Here is the code section
CVC 21453
(a) A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a 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 to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision (b).
(b) Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver, after stopping as required by subdivision (a), facing a steady circular red signal, may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street. A driver making that turn shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety.
And here is my guess as to how he will likely try to make his case... You are required by law to stop at or just short of the line, meaning stay out of the crosswalk... It also requires you to "remain stopped" as in stay outside of the crosswalk with two exceptions: (1) until you get an indication to proceed, meaning your light turns green, OR (2) until you have yielded the right of way to cross traffic as well as to pedestrians in the crosswalk to your right. If you can make the case for either exception then you should be in the clear, however, the fact that people were honking at you, I assume was because -not only did you not stop before the crosswalk, not only did you go over the crosswalk, but you also were stopped with your front end into the intersection.
IN other words, his case centers around the fact that you did not stop as required under the code and instead, kept going until you found yourself well into the intersection and in the way of cross traffic.
Now, question is.. Did he see you in that position? With your front end hanging into the intersection and people trying to get around you?
He did say, based on your description:
So the safe assumption is that he did see you.... Obviously, if he didn't see you the expectation is that if he did not see you, he would not have cited you. And to assume otherwise would be wishful thinking...
But to add to that, he actually could have cited you for two more violations... (a) assuming he did see you blockjing the crosswalk, he could have cited you for blocking the corsswalk (CVC 21970), and (b) the fact that you were getting honked at might also imply that you were gridlocking the intersection, as in impeding the flow of traffic approaching from your left and he could have cited you for (CVC 22526).
Of course a counter argument can be made that the 21453 violation encompasses both the others I just mentioned... And in reality the chances that this point will come up is extremely slim. The point I am trying to make is that you are under the impression that it will be easy to beat the one violation, it won't... If he was unsure about anything he would not have cited you... At least I do not think so.
Bad plan, and here is why... First you are admitting to committing the violation, and regardless of how strong his case or weak your case is, you don't want to hand him the win. But more importantly, you make it sound as if running the red light was an option but you did everyone a favor by choosing to stop. Fact is, you did not have the option to run the light, or at least you should not have placed yourself in the position where it was either/or...
Let me clarify some basic facts about your options and I will obviously let you make the decision.
I am not sure if you have received a courtesy notice from the court yet, which confirms your last date to respond to the citation by either (1) requesting a court date, (2) by paying the fine and taking traffic school, or (3) just paying the fine by itself (as in pleading guilty).
The problem with fighting a 21453 when you have a very weak case or no case at all, is that after being found guilty by the judge, the conviction carries a statutory fine (see CVC 42001.15, and keep in mind that the $100 mentioned there is the base fine, which after adding the other statutory penalties and assessments, it comes out at $490), which means it cannot be reduced. At $490 for he fine, I think you might want to try and get the fine lowered and you might get some sort of break if you appear in court for the arraignment, plead guilty (choose option (1)) and see if the judge will reduce it. I cannot guarantee he will and if he does, I cannot say by how much...
In addition, and since you have not been to traffic school in the 18 month period before getting cited for this one, you will most likely qualify for traffic school and upon completion of the class and submitting the completion certificate in a timely manner (usually the school itself will submit it for you)... Then the conviction will be concealed meaning your insurance company will not see it. If you decide to fight it, and happen to lose, then traffic school is no longer your option, instead, it becomes a discretionary matter for the judge to decide... Some judges allow it, others may not.

). I am pretty sure he didn't see the motion since he explained how he came over.
