About Contesting a Traffic Ticket in California
Good news is contesting your traffic ticket in court does not have to be a hefty task, that is if you prepare step-by-step and you know what to expect. There are four main steps to prepare you to contest your traffic ticket: Arraignment, Pre-Trial Discovery, The Trial Process, and Verdict and Sentencing.
The very first time you show up at court is called an "arraignment", "first appearance", or "notice hearing." This is your once chance to plead guilty and defray your fine, or plead not guilty and arrange a trial date. It is crucial to arrive at your arraignment at the time scheduled on your traffic ticket. If not, in the long run, it might even end up costing you more money and the judge can even have you led to being arrested and sent to jail by issuing a bench warrant. At the arraignment, you should be prepared to post bail. However, your bail should not be more than the price of the ticket. Certain courts may let you to skip bail and let you loose "on recognize" (a promise you make that means you will show up at the trial even without the bail). It is essential that you do not waive your right to a fair and speedy trial, which occurs within forty-five days or the charge must be dismissed (in most states). If you see your traffic ticket is unreasonable, try to ask the judge to dismiss the case at the arraignment. It's important you do this with respect and quickness, to not rile the judge.
The next step is discovery, where the lawyer advocates the uncovering for the details of the case against you. Among traffic tickets, the discovery method is less formal, but there are still some rules you must abide to. You should present a "Request For Production" or "Discovery Request" containing certain evidence the prosecutor will use at trial. When you present your request to the court, you should present it in an adequate and formal way. If the prosecutor hasn't responded within a certain number of days, the court can dismiss the case and you can set up another date for your motion.
After your trial has been terminated, the judge will announce his verdict, guilty or innocent.
There are other possible ways to contest your fine. You can contest through mail in which you don't have to make an appearance at court. This is called a "Trial By Written Declaration". Usually, they will set your trial aside and it could end up being dismissed. Having it dismissed will mean that the fines will be taken off, even if you were guilty or innocent.
There are many ways to contest your traffic ticket with the court and it is well worth it. Paying a few dollars to contest your traffic ticket is better than just getting it over with and paying the $300 or more fine. Eventually, you will have to pay some money, but it is your choice to either take the fine or contest the court.
Below is a list of evidence you may request or use for your traffic ticket case:
- A copy of the officer's notes, including both sides of the ticket
- A list of witnesses, their phone numbers and addresses
- A copy of any photos or videos taken at the scene
- A copy of any diagrams or maps to be used by the prosecutor at trial
- Any other written evidence to be used at trial
Your formal written request should be served on the prosecutor in a manner that you can prove the prosecutor received it (your traffic court clerk may be able to supply you with forms and details on how the request must be served). It's important to keep a copy of your request, just in case you need to show it to the judge later.
If the prosecutor hasn't responded within a certain number of days (which varies by state and court), you can ask the judge to dismiss the case. The clerk of the traffic court can tell you when to file a Motion To Dismiss and help you set up a hearing date for your motion.
Remember that Ticket Busters, ticketbust.com, can assist you with contesting all your traffic tickets by filing a Written Trial By Declaration to request the court to dismiss your traffic ticket.
