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$700 cell phone ticket in CA!!! HELP!

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fongp

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

Ok, I'm in California first of all.

I received a ticket for "CVC 23123(a) - cell phone use while driving," which is about a $100 fine. I never received any information through the mail from the courts, but I did request an extension online. However, it seems the extension may not have gone through, either by system malfunction or by my own error when requesting.

Anyways, I missed my court date on 12/01/08. Today, I got a yellow notice in the mail saying I have a "hold on my driver's license," which is not a big deal, but also that I owe 700.00! If I pay in full, $300 will be removed, but if not, then I will be charged 700.

Is there a way I can ask the courts to reduce my fine back to the original $100? This is bull, considering the officer told me I would receive information from the courts in the mail that never came.

Thanks for the help.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Ok, I'm in California first of all.

I received a ticket for "CVC 23123(a) - cell phone use while driving," which is about a $100 fine. I never received any information through the mail from the courts, but I did request an extension online. However, it seems the extension may not have gone through, either by system malfunction or by my own error when requesting.

Anyways, I missed my court date on 12/01/08. Today, I got a yellow notice in the mail saying I have a "hold on my driver's license," which is not a big deal, but also that I owe 700.00! If I pay in full, $300 will be removed, but if not, then I will be charged 700.

Is there a way I can ask the courts to reduce my fine back to the original $100? This is bull, considering the officer told me I would receive information from the courts in the mail that never came.

Thanks for the help.
The fine is $20

23123. (a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a
wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and
configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in
that manner while driving.
(b) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a
base fine of twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense and fifty
dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense.


Pay what you owe.
 

CourtClerk

Senior Member
The fine is $20
The fine is $20 plus penalty assessments, which puts it right at about $90 - $100 if it were paid on time.

Courtesy notices are just that. Courtesy notices. If you don't receive one in the mail, that doesn't give you the right to ignore the ticket. The hold on your license IS a big deal because that hold will turn into a suspension in about 25 days...

go down to the courthouse, schedule an arraignment and buy a temporary abstract if you don't want to pay the $700.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The fine is $20 plus penalty assessments, which puts it right at about $90 - $100 if it were paid on time.

Courtesy notices are just that. Courtesy notices. If you don't receive one in the mail, that doesn't give you the right to ignore the ticket. The hold on your license IS a big deal because that hold will turn into a suspension in about 25 days...

go down to the courthouse, schedule an arraignment and buy a temporary abstract if you don't want to pay the $700.
Yes, I ABSOLUTELY understand that. However, our OP said the fine was $20. That is just not correct. :cool:
 

I_Got_Banned

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

Ok, I'm in California first of all.

I received a ticket for "CVC 23123(a) - cell phone use while driving," which is about a $100 fine. I never received any information through the mail from the courts, but I did request an extension online. However, it seems the extension may not have gone through, either by system malfunction or by my own error when requesting.

Anyways, I missed my court date on 12/01/08. Today, I got a yellow notice in the mail saying I have a "hold on my driver's license," which is not a big deal, but also that I owe 700.00! If I pay in full, $300 will be removed, but if not, then I will be charged 700.

Is there a way I can ask the courts to reduce my fine back to the original $100? This is bull, considering the officer told me I would receive information from the courts in the mail that never came.

Thanks for the help.
The information that the officer referred to is the same information that you have on the citation that you signed promising to appear on the date, time and place shown on that citation. In fact, my guess is that the officer referred to it as a "courtesy notice from the court" but even if he didn't, that is all it is. A courtesy notice. Not a required disclosure by or from the court.

The only way that you can get out of having to appear on the date shown on the citation is by requesting an extension whether it be online, over the automated system on the phone or by speaking to a live person, but in any of those cases and unless you receive a confirmation that you appearance date was postponed, then you are still bound by the original date that you agreed to appear on by signing the citation.

You will have the opportunity to defend yourself against the charge of "Failing to appear" as promised, but unless you can come up with a better reason that what you stated here, then that FTA fine and the associated civil assessment will stick and you will be ordered to pay it. Even with a good excuse and since your appearance date was on 12/01/08 and here it is approximately 60 business days later and you still failed to appear on any of those 60 days, my guess is that unless you can show the court that you were in a coma for that entire period or out of the country on a military leave, the FTA charge will stick and so will the associated fine.

If you do not pay it, the court will place a hold on your driver's license (AGAIN) with the DMV who will in turn suspend your license until that full amount is paid.

Reason I say "AGAIN" is because your license is on hold as we speak right now which means if you get pulled over, and if asked for your license and assuming that the officer will call it in, it will come back suspended which could mean a misdemeanor charge of driving on a suspended license.

My advice is, DO NOT DRIVE until you can either pay the full amount required OR until you go to court and schedule an appearance before the Judge. When that date is set, the clerk will send a notice to the DMV to relase your license pending your scheduled appearance in court.

Let me add one thing regarding the additional fine for the FTA (Just as an FYI):
I - HAVE - NEVER - SEEN - IT - GET - WAIVED - DISMISSED - DROPPED - OR - REDUCED.

Now, last but not least, one of the main reasons why you might not have received the Courtesy Notice is because the DMV does not have your current address. But how the heck did they get the correct address to send the yellow notice to??? I don't know.. :D

Good luck
 
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CourtClerk

Senior Member
Yes, I ABSOLUTELY understand that. However, our OP said the fine was $20. That is just not correct. :cool:
Technically speaking, the fine is $20. It's the additional taxes that cause the amount to go up. If you look at the uniform bail schedule, it clearly states that the fine is $20 for the first offense, $50 for subsequent offenses. So, on a technicality, that is correct.
 

