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On January 18, 2005, about 1:30 AM, I pulled up to a stop sign in
Pasadena, CA.
It was a one way street with three lanes - one left turn lane (with
an arrow in the road indicating thus), and two other lanes.
Alongside my car, a friend was in their car in the the left turn lane,
and I was in the next, middle lane (to the right of them.)
My intended direction was to go straight over, to enter a south-bound
freeway entrance on the other side, but my friend said through our open
windows that I needed to go left, to head towards the other north-bound
freeway entrance.
I looked for traffic, and there was none, so with it safe to enter the
road, I turned my car left in front of my friend's car, and onto the
road.
A few seconds later I was stopped by the California Highway patrol, and
given a ticket for an illegal left turn. The officer also indicated on
the citation that my driver licence had expired a few weeks previously.
A few days later I renewed my driver licence.
On the foot of my yellow traffic ticket ("NOTICE TO APPEAR" on top)
was written: WITHOUT ADMITTING GUILT, I PROMISE TO APPEAR AT THE TIME
AND PLACE INDICATED BELOW then there was my signature, then the officer
had written in the date/time "031005 0830 AM" and then then the
address of the Superior Court in Pasadena.
Following the incident, I wanted to know some things, such as what was
going to happen on March 10, and also what were my potential fine(s).
So on...
Jan 23, 2005 - I called (626) 744-4611 and spoke with Maria who said
the details were not yet in the the computer, and to call back in 5
days. She said she was located in the city attorney's office, and
that she was the only Maria there.
Jan 30 and Feb 01 - I spoke to the assistant court administrator at
(626) 356-5258, and on both occasions was told it was not yet in the
system.
Feb 16 - I called (626) 356-5265 and spoke with Justin in the Traffic
Dept. of Pasadena Court, and was told "nothing yet".
Feb 23 - I called CHP (California Highway Patrol) and spoke to Ann
who transferred me to officer Guittierez (#1566) who said it was in
Pasadena City Attorney's office on Feb 08.
Same day, I called Pasadena Court and spoke with a Mr. Ramos, who told
me "not in system". He then said "I will try imaging" (nobody
else had suggested this before.) I then spoke to supervisor Maria
Camacho, who said I should call Criminal cases (626) 296-8100 and also
that CHP (California Highway Patrol) have a year to file citation. I
spoke to Dawn in Criminal, who said I should be talking to Traffic.
Incidentally, every time I have visited the online citation details
lookup at:
https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/Traffic/index.asp
it has been unable to pull up my citation. I have been doing this every
week since I was stopped.
As you can see, I have not been able to obtain ANY information over the
phone from any of the relevant authorities.
I've done a little basic research on the internet, but there's much
I wish to find out...
(1) How should I plead? The expired licence was indeed out of date a
few weeks, but with the illegal left turn should I plead (a)
not-guilty, because the driver in the left turn lane indicated for me
to turn in front of them? or (b) guilty, but with mitigating
circumstances?
(2) Should I have got a courtesy notice in the mail?
(3) What exactly is happening on March 10? (The "promise to appear"
date on my citation.) Is that my "appearance date", when I appear
before the judge to give my plea?
(4) If not, when do I appear before a judge?
(5) When/how do I obtain a Trial by Declaration?
(6) What are my potential fines/bail amount(s)?
(7) Where are my citation details i.e. why have court employees never
been able to find them when I called, and why doesn't the online
system show anything?
(8) How can I obtain the citing officer's notes from the time I was
stopped?
(9) How can I request the officer be present at my trial / appearance?
(10) How do I get any sort of extension?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 22:21:30 -0500, google_groups@excite.com wrote:
A few seconds later I was stopped by the California Highway patrol, and
given a ticket for an illegal left turn. The officer also indicated on
the citation that my driver licence had expired a few weeks previously.
https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/Traffic/index.asp
Many of your questions, including the amount of the fine, are answered at
the web site you visited even if your particular citation isn't in the
system. When you figure your fine, don't forget to add the "penalty fees"
which are far more than the original fine.
On your first visit, if you plead guilty you will be assessed the fine. If
you want to contest the citation, a hearing date will be set. I would not
suggest contesting it since by your own admission you made the illegal left
turn. Your "mitigating circumstances" in no way changes the infraction.
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