CA Violation 24250 CVC- Driver w/o headlights in darkness (please help :) )

Tonight, while driving home in CA, I was given a ticket at 11:05 pm for having my headlights off. I had left a gas station off of the main street at 10:55 (I have the receipt to prove it) and turned onto the main road, proceeded 0.2 miles (mapquest) down this extremely well lit, large, empty street, and turned onto a darker residential street, when I noticed that my lights were off (I couldn't see anymore), so I immediately turned them on. I proceeded down this street with my lights on (in fact, my brights were on because it was too dark for my normal lights and there was no oncoming traffic, so it wasn't a hazard), stopped fully at a stop sign, continued down the same road for some time, and then was finally pulled over around 11:05 and told by the officer that she had followed me after seeing me drive 0.2 miles down a well lit road with my lights off, continued to follow me even after I had corrected my mistake and proceeded with my mistake fixed, and THEN gave me the ticket. The citation is for a violation committed at 11:05, however, at that time, my lights were on and I was not in violation of any laws. I am not eligible for traffic school (attended four months ago), so I plan on contesting this in court, as my punishment for losing is to pay the fee, which I'd be doing anyways if I didn't go to court.

In a nutshell, at 11:05, the time of the infraction cited by the officer, I was not guilty of what I am being accused of. Do I have a valid argument? Could this hold up in court.

I understand that I broke the law, and whether the street was bright or dark, I should always be driving with my lights on after sunset/before sunrise. I messed up. However, I am most definitely not guilty of what is written on my ticket, which is that I had my headlights off at 11:05. I certainly had them on, and I have proof of that by my gas station receipt and mapquest travel times. The officer (in my opinion) should have caught the problem while I was in violation of CA 24250 CVC, and not long after, especially after I had fixed the problem. However, that is just my opinion, which is why I'm here, to get the opinions of those who know best about these situations. Please help with as little bashing as possible, I just want to understand what is going on here

When charges are brought, they usually include such vague language as "at or about this time" so as to broaden the amount of time in question, and if true, then your semantical argument over a few minutes will probably not succeed in court.

Now, was the time on the ticket reflecting when the incident occurred? or rather when she cited you? My guess is either way it is largely irrelevant, especially if the basis of your argument is based on a span of ten minutes. Also, your "proof" does NOT prove that you did turn your headlights on at a certain time, and I don't care what your receipt or mapquest has to say about it.

My guess is that even if you are correct and can potentially beat this ticket based on this argument that you will not be able to do so without the aid of an experienced traffic attorney, which leads me to my actual advice. A local attorney knows best what the courts want to hear, and as such present the highest potential of yielding the most favorable results. Many attorneys will offer free/cheap consultations, so you should sit down with a couple to see what insight they may have to offer.

Occultist--
You make a very good point here. I totally understand the time situation and that trying to argue something over a matter of minutes may not hold up, but I thought it was worth a try either way, consultation from a local traffic lawyer is something I never would have thought of, and makes sense, so thank you for that suggestion! However, that's kinda why I'm here on freeadvice.com; to get a free "consultation" from others who know the law and how to deal with the courts in these situations. Ive noticed that there are some very knowledgable people on this website, and I was hoping that they may have insight or advice similar to what a traffic attorney may have--it's just a little easier than going into an office!

The insight you are looking for is that you are guilty. You admit to that.

The fact that it was an honest mistake does not enter into the situation and is not a defense or justification. The fact that you got gas and all that other stuff is not a defense or justification. The fact that you're probably a nice guy and don't deserve a traffic ticket is also not a defense or justification.

The fact the the officer followed you, etc, etc is meaningless. Driving without headlights on at night is one of the signs of an intoxicated driver. If I was the officer I would have followed you some distance looking for other signs of intoxication before stopping you. If there were no other signs then you would get stopped for a face to face contact and evaluation. At a minimum you'd get a ticket for the lights, which is apparently what happened.

As already mentioned by Occultist, the time difference of a few minutes is irrelevant.

I know you are looking for some brilliant workaround to use in court to get the ticket dismissed, but you won't be getting that - this is a pretty open and shut case.