What Happens When the Police Officer Doesn't Show Up for Court

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: CA

I had a court trial date set up for a speeding ticket i received earlier.
When i showed up for court, the PO was not there.. I was pretty confident the case would get dismissed as i have seen it done before many times before for others.
I was called in front of the judge as the beginning of the court session and he told me this...
"The officer could not show up for court. He sent a note that he was on vacation and that he'd be back the following week." Because of this the judge continued the case to the following week.

This caught me off guard... i objected and asked for dismissal, the the judge overruled my objection.
As i left the court i became increasingly irritated.. i was not warned in any way by the court or PO that he is unable to show up. I had to take a day off of work for nothing, and now have to take an additional day.
If i was the one that couldn't show.. i would automatically be declared guilty by the judge.

Do i have any recourse here?

Nope. The court is free to grant continuances. If you had called and asked for one you would have gotten one as well.

This should have been a dismissal. It is the officer and the court's fault that he was not present. NOT YOURS. Every ticket in California that I got where the officer did not show up was dismissed on the spot. This judge SCREWED YOU. The argument is "It is not my fault that the prosecutor's office is not ready to proceed. It is THEIR fault. Today is the hearing. Today should be the decision. I DO NOT WAIVE FURTHER TIME."

If you had a lawyer representing you and you were not available then you would also have gotten a continuance. I agree is a pain but that is the nature of litigation ~ they do this so you pay --- don't let them win this way, make your next court date.

Um, first things first. Why can't you keep your posts in a single thread? This would simplify matters. You didn't waive time, so the 45 day statutory speedy trial period in Pen C §1382 is still in play, correct? If so, when you objected to the continuance, did you ask for a dismissal under Pen C §1382?

According to People v. Wilson, if you didn't object and move to dismiss under 1382, then you've waived review of the error on appeal. That means that your only remedy, if you didn't move to dismiss under 1382, is through a Writ.

According to Pen C §1050, continuances can only be granted for good cause. There are specific procedural requirements in that section of law too. In particular, the moving party is required to file and serve the motion within at least 2 days prior to the trial date. If the moving party doesn't comply with the requirements, the court can impose sanctions but it cannot dismiss the case outright. It seems to be that you could file a writ asking the reviewing court to impose sanctions under PC §1050.5, and either dismiss your case or order it set for trial within the statutory 45 day period under PC §1382. You'll need to dig up the appropriate case law for exactly how this delay is prejudicial to you, though.

I did waive time... i did this earlier in order to move the court date.
I did not ask for dismissal under Pen C 1382.. since this is the first time i've heard of this.

can i still file a writ? and is this the correct form? http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/ej130.pdf

You can file a writ, but its acceptance is at the discretion of the reviewing court. Since you waived time, it's going to be difficult to argue that you've suffered any prejudice from the behavior of the trial court. Yes, the court made an error, but you'll need to argue that it is one that has caused you harm. I'm not really sure how you would show that.

The forms are APP-150-INFO and APP-151. Be sure to read everything in APP-150-INFO before filling out your APP-151.

My court case got rescheduled to 5/25, Would i still be able to file this across the bench since there is only 7 days between my court dates?

also 1050 only talks about criminal proceeding..
b) To continue any hearing in a criminal proceeding, including
the trial, (1) a written notice shall be filed and served on all
parties to the proceeding at least two court days before the hearing
sought to be continued, together with affidavits or declarations
detailing specific facts showing that a continuance is necessary and



under the section below.. what would i file under? the one i bolded?

Just as there are laws (statutes) that provide that certain kinds of rulings can be reviewed using a writ, there are
also laws that provide that certain kinds of rulings can be appealed immediately. Code of Civil Procedure
section 904.2 identifies the types of orders in a limited civil case that can be appealed immediately. These orders
include:
-An order made after final judgment in the case;
-An order changing or refusing to change the place of trial (venue);
-An order granting a new trial or denying a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict;
-An order granting a motion to quash service of summons or granting a motion to stay or dismiss the action
on the ground of inconvenient forum;
-An order granting or dissolving an injunction or refusing to grant or dissolve an injunction; and
-An order appointing a receiver.
In misdemeanor and infraction cases, the following court orders can be appealed immediately:
-An order granting or denying a motion to suppress evidence (Penal Code section 1538.5(j)); and
-Any order made after the final judgment that affects the substantial rights of the defendant (Penal Code
section 1466).

thanks

Quote:

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Quoting oraph

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My court case got rescheduled to 5/25, Would i still be able to file this across the bench since there is only 7 days between my court dates?

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Hold the phone. Your court date is tomorrow? You almost certainly don't have time to file this, since you'd need to request a stay in the lower court proceedings when you file the writ with the appellate division of your superior court. However, I find this confusing. You claim that you waived time, but this new trial date is only 42 days from when you were arraigned (4/13, right?). Are you SURE that you waived time?

In People v. Graves, the court held that the prosecution may move to continue the trial up to the last day provided by statute, without any showing of good cause. It sounds to me like that's what happened here. Your case was continued to another date within the 45-day period. Quoting Graves, "[The] Supreme Court has made it clear the People are not required to show good cause in order to justify a continuance within the statutory period set forth in section 1382."

Quote:

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Quoting oraph

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Just as there are laws (statutes) that provide that certain kinds of rulings can be reviewed using a writ, there are
also laws that provide that certain kinds of rulings can be appealed immediately. Code of Civil Procedure
section 904.2 identifies the types of orders in a limited civil case that can be appealed immediately.

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That was my point in the earlier post; if you objected and moved to dismiss under 1382, then you could appeal the ruling according to the case law I pointed you at. In this situation, since you claim that you've waived time and 1382 doesn't apply, then the decision isn't reviewable on appeal, and a writ is your only recourse. You still need to be able to show that the ruling actually harmed your case, though. The section in APP-150-INFO that concerns your writ, would be the first one in section C on page 5, "Your petition needs to show that a writ is the only way to fix the trial court’s error." It sounds like you cannot appeal the ruling, and without the writ you have no adequate remedy at law. I still don't understand how the decision has actually harmed your case, or what you could ask the appellate division to do to remedy the situation, but I may be suffering from a deficiency of creativity.

The portions of the CCP that apply to writs are 1084-1097 and 1102-1105.

I was arraigned on 4/13 at that time judge tried to schedule the court date for 2 weeks later on a day that i could not attend. I asked him to reschedule to which his reply was " He will not unless i wave time" . Son on 4/13 i had to wave time and reschedule to day that fit better for me 5/18. I did not again waive time on 5/18.. not sure if that makes any difference. Should i continue the case for another week to get out of the 42 day window?