PE Red Light Traffic Citation
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: CA
I was issued a PE red light citation on January 09, 2009 and never recieved a citation. I was in the middle of relocating and didn't give DMV my new mailing address until February 09, 2009. I did not have a permanent address due to losing my job, townhome rental, and most all my belongings were given away to charity. I was traveling back and forth from the central coast to the L.A. area during this transition. I barely found out about this ticket on December 15, 2009 when I called DMV to renew my expired DL only to find out it was suspended. The officer at the local P.D. dept. mailed me a copy of the citation and pictures. He told me he would not mail me a c.d. or e-mail the 12 sec. video and that I had to go in to the P.D. to view it. I finally went on February 02, 2009 to view it. He had previously told me on the phone that I stopped for three seconds behind the intersection then entered the intersection at a red arrow. I asked him if there was oncoming traffic and he said yes. After viewing the video two times very quickly I asked for a copy of it. He declined again. He told me that I needed to go to court to get my license back and pay the fine. He said that in his 5 years of working there not one person has ever won a case. He said I can try to fight it but gave negative information making it sound hopeless. I told him I wouldn't run a red light nor have I ever. I did not answer him when he asked me if that was me in the pic. I beleive the pictures and videos were tampered with by Redflex. I noticed in the video that the flow of traffic was moving steadily and quickly at left turn signal. The light was green and my car was supposedly going about 23 mph. The light turned yellow about 2 cars before mine and my front tires went over the intersection at yellow then turned red. I noticed the straight lane was not moving as fast as the left turn lanes. My car was on the inside turn lane. If the car would or could have stopped it would have caused an intense jerking and skidding. The officer lied to me about this incident and I have reason to distrust anything they say because my picture was taken in latter 2009 while a passenger in my daughters car. I saw the light flash brightly when we went through same intersection straight on a green. I beleive Redflex has facial recognition via satellite according to DL image. In the picture I was wearing the same clothing and hairstyle as the picture in latter 2009. Their proof of service is an affidavit on the actual citation. I want to see the actual envelope or certified mail receipt but they apparently put it through the regular snail mail. No other attempts were made to mail me a second notice. According to what I remember, I was wearing sunglasses and a blue jacket. My visor was down to block the sun. In the picture I was wearing the tanktop with my regualr glasses. The traffic in the 1st turn lane was jammed and I slowed down to yeild to traffic ahead even though the light was green; the car ahead of me jolted forward when the tie up freed up and I went forward because the light was still green. After passing the intersection the light turned yellow and the traffic came to a complete stop due to a car blocking traffic up ahead. I came to a complete stop out in the intersection behind the line of cars. At this time the light turned from yellow to red. I had no choice but to sit in the tie up until it cleared. The pictures possibly show this but the video does not. I have serious doubt as to the validity of this evidence they seem to think is concrete. What rights do I have in this case?
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
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WhattaSchock
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: CA
I was issued a PE red light citation on January 09, 2009 and never recieved a citation. I was in the middle of relocating and didn't give DMV my new mailing address until February 09, 2009.
So there is a chance that the citation, and the subsequent courtesy notice which is usually issued by the court, were properly mailed to you, however they were probably returned to the post office as undeliverable.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your address with the DMV is current (legally, you must notify the DMV of a change of address within 10 days) and failure to do so does not relieve you from the duty of responding to a notice to appear that was issued and mailed to you at your last known address on record with the DMV.
You can contact the court or the law enforcement agency that issued the ticket to check and see whether the notice to appear was issued and mailed to you within the 15 day period pursuant to CVC 40518:
40518. (a) Whenever a written notice to appear has been issued by a peace officer or by a qualified employee of a law enforcement agency on a form approved by the Judicial Council for an alleged violation of Section 22451, or, based on an alleged violation of Section 21453, 21455, or 22101 recorded by an automated enforcement system pursuant to Section 21455.5 or 22451, and delivered by mail within 15 days of the alleged violation to the current address of the registered owner of the vehicle on file with the department, with a certificate of mailing obtained as evidence of service, an exact and legible duplicate copy of the notice when filed with the magistrate shall constitute a complaint to which the defendant may enter a plea. Preparation and delivery of a notice to appear pursuant to this section is not an arrest.
If you can somehow prove that they did not meet that requirement, then you should argue for a dismissal. If you can't, then you're stuck having to answer to the charge as well as responsible for the timely appearance on or before the date on the citation regardless of whether you received it or not. Meaning, your excuse that you hadn't filed a change of address with the DMV will more than likely fall short of getting you a dismissal of the failure to appear charge.
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WhattaSchock
He had previously told me on the phone that I stopped for three seconds behind the intersection then entered the intersection at a red arrow.
probably a good time to ask you what CVC section you were cited with...
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WhattaSchock
I asked him if there was oncoming traffic and he said yes.
Might not be as relevant as you may think but then again, it depends on which CVC section you were cited in violation of.
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WhattaSchock
After viewing the video two times very quickly I asked for a copy of it. He declined again.
