What Happens if You Don't Show Up for Your Trial De Novo

My question involves traffic court in the State of: CA

Summary up until now:

• Got a speeding ticket about six months ago - 22349(a)VC, 82 @ 65, Radar/Lidar box not checked
• Eligible for traffic school, no points on my record
• Lost Trial By Declaration - statement: "I stand by my plea of not guilty"
• Granted Trial De Novo date about three weeks from now
• Trial is 350 miles away in Santa Clarita
• Insurance premium goes up by about 20% if conviction stays on my record

I have basically no defense (see TBD statement) unless I'm missing something stupidly obvious, so I think the best outcomes are either a) the officer not showing up, or b) if I can still get traffic school somehow.

My questions are:

1. If the officer doesn't appear at the trial, does it matter if I do?
   
2. Will I get additional penalties if I don't show up?
   
3. What are the chances of me being granted traffic school if I do or don't show up?

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If the officer doesn't appear at the trial, does it matter if I do?

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how are you going to know whether he showed up unless you are there? They will call you and if you aren't there, it won't matter if the cop is there or not.

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Will I get additional penalties if I don't show up?

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do you mean with having filed and received an extension or not/ You did pay the bail amount, right?

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What are the chances of me being granted traffic school if I do or don't show up?

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how would you request traffic school if you aren't there to request it? As it stands, based on what I have read, your chances of being offered school once you lost the TBWD are slim anyway.

basically, if you don't thing you'll win, why are you contesting it?

You don't get more penalties by not showing up. You've already posted bail and that will be converted to your fine amount if you do nothing more. You might be able to write the judge and ask that Traffic School be allowed in your case, assuming you would be allowed to enter a guilty plea by mail or just agree not to show up for trial. You could contact the DA by email, state your case number, and ask whether he has any objection to the court allowing traffic school in your case. (Although the DA will not show up at trial, he is the prosecutor of record unless you have a City Prosecutor or a few other rare conditions exist. The DA will probably add that they don't handle traffic cases.) The court can grant traffic school in any event but you should avoid "Ex Parte" motions or such communications with the court. Some judges won't allow traffic school after TBWD but they really aren't supposed to deny it simply because you pled Not Guilty or did TBWD.

Be sure about what the purpose of your appearance in three weeks is. I'm betting it's TDN arraignment where you'll re-state your Not Guilty plea. Since you've already paid bail, you don't need to do that again. You can probably waive arraignment if you contact the court clerk. It's a waste of your time and mileage.Whatever the purpose of the date is, you can likely postpone it to try to get the rest of your ducks in a row.

If you simply don't show up with no other requests or motions, you won't get traffic school.

Thanks for the responses.

I have no experience whatsoever with trials or courts in general. It probably shows.

I only did the TBWD because I was under the impression that I could still easily go to traffic school if that failed. First time I've ever done it. I should have done proper research. And yes, I did post bail.

I'm not sure I fully understand, but my options appear to be:

1. Do absolutely nothing, with no chance of my conviction being overturned or dismissed, and live with the point on my record for the next three years
2. Appear at the trial and hope the officer does not show up
3. ??? something about contacting the judge or court clerk and ask for traffic school in exchange for a guilty or no-contest plea? Is that right? How exactly would that work?

Ask the clerk to send you the officer declaration.
Request the police to mail you all paperwork for the equipment calibration used to measure your speed.
Post all documents here.
Maybe there would be something to help in your defence.

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Quoting vppl

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Thanks for the responses.

I have no experience whatsoever with trials or courts in general. It probably shows.

I only did the TBWD because I was under the impression that I could still easily go to traffic school if that failed. First time I've ever done it. I should have done proper research. And yes, I did post bail.

I'm not sure I fully understand, but my options appear to be:

1. Do absolutely nothing, with no chance of my conviction being overturned or dismissed, and live with the point on my record for the next three years
2. Appear at the trial and hope the officer does not show up
3. ??? something about contacting the judge or court clerk and ask for traffic school in exchange for a guilty or no-contest plea? Is that right? How exactly would that work?

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Did you read my suggestion above? I'm guessing not.

The Court Clerk is not in a position to allow traffic school at this point. The judge who has been assigned your case "for all purposes" is. This judge could allow this based on your written motion or request or at arraignment (in court, where the officer will NOT be present) or at trial (in court, where the officer may or may not show up). At any point in the process, you can request traffic school. I've seen a judge allow traffic school AFTER TBWD and after TDN, even though he indicated before TDN that traffic school would likely not be an option after TDN. It very much depends on the individual judge and on the defendant's demeanor/attitude.