My question involves traffic court in the State of: California

On Sept 9 I got a citation for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle VC 21806(A)(1) on El Camino in Mountain View, CA. In my opinion the ticket was not justified and the whole case with a $456 fine just looks like another way to help fixing the disastrous financial situation of the state of California.

Recently I received the courtesy note from the court and I want to request court appearance to contest the citation. I think I have a chance to win: only the light was on but no siren was going on the police bike when the officer gave me a sign to stop and then the heavy rush hour traffic going with 35 mph on a three lane jam packed road didn't allow an immediate stop and pull over to the curb (I was in the middle lane) without possibly causing an accident. Before giving me the stop sign the officer had chased a car with light and siren which stopped in the left turn lane before an intersection, ways before I arrived at the scene..

I am not very experienced with legal matters; the last ticket I got was in 1987 for speeding for which I went to traffic school.

When I got the ticket I already had sold my car and all my possessions in the US. I was leaving the country less than a week later on Sept 15, with no plans to return. I just gave up my permanent US residence and returned my green card to the US embassy after 23 years.

In my situation one can understand how much I disliked getting a ticket a few days before leaving the US. At the same time I want to keep my records clean as I always had and resolve the situation in a decent way but $456 is just too much money to pay for a nuisance.
To say is that my drivers license will expire in Oct 2010 and will not get renewed because I gave up my green card.

I understand how the court process goes:
- Arraignment with 'plea not guilty'
- wait for the court date
- contest the ticket in court

Before calling the court in Palo Alto for the first time I want to make sure I understood the confusing information properly I found the court website.

Questions:
  • Can I do the arraignment over the phone or in writing?

  • If I plea 'not guilty' at the arraignment and get a court date set: Do I have to show up at the trial in person or can I send in my position in writing?

  • Do I have to pay the $456, marked as 'Amount Due for a Court Appearance' on the courtesy note?

Any other suggestions for how to resolve the situation without making a $2,500 case out of it (fees, lawyers, airplane ticket, etc.)?

I appreciate any help you can offer.