Mybe somebody else can chime in on whether they would be required to provide you with a copy of the video or not... I will simply post the related statutes which I found...
21455.5 (e) (1) Notwithstanding Section 6253 of the Government Code, or any other provision of law, photographic records made by an automated enforcement system shall be confidential, and shall be made available only to governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies and only for the purposes of this article.
Also:
21455.5 (f) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), the registered owner or any individual identified by the registered owner as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation shall be permitted to review the photographic evidence of the alleged violation.
That says that they are only required to make it available for you to view... And they have done so... Whether you can convince the judge that their failure to provide a copy of it is such a major issue or not... I couldn't tell you. For starters, you should file a discovery request (search this forum or Google "California Informal Discovery Request" for more information) and see if they provide it or not.
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WhattaSchock
I beleive the pictures and videos were tampered with by Redflex.
As I said in your other thread, you need to verify the validity of such a claim before making such a statement in court. If you can somehow show that Redflex's agreement violates 21455.5(g) then you've got a great argument for a dismissal (be mindful of the applicable dates of when the agreement/contract was entered into). Otherwise, an "unsubstantiated claim" is not going to get you anywhere!
California vehicle Code Section 21455.5(g)
(1) A contract between a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated enforcement equipment may not include provision for the payment or compensation to the manufacturer or supplier based on the number of citations generated, or as a percentage of the revenue generated, as a result of the use of the equipment authorized under this section.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a contract that was entered into by a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated enforcement equipment before January 1, 2004, unless that contract is renewed, extended, or amended on or after January 1, 2004.
The burden to prove that Redflex gets paid based on the number of citation issued (and assuming such an agreement was entered into after 1/1/2004, thereby making it illegal) is upon YOU. And until you can read the specific terms of the contract, and support such a claim with documented evidence in court, you will not get anywhere as far as invalidating the citation.
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WhattaSchock
The light was green and my car was supposedly going about 23 mph. The light turned yellow about 2 cars before mine and my front tires went over the intersection at yellow then turned red. I noticed the straight lane was not moving as fast as the left turn lanes. My car was on the inside turn lane. If the car would or could have stopped it would have caused an intense jerking and skidding.
I'm going to skip over all that... You're free to make your argument in court before the judge and after he views the video and reviews the photo evidence...
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WhattaSchock
The officer lied to me about this incident and I have reason to distrust anything they say because my picture was taken in latter 2009 while a passenger in my daughters car. I saw the light flash brightly when we went through same intersection straight on a green.
The camera could have flashed as it was taking a picture of another vehicle crossing... say for example... the limit line for the red turn arrow, or for cross traffic.... Regardless, your daughter did not receive a citation for that incident... Did she? And even if she did, what does that have to do with another separate incident where you were the driver? Its irrelevant.
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WhattaSchock
I beleive Redflex has facial recognition via satellite according to DL image.
Uhm.... Interesting!
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WhattaSchock
Their proof of service is an affidavit on the actual citation. I want to see the actual envelope or certified mail receipt but they apparently put it through the regular snail mail.
The statute only requires them to sign the affidavit, and mail it regular mail. But what if they had to mail it certified.. YOU ADDRESS was not current with the DMV, and certified mail gets returned the same way regular mail gets returned!
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WhattaSchock
No other attempts were made to mail me a second notice.
Actually, the citation gets issued and mailed within 15 days of the violation date (that's 1 notice) as well as filed in court. When the court receives its copy, then a courtesy notice maybe mailed by the court (that's 2 notices)... Subsequently, another courtesy notice is mailed by the court the day after you failed to appear in court giving you an additional 10 days to contact the court prior to it ordering a hold on your license and adding a “failure to appear” charge to the underlying offense (that's 3 notices). Subsequently, and upon receiving notice of hold from the court, the DMV is also required to send you a notice notifying of the hold on the license and that it will be suspended unless the matter is handled in court (that's 4 notices)... But if your address was incorrect at the time the citation was issued (again, not the court's fault, not the DMV's fault and not the police agency's fault) then those subsequent notices would have continued to be mailed to the old/incorrect address.
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WhattaSchock
I have serious doubt as to the validity of this evidence they seem to think is concrete.
Well you're free to argue your case before the judge. My guess is he will look at the video as well as the pictures on the citation and so long as the testifying officer can establish that it was you driving at the time, that the camera system operated properly at the time, and that the elements of the offense with which you were charged did in fact occur, then most if not all of your arguments about what you believe, think or assume will fall flat...
I'm sorry to hear that you were going through a tough time back then, and I understand that this may be a HUGE fine to pay, but in all honestly, and without substantiating any of the claims you made here, you seem to have a pretty weak case if any at all. Then again, you never stated which CVC section you were cited with.. So I cannot speak to whether the elements of the offense did in fact occur. This is despite your detailed description of what you may remember from a year ago.
Best of luck!
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
As far as the updated mailing address; it was given to DMV on Feb 09, 2009. So I should have received any 2nd, 3rd, and 4rth, notices if any. I went to the DMV on February 09, 2009 and September 2009. Showed the clerk(s) my license to identify myself, and no notification that my license was suspended. It should have shown up in September because apparently my license was suspended in July 2009.
