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Request to change location of court appearance

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Slybone

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I received a ticket for vc 24250 (driving w/o headlights during darkness)

To be honest the cop was being a real jerk about the situation. Anyways I remember reading somewhere that you can request the court appearance to be within 15 (or 50 --cant remember) miles of your address on your drivers license. Does anyone know if this is true? If so is there a cite? I googled it but wasnt able to find it, probably because I am not wording it correctly.

*EDIT* : see below. I requested that the officer change the place to appear and he told me that he had never heard of that. Normally you must request this during the ticketing process. because the officer did not grant the request does this mean I cannot make any sort of motion requesting it?
 
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Slybone

Junior Member
Alright so I was finally able to track down an answer:

Place to Appear

40502. The place specified in the notice to appear shall be any of the following:

(a) Before a magistrate within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed and who has jurisdiction of the offense and is nearest or most accessible with reference to the place where the arrest is made.

(b) Upon demand of the person arrested, before a judge or other magistrate having jurisdiction of the offense at the county seat of the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed. This subdivision applies only if the person arrested resides, or the person's principal place of employment is located, closer to the county seat than to the magistrate nearest or most accessible to the place where the arrest is made.

(c) Before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail.

The clerk and deputy clerks of the superior court are persons authorized to receive bail in accordance with a schedule of bail approved by the judges of that court.

(d) Before the juvenile court, a juvenile court referee, or a juvenile hearing officer within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed, if the person arrested appears to be under the age of 18 years. The juvenile court shall by order designate the proper person before whom the appearance is to be made.

In a county that has implemented the provisions of Section 603.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, if the offense alleged to have been committed by a minor is classified as an infraction under this code, or is a violation of a local ordinance involving the driving, parking, or operation of a motor vehicle, the citation shall be issued as provided in subdivision (a), (b), or (c); provided, however, that if the citation combines an infraction and a misdemeanor, the place specified shall be as provided in subdivision (d).

If the place specified in the notice to appear is within a county where a department of the superior court is to hold a night session within a period of not more than 10 days after the arrest, the notice to appear shall contain, in addition to the above, a statement notifying the person arrested that the person may appear before such a night session of the court.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Yep ... unfortunately, the change to the county seat should have been made at the time of the citation. Now, you will have to make the request to the court.

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Carl:

I would do so how? Simply by sending in a letter motioning to change the place of appearance?
Call the clerk of the court and ask the procedure to request a change of venue to another court. Some courts will have this on their website. Depending on your county, there may be few options because not every court in the county may be set up to hear traffic cases.

- Carl
 

Slybone

Junior Member
Carl:

Thank you, I spoke to the court clerk and she informed me that unfortunately they do not offer a option to change the venue.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Carl:

Thank you, I spoke to the court clerk and she informed me that unfortunately they do not offer a option to change the venue.
I'm very surprised. If there is more than one venue for traffic court, then there has to be a way to ask ... if traffic is only heard in one place, then you may be out of luck.

- Carl
 

Slybone

Junior Member
There are at least 2 different venues in San Diego that hear traffic cases, one in Chula Vista and one in Clairemont Mesa, the Chula Vista venue is closest to my home but I was pulled over closer to the Clairemont Mesa venue. Is this something that would have to be done by a letter requesting a pre-trial motion to the judge??
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Chula Vista is not the county seat.
Clairemont Mesa is in San Diego (city) which is the county seat.

The statute only involves moving TO the county seat, not away from it.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
There are at least 2 different venues in San Diego that hear traffic cases, one in Chula Vista and one in Clairemont Mesa, the Chula Vista venue is closest to my home but I was pulled over closer to the Clairemont Mesa venue. Is this something that would have to be done by a letter requesting a pre-trial motion to the judge??
There is also San Marcos (Yeah ... I used to be a cop out there ...)

I doubt a letter is the proper method, so it would likely have to be done in the form of a motion of some kind. Sorry, but I do not know how this is best conducted.

Here's a direct link:

http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1272147&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

- Carl
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Chula Vista is not the county seat.
Clairemont Mesa is in San Diego (city) which is the county seat.

The statute only involves moving TO the county seat, not away from it.
You can always ask for a change of venue to another court in the county. At the time of the stop, the defendant can ask for the citation be issued in to the court closest to the county seat under the appropriate circumstances (as listed under CVC 40502(b)).

- Carl
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
He's already summonsed to the county seat.
They appear unwilling to move it to Chula Vista for him, and the CVC passage cited doesn't require them to.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
He's already summonsed to the county seat.
They appear unwilling to move it to Chula Vista for him, and the CVC passage cited doesn't require them to.
The court can still allow it to move to a different venue should they so choose. I'm not sure what the point would be, but it can be done if the court wanted to.

- Carl
 

oc_man

Junior Member
Change of Venue Request denied

I filed a motion (properly formatted) via certified mail with the court to have my case moved to the county seat (Santa Ana)

In the motion I sited the CVC 40502(b) and the case Smith v. Municipal Court, 167 Cal.App.2d 534, where the court said:

“The clear import of the statute is therefore to give the right to the arrested person to specify the place of his appearance and trial. If he has a right to demand that as something due him, that right cannot be denied him …”

I just got a response from the court, my motion to change the venue to the county seat was denied!

With my limited understanding of the law.. the ruling seems to be in direct conflict with CVC 40502(b). But the very brief note doesn't explain why he ruled the way he did.

Did he rule against me on some (unknown) procedural error? Do I need to go to court in person to request a change of venue?

If I go to court in person can I make the request again?

Can I go to the court of appeals and file the motion again, since it's possible that the judge misinterpreted the law?

What are my next steps?

OC Man
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
The section you cited deals only with asking for this change at the time of the citation ...

40502. The place specified in the notice to appear shall be any of
the following:
(b) Upon demand of the person arrested, before a judge or other
magistrate having jurisdiction of the offense at the county seat of
the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed.
This subdivision applies only if the person arrested resides, or the
person's principal place of employment is located, closer to the
county seat than to the magistrate nearest or most accessible to the
place where the arrest is made.​
You must request it at the time the "notice to appear" is written (this is the citation). Any other change is a request for a change of venue and absent some compelling reason why you might not get a fair trial, the court likely does not even have to consider your request.

Sorry, but you'll probably have to take care of it at the time and location specified.

- Carl
 

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