Part One Of The Series: " California Traffic Laws - So You Think You Should Fight Your Traffic Tic
Submitted by: I-Newswire
2011-12-27 16:20:14
"Are those party lights in my rear view mirror?" Nope. You did it again…..doing 75 in a 65 and thought that there is some magical 10mph bump they give you before they ticket you? Now you have to choose between traffic court and traffic school.
"Are those party lights in my rear view mirror?" Nope. You did it again…..doing 75 in a 65 and thought that there is some magical 10mph bump they give you before they ticket you? Did you not learn in your last traffic school 18 months ago that the "bump" was long gone with the 1990's? And now you are faced with a $400+ traffic ticket, PLUS court fees to get California traffic school papers PLUS whatever the school charges for the course online or in classroom
Wait……you say you were UNFAIRLY CITED? You want to go to court? Well….that IS one of your options. You can
A. Plead Guilty, pay the ticket and have it go on your record for 3 years, get a "point" and risk insurance premium rise
B. Plead Not Guilty and set a trial date
C. Plead Guilty and request classroom or online traffic school if you have not attended in the last 18 months.
It used to be that you could go ask the court for LEVEL 2 traffic school if you got your 2nd ticket within the 18 months in California, but that is no longer operative.
So, you chose B. and lets face it, what you are hoping for is that the Police Officer will not show up because let's ALSO face it….. .
So, the first thing is you can set a date for your pleading…guilty, not guilty and most courts allow you to do this online. You can actually postpone the decision online and push it off a few months. Then, you will have to plead and set a trial date eventually, and again, the backlog at most courts is so bad, you will have to wait perhaps 4-7 months to even get a trial date. Are you increasing the chances that the officer won't show up? Of course you are, and if he/she does…. They HAVE to remember you…and how they came to stop you. Now, I am not a lawyer and I cannot give you "legal advice" by law, but I am allowed to point out your options.
But…comes the day, and now it seems like all the officers are not there…they give you an opportunity to change your plea to TRAFFIC SCHOOL before the Judge sits, but once they sit down, the ONLY way you would end up in traffic school is if the Judge takes pity on your poor soul….but wait…..the Judge is dismissing EVERYONE'S case, and then….like out of a bad 1980's movie……the courtroom doors swing wide open, a cloud appears and out of the mist, the Velcro mustache and mirrored sunglasses appear and you go…."Oh..SHhhhhhhhh…" ITS MY COP. NOW you have to FIGHT the case. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Tune in next time for: PART 2: Coming January 2012
