would Happen if I Lose in Trial - Speeding Ticket
    Quote:

    Quoting HonkingAntelope
    View Post
    Sorry to hear about your parents, but neither the police nor CA legislature care one bit about it. Even if they were on the verge of death and your cell phone died at the wrong moment, you must still obey the law. When CA passed VC 22349a/b and 22356b, their intent was simple. Anyone who drives as little as 0.1mph above the maximum speed must receive a ticket. There are no exemptions for medical emergencies or any other reason. It's nothing personal - the officer was only doing his job properly.

    True. But the judge MAY care(!)...I recently saw a judge in LA Metro dismiss a stop-sign run-through "in the interests of justice" when the defendant produced a signed letter from a doctor saying that her mother was so sick she required immediate assistance [from the daughter] and some sort of documentation from a related hospital stay. I assumed most judges (including our beloved That Guy, if he were one) would say: "Tough s***. She shoulda called 911". I was pleasantly surprised...
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