Wrong Address on the Traffic Ticket
My question involves traffic court in the State of: California
I got a traffic ticket in California for "Evasion of Fare" [P.C. 640 (b) (1)]... It was not my intention of not paying the fare for the train... this was what happened, I just got in at the train station when all of a sudden the train is coming and I don't have time to buy for the ticket as I'll be missing my errands. My plan is to buy a ticket to the next station, but unfortunately as I sat down there's a conductor/inspector waiting inside the train and ask me for a ticket. So I told him that I don't have a ticket and will just buy one at the next station. He took my ID when all of a sudden another inspector/conductor came in and told to the other inspector/conductor to get me off to the next station to talk with me. So they pulled me off the train and ask why I don't have the ticket, I told them that I was in a hurry and will be missing my errands, and did not have time to buy a ticket. I told them that I will pay and buy the ticket at the station that they brought me, but they did not give me a chance. So they issue me a ticket, but the inspector who issued the ticket put my mailing address incorrectly. When I noticed that the address was incorrect I told them (inspectors/conductors) that he put a wrong mailing address on the ticket. I told them too that how can I receive my court notice if the address he put was incorrect. The inspectors/conductors told me just to call the Traffic Court within 45-60 days and inform them that I have a new mailing address... I want to receive my court notice on time because I don't want to miss my court date.
My question are:
1) Do I need to wait for 45-60 days to notify the Traffic Court to correct my mailing address on their file?
2) What would be better for me, to plea guilty or "not guilty" ?... This is my first time to get a legal matter (traffic ticket), that's why I don't know what to do.
I don't mind paying for the fine, but my main concern is, if this Infraction traffic ticket will show on my background check or credit history whether I plea guilty or not guilty.
I will appreciate if you will give me a good information and advice regarding this matter.
Thank you very much.
Re: Wrong Address on the Traffic Ticket and to Plea Guilty or Not Guilty
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Quoting
yogivinay
He took my ID .
What kind of ID did you show him?
Re: Wrong Address on the Traffic Ticket and to Plea Guilty or Not Guilty
Re: Wrong Address on the Traffic Ticket and to Plea Guilty or Not Guilty
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Quoting
yogivinay
1) Do I need to wait for 45-60 days to notify the Traffic Court to correct my mailing address on their file?*
To my knowledge about court appearences, no. If substantial information, such as the Drivers License number is written down on the citation, a person is still responsible for paying the fine on time. Make sure you call them and let them know that you want to know when the court date is and they'll assign it to you. However, should you have any problems with this, tell them about your incorrect address information, and they'll most likely reissue the ticket and give you more time to come up with the payment, but it's better than being charged additionally for failure to appear/pay on time.*
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Quoting
yogivinay
*2) What would be better for me, to plea guilty or "not guilty" ?... This is my first time to get a legal matter (traffic ticket), that's why I don't know what to do.
If you admit you did it and are willing to pay for it, then plead guilty so you notify the Judge in advance, and describe to the Judge about your situation, and hopefully you'll just end up paying the fine alone.
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Quoting
yogivinay
*I don't mind paying for the fine, but my main concern is, if this Infraction traffic ticket will show on my background check or credit history whether I plea guilty or not guilty. *
Btw, I admire and respect how you're willing to be a good person and pay the fine. Good idea. Because a similar situation happened to me, but I didn't pay the fine, thought I got away with it, just to get into more trouble later and have to pay even more fines.
*
And I'm pretty sure that if you pay the fine, or fight it and suceed, it won't go on your records.
Re: Wrong Address on the Traffic Ticket and to Plea Guilty or Not Guilty
So in your case, did it show on your background record when you chose not to pay your fine the first time?
By the way, thank you very much for the information you gave.
Re: Wrong Address on the Traffic Ticket and to Plea Guilty or Not Guilty
As I told you before, I got charged with Fare Evasion myself in New York, and since I mentioned I didn't pay it at all or showed up to court, I still got it by mail because they were able to find me by looking me up by I can't say what (but you get my point) and I got charged with more than twice the original fine amount in total for failure to pay on time.
Luckily, because I was under 18, I didn't have a Drivers License yet, and I payed all my additional fines, I didn't get it flagged on my records, but If I had a valid drivers license, I would have gotten License Suspension for failure to pay which DOES get flagged on One's driving records and stays for years.
But in this case, If you pay it on time, it usually does not go on any of your records at all.
You're welcome.