occharge,
For the life of me, I can't imagine why you would sign a form waiving your rights and not know what you were waiving. You did NOT have to waive anything. You can never be required to waive your rights. The state obviously hasn't waived any of theirs.
Jim, I never said anything about not knowing what rights I was waiving by signing the form I was asking about. You can rest assured that I read that entire form at the time & that I knew exactly what I was signing/waiving/agreeing to at the time.
You did NOT have to waive anything. You can never be required to waive your rights. The state obviously hasn't waived any of theirs.
I am aware of that. The form I am speaking of and unless it is completed and signed, the court will not hear your plea on that day. Meaning, if your case is called, you are supposed to walk up, hand the properly completed form to the Bailiff, he checks it, and if it is properly filled in and sign the Judge will continue, if it is not properly completed, you "will have to come back within 5 business days" with a properly completed form and the court will take your plea at that time. If you say you were in court recently, then you HAD TO sign and submit that same form. So can you remember what form you signed?
You probably signed a form waiving right to a speedy trial. Who knows..
The case that I was appearing in court for is one where I had "Failed To Appear" for a previously scheduled court date so my "right to a speedy trial" isn't/wasn't one of my biggest concerns. Besides, that form I signed on 4/17/08, I plead "no guilty", posted bail and returned for my trial 32 days later so I did not have to give up/waive my "right to a speedy trial".
For example: recently I was in traffic court in Lancaster CA. One officer, officer white, did not show up and he had about ten cases being heard that day.
WOW, small world! I too am speaking of A V Court in Lancaster & I too had a case scheduled for trial although in my case and since officer White did not show up that afternoon, my case, in addition to about 11 other cases, was dismissed by the Judge. I'm curious to know which judge was it who rescheduled those cases!!!! Was it that Temp (lady) judge???
Officer White seems to be developing quite the reputation. Just goes to show you that many officers assume that everyone they cite will just write the check and mail it in. So he stands there (he has a few spots he hangs out at: S/B 10th West, JNO Ave K + E/B Ave L just before the bridge + N/B Valley Central Way JNO Ave J) all day tagging people with his LASER gun & citing them for 22350 yet he rarely appears in court. I can see why though!!!
A CVC 22350 with LASER!!!!
The court simply told each defendant that they were going to "reschedule" their cases and asked if a particular future date would be OK with them. Like a bunch of sheep, they all agreed. Not one of them was advised that they did NOT have to agree and that they could object to an inappropriate continuance of their case. All of these people took off of work, sat around for most of the morning in the courthouse only to be told that since the State could not produce their witness, they would have to come back. Think of the shoe on the other foot. If a person in a traffic trial had a witness who could not appear... do you think the court would allow a continuance? Hell no!!
It's simply as I told my wife as we were walking into the courtroom. I hate courts because justice is NOT found in a courtroom.
I have to give it to the court clerk the day I was there. Although they say "we cannot give you legal advice" and after asking who may want to take Traffic School, a few people raised their hands... One by one, she asked them for their names. Knowing officer White was not there that day, she specifically told them: "it is in your best interest to keep things as they are".
I'll have you know that the reason I ask about this form is because I am appealing a Traffic Court case I recently had. I realize that appeals are extremely difficult to win. But this time, I clearly got railroaded by a family law attorney sitting in a Temp position as a Traffic Court Judge... Win or lose, my only purpose is to get my point across to her. "Stick to divorce court".