CourtClerk

Senior Member
Let me add one thing regarding the additional fine for the FTA (Just as an FYI):
I - HAVE - NEVER - SEEN - IT - GET - WAIVED - DISMISSED - DROPPED - OR - REDUCED.
I have seen it reduced all the time so long as you're not a butt hole in court and don't have a history of FTA's on your record. Waived, dismissed or dropped? That only happens if there is a LEGAL reason why you violated your written promise to appear (OP, you don't have one, so don't ask). Reduced? If he shows up in court, he's not going to pay the $700. $400 maybe, but not $700
 

Jim_bo

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

Ok, I'm in California first of all.

I received a ticket for "CVC 23123(a) - cell phone use while driving," which is about a $100 fine. I never received any information through the mail from the courts, but I did request an extension online. However, it seems the extension may not have gone through, either by system malfunction or by my own error when requesting.

Anyways, I missed my court date on 12/01/08. Today, I got a yellow notice in the mail saying I have a "hold on my driver's license," which is not a big deal, but also that I owe 700.00! If I pay in full, $300 will be removed, but if not, then I will be charged 700.

Is there a way I can ask the courts to reduce my fine back to the original $100? This is bull, considering the officer told me I would receive information from the courts in the mail that never came.

Thanks for the help.
Dude... you are not asking for help with a cell phone ticket... you are asking for help with a FTA!!

Just out of curiousity... why didn't you go to court? Why did you wait until you were in real trouble before asking for help? There are ways to beat the cell phone law (which is a STUPID law in the first place). All you had to do was come here and ask.
 

Hey There

Member
Do you have any proof on your computer that you requested an extension and it was accepted ?

Perhaps in your file at court it was shown as accepted but a new date wasn't scheduled.

As Court Clerk explains and I Got Banned you will have a chance to explain your Failure to Appear.
A cell phone ticket for $20.00 has a Fine. The real taxes, defined as penalty Assessments, are what makes the payment for a traffic violation so exspensive.
A traffic infraction FINE for $100.00 can end up costing a driver $361.00 once all the assessments are added.
Money from these assessments go to the following funds
peace officer training
correction training
jail construction
courthouse construction.
etc.
What violation code is on the yellow notice you received in the mail? A failure to appear at arraignment is a different situation than a failure to appear for trial.

Regarding the original charge.
Failure to Appear: Trial by Written Declaration
40903. (a) Any person who fails to appear as provided by law may be deemed to have elected to have a trial by written declaration upon any alleged infraction, as charged by the citing officer, involving a violation of this code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to this code.
Note: The word MAY, not Shall.
The court CAN find the driver guilty of the original charge .

For instance Shasta Court allows drivers with a hold on their licence for Failure to Appear (FTA) to clear it by forfeiting the entire bail amount OR by appearing in court. The hold on the driver's licence is removed within 48 hours of payment OR court appearance.(

The problem here is the FTA.
Court Clerk and I Got Banned have covered what information you sought.
This is just to reiterate and to state that when you (and any other driver are cited for a traffic violation) it is critical to read the ticket carefully and get written documentation for any changes in court dates.

Good Luck on this,
Let Us know how this goes,
Hey There
 

charles84

Junior Member
Dude... you are not asking for help with a cell phone ticket... you are asking for help with a FTA!!

Just out of curiousity... why didn't you go to court? Why did you wait until you were in real trouble before asking for help? There are ways to beat the cell phone law (which is a STUPID law in the first place). All you had to do was come here and ask.
Just got a cell phone ticket, and I will, indeed, ask for help "beating" it. Any thoughts or experiences are appreciated.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Just got a cell phone ticket, and I will, indeed, ask for help "beating" it. Any thoughts or experiences are appreciated.
I think you should start your own thread and not hijack a thread that's almost 18 months old.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
There was no $700 ticket. There was a $100-ish (including assessments, etc) ticket that the OP ignored... ;)
 

charles84

Junior Member
I think you should start your own thread and not hijack a thread that's almost 18 months old.
Wow, I'm new here (found it on google) and was just responding to someone's advice above about asking for help. "Hijacking"? Someone proposed the guy just ask for help, which is what I did--and I don't think it was in anyway limiting the information he/she received.

I have a better idea, since you're not an actual attorney and just troll around "free advice" forums looking to 1) denigrate others, and 2) offer advice in a field in which you are not qualified: go to hell. Or maybe, instead of just throwing out random crap 27,000 times on this site, open a law book and get a damn degree instead of playing lawyer in the internet. Though, from the look of the depth of your posts, you regularly mistake snark for intelligence so that probably isn't of interest.
 

cyjeff

Senior Member
Wow, I'm new here (found it on google) and was just responding to someone's advice above about asking for help. "Hijacking"? Someone proposed the guy just ask for help, which is what I did--and I don't think it was in anyway limiting the information he/she received.

I have a better idea, since you're not an actual attorney and just troll around "free advice" forums looking to 1) denigrate others, and 2) offer advice in a field in which you are not qualified: go to hell. Or maybe, instead of just throwing out random crap 27,000 times on this site, open a law book and get a damn degree instead of playing lawyer in the internet. Though, from the look of the depth of your posts, you regularly mistake snark for intelligence so that probably isn't of interest.
Lot's of snark there just because you can't read a calendar.
 
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