Also my hands are not on the steering wheel at all in the face picture. I have carpal tunnel and cubittal tunnel making my arms weak. I have no power steering. I need both hands/arms to negotiate a turn. My arms are relaxed and down against my body. I guess I would need medical records for that. CODE AND SECTION: VC 21453(c). I have a clean DMV record with no prior history of traffic violations. Oh and my original court date was February 26, 2009 and no FTA was mailed to my updated address of February 09, 2009.
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
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WhattaSchock
As far as the updated mailing address; it was given to DMV on Feb 09, 2009. So I should have received any 2nd, 3rd, and 4rth, notices if any.
Not really... When the alleged violation occurred (on January 9, 2009) and subsequently when notice of infraction was issued a few days later (remember it must be issued and mailed within 15 days of the infraction date), it was issued and most likely mailed to your old address. When a copy of the same was filed in court, it too was filed with your old address... So the original notice of infraction, as well as the 2nd and 3rd notices (issued by the court off of the original notice of infraction), all 3 documents had your old address on them.
As for the 4th notice, the suspension notice issued by the DMV, I cannot tell you whether it was or wasn't mailed, OR whether it was mailed to your old address or new address. That you can check with the DMV to verify. Still, and by the time the DMV was notified by the court to place a hold on your license, you had already failed to appear in court by the initial due date and by second due date (10 days after the failure to appear)...
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WhattaSchock
Also my hands are not on the steering wheel at all in the face picture. I have carpal tunnel and cubittal tunnel making my arms weak. I have no power steering. I need both hands/arms to negotiate a turn. My arms are relaxed and down against my body. I guess I would need medical records for that.
Those are matters that you are free to discuss with the court as you present your case before the judge (assuming you do choose to testify in your own defense)... Fact still remains, and from what you have posted, your vehicle may have been over the limit line when the light was in its red phase, which can in effect, activate the camera as that can be considered a violation of 21453(c).
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WhattaSchock
CODE AND SECTION: VC 21453(c).
California Vehicle Code Section 21453 (c) A driver facing a steady red arrow signal shall not enter the intersection to make the movement indicated by the arrow and, unless entering the intersection to make a movement permitted by another signal, shall stop at a clearly marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication permitting movement is shown.
You're free to argue that you actually crossed the limit line on yellow (assuming you can verify that on the video). Whether the judge will buy into that or not... I couldn't tell you.
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WhattaSchock
Oh and my original court date was February 26, 2009 and no FTA was mailed to my updated address of February 09, 2009.
Again, the initial notice to appear, and assuming it was issued within the statutory 15 day period, would have been issued on or before January 24, 2009 (15 days after the date of the alleged violation on January 9, 2009). That would suggest that it was issued with your OLD address. Once it is issued and a copy of the same is filed in court (also with your old address), it, as well as any subsequent notices from the court would be mailed to your OLD address in spite of the fact that you changed your address with the DMV on February 26, 2009.
I am not trying to give you a hard time... I am simply explaining the normal process under which these citations are issued and why it is that you never received any notices from the court.
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
If I live in South O.C. can I request a change of venue for trial date? If so, do I present it to the judge at my first appearance or mail it in afterwards?
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
The court is not the DMV. There's not a court in the nation that double-checks your address of record with the DMV to see if you've moved subsequent to receiving a ticket.
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
If my ticket cvc is 21453c failure to stop at red arrow and the picture and video show a round red light. should it be 21453a instead? Can I claim the citation number is incorrect??? There is no red arrow displayed on the evidence.
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
What intersection in Los Alamitos is this? And in which direction were you travelling?
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WhattaSchock
If my ticket cvc is 21453c failure to stop at red arrow and the picture and video show a round red light. should it be 21453a instead?
Yes, if there is no red arrow, then it should be 21453(a) instead of 21453(c).
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WhattaSchock
Can I claim the citation number is incorrect???
"Citation number" might be erroneously interpreted as the number on the "notice to appear"/case number. You would be arguing that "you were cited for the wrong vehicle code section"....
Re: PE Red Light Traffic Citation
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WhattaSchock
If I live in South O.C. can I request a change of venue for trial date? If so, do I present it to the judge at my first appearance or mail it in afterwards?
For starters, a change of venue request may be justified if you were residing or are employed closer to the courthouse located in the county seat (in the county where you were cited). For Orange County, the county seat is Santa Ana (which is north of Los Alamitos and even farther north from "South O.C." - where you reside).
Furthermore, and although I would rather not get into the intricate details of how the fine for this citation is allocated (locally), I will however say this: I am fairly certain that the city of Los Alamitos wants to collect their share of it (assuming you are found guilty)... So it is highly unlikely that the court would grant your motion by allowing a change of venue to Santa Ana. You are free to give it a try if you want. If you do choose to try it, you should file your motion for it prior to 10 days before your hearing/appearance date... And you would then argue it before the judge/commissioner at your arraignment.