On the night of July 17, 2008, I was pulled over because of the front-side window tint on my car and a GPS navigation unit attached to my windshield. The officer gave me a verbal warning on the GPS unit but cited me for the tint and not having a registration for temporary residency. It was a fixable citation where I had to get a temporary registration and remove my tint.
At the time I was working in California for three months as a door-to-door salesman. I was hired in Boise by a Utah company. The company rented rooms at an apartment which they put us up in. Due to the nature of the business, we were constantly being shuffled and consolidated into different apartments as our team fluctuated in numbers. I never had a permanent residence. After getting the ticket I went to the DMV and they even agreed that they could not give me a temporary registration without having a permanent address. I also went down and followed up at the Compton courthouse the week following my citation. They informed me that it hadn’t been processed yet and to come back in several weeks.
I forgot to go back and follow up as I was required to work six days a week for about 12 hours a day. I went back to Boise, Idaho, on August 18 to get ready to start my sophomore year of college. This was a month after the citation and several weeks before my scheduled court date (9/17/2008). In my naivety, I thought that I would write the court/judge (since you cannot get through by phone) and try and get it taken care of to save me a trip down to California at the beginning of my semester. I included my home mailing address for future correspondence (I never heard back). This is an option in Idaho; however, I now realize that LA County has about four times the population of Idaho.
I missed my court date and followed my citation online. It said it had been referred to GC Services so I followed up with them. They were unable to find it by my driver’s license number and said there was nothing they could do. I put it to the back of my mind and figured it may have just gone away since they had no record. Recently, before a planned trip to California, I decided to look it back up. It still showed as being in collections and (after research of the code next to it) that my driver’s license was suspended. I followed up with GC Services again yet they could not find anything under my drivers license number. I followed back two more times and only then did the lady on the phone ask what the state code for Idaho is. Apparently, she (and the other collections associates) was putting ‘IA’ as Idaho’s state code instead of ‘ID’. This is why they had never been able to find the citation number. The amount due has worked itself up to $808 for a citation I couldn’t fix and probably should never have received (after doing the research and talking to other officers that summer).
I never tried to hide from it and have always wanted to get it taken care of. I am fine with the FTA going on my record but I just want to get the fine reduced (at least) and to prevent having to go back to LA for a trial. I am already driving down for an arraignment in a couple weeks (September 13) and would love to get this settled then but I am unfamiliar with my potential options at this time. Am I pleading guilty, not guilty or no contest for the Failure to Appear or for the traffic citation? Can I plead guilty with an explanation and request a reduction in the fine? If I plead guilty will I still have to return for a second court date? I also am going to Germany for three months in October, so if I plead not guilty will I have the ability to influence the trial date based on my availability? Is there any way of contacting the DA’s office and working something out prior to the arraignment? Any recommendations on how to handle this would be great.
At the time I was working in California for three months as a door-to-door salesman. I was hired in Boise by a Utah company. The company rented rooms at an apartment which they put us up in. Due to the nature of the business, we were constantly being shuffled and consolidated into different apartments as our team fluctuated in numbers. I never had a permanent residence. After getting the ticket I went to the DMV and they even agreed that they could not give me a temporary registration without having a permanent address. I also went down and followed up at the Compton courthouse the week following my citation. They informed me that it hadn’t been processed yet and to come back in several weeks.
I forgot to go back and follow up as I was required to work six days a week for about 12 hours a day. I went back to Boise, Idaho, on August 18 to get ready to start my sophomore year of college. This was a month after the citation and several weeks before my scheduled court date (9/17/2008). In my naivety, I thought that I would write the court/judge (since you cannot get through by phone) and try and get it taken care of to save me a trip down to California at the beginning of my semester. I included my home mailing address for future correspondence (I never heard back). This is an option in Idaho; however, I now realize that LA County has about four times the population of Idaho.
I missed my court date and followed my citation online. It said it had been referred to GC Services so I followed up with them. They were unable to find it by my driver’s license number and said there was nothing they could do. I put it to the back of my mind and figured it may have just gone away since they had no record. Recently, before a planned trip to California, I decided to look it back up. It still showed as being in collections and (after research of the code next to it) that my driver’s license was suspended. I followed up with GC Services again yet they could not find anything under my drivers license number. I followed back two more times and only then did the lady on the phone ask what the state code for Idaho is. Apparently, she (and the other collections associates) was putting ‘IA’ as Idaho’s state code instead of ‘ID’. This is why they had never been able to find the citation number. The amount due has worked itself up to $808 for a citation I couldn’t fix and probably should never have received (after doing the research and talking to other officers that summer).
I never tried to hide from it and have always wanted to get it taken care of. I am fine with the FTA going on my record but I just want to get the fine reduced (at least) and to prevent having to go back to LA for a trial. I am already driving down for an arraignment in a couple weeks (September 13) and would love to get this settled then but I am unfamiliar with my potential options at this time. Am I pleading guilty, not guilty or no contest for the Failure to Appear or for the traffic citation? Can I plead guilty with an explanation and request a reduction in the fine? If I plead guilty will I still have to return for a second court date? I also am going to Germany for three months in October, so if I plead not guilty will I have the ability to influence the trial date based on my availability? Is there any way of contacting the DA’s office and working something out prior to the arraignment? Any recommendations on how to handle this would be great.