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Cited for not stopping near a school bus with flashing yellow lights

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CA Roger

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I was first in a line of vehicles that were being stopped near a school & park. The officer had his back to the bus and motioned me and about six cars behind to stop along the curb. I asked the officer why I was being stopped and he told me it was because the school bus had its red lights flashing. I know that the lights were flashing yellow and there were no children in the area (on or off of the bus). I did slow down, however, upon reading the VC, found that I did not have to stop for flashing yellow. I paid the citation in full & gave a full explanation in a TBD (complete with a diagram showing the officer and bus). Evidently I lost the TBD as the citation is listed as a prior on my DL record on the LA Superior Court website. I went to the courthouse and filed for a Trial de Novo. I would appreciate advice in regards to my case. Thank you.
 


Hey There

Member
CA Roger

Evidently I lost the TBD as the citation is listed as a prior on my DL record on the LA Superior Court website. I went to the courthouse and filed for a Trial de Novo.
FORM-220(Trial de Novo)
When requesting a new trial the first item on the form is
1. The clerk mailed me the court's decision
and Notice of Decision (form TR-215)
in my trial by written declaration on (date).

Did you receive the form TR215? When?
Or are you relying on the court's website?

A driver ruled against in a trial by declaration can
1. Get a copy of the officer's declaration from the court file.
(TR235).This helps to prepare for trial.
2.File a "Peremptory Challenge" to have a different judge at trial(if necessary)
3. The new trial must be held within 45 days of the date the Trial de Novo is filed on
or the driver can ask for the case to be dismissed for lack of a speedy trial.
4. The driver can ask the judge at trial to disqualify himself as the judge has already ruled that the driver is guilty of the citation.

22454(a) is the vehicle code violation you were cited for?

Hey There
 
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CA Roger

Junior Member
Hey There-
Thanks for the speedy reply.

Yes, I was cited for violating CVC 22454(a)

Compton Court is notorious for paperwork being lost in the mail. I have yet to receive anything from them. I tracked the case online and have all case information hand-delivered to their Clerk.

It's been three weeks since the decision on June 19th. I asked the Clerk and she said they were probably backed-up and didn't know if or when I would receive the Notice of Decision (is that the TR215?) I figured by the time I receive a letter, it will be past the 20 days and I didn't want to take any chances so I filed the TR-220 last week.

How does one go about filing for a "Peremptory Challenge"? Does this help?

Does the new trial need to be held within 45 days of the TR-220 filing date or can the Court sit on my paperwork until they are ready?

Does it help to ask for a continuance once the date is set? Perhaps the citing officer will get tired of juggling his schedule and won't want to show up at the trial?

Thanks for your help,
Roger
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Was the stop sign out?
Not that it matters. There is an unbiased, expert witness testifying against you.
 

Hey There

Member
CA Roger

If you check your form TR-220 Request for a new Trial it must be submitted within 20 days of the date stated in the clerk's certificate of mailing. This is in big letters at the bottom of the page.


CA Judicial Council Forms (Google) go to select forms (Traffic Infractions) which will show you what a form TR215 (NOTICE OF DECISION) and TR235 (THE OFFICER's DECLARATION).looks like.
If the officer didn't reply than the case should be dismissed.
If he did reply and the driver is ruled against THEN the driver can request a copy of the officer's testimony for a small copying fee from a court clerk.This will tell the driver what the officer is likely to testify to at trial.If the officer deviates from his statement then the driver may point this out to the judge.

Trial date MUST be set within 45 days the request for a new trial is filed.

A Peremptory challenge (CCPsection170.6)
If you check at a local library they may have a book published by NOLO on fighting a Ca. traffic ticket which has a simple form in the back of the book which you can copy to request a different judge than the one who has ALREADY ruled against you.
The challenge is simply a statement that you believe you cannot have a fair trial with judge_______because----- .Your name and address, The People of the state of Ca. vs you, The name of the court and branch, and the case #.
Peremptory Challenge (CCP 170.6 on Google has a form to fill out online and print out for your records.

Hey There
 

CA Roger

Junior Member
Hey There-
You're amazing!
No, the stop sign arm was not out and the lights were flashing yellow. The officer was approximately 150 feet in front of the bus. He was facing oncoming traffic and the bus was in back of him.
Since I have not received the Clerk's Certificate of Mailing yet, I assume that means I need to file another TR-220 or does the trial date need to be set within the 45 days that I filed my TR-220, which was July 2, 2008?
Thanks for the advice.
Roger
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Well, you just have to overcome that expert, unbiased testimony of an officer with a clear line of sight that was a fairly short distance ahead. (oh, and let me add... :rolleyes: )
 

Hey There

Member
CA Roger

A clerks "Certificate of Mailing "
on form TR215
1. I am not a party to this action
2. I caused the Decision and Notice of Decision to be served by enclosing a copy in an envelope addressed as shown below and caused the envelope to be deposited with the US Postal Service
with first class postage fully paid
at__________(City)
on_________ (Date)
3. I certify the foregoing is true and correct

Date________Clerk,________________________by, Deputy
_________________________________________________________
Defendant Agency
(Name and Address) (Name and Address)


This simply states the clerk mailed the
Decision and Notice of Decision (TR215)
with the judge's decision ,and the date he made it.
This should be in your file.
A copy of (TR215) can be obtained from a court court clerk for a small fee.
A copy of (TR215) will give you written proof of the court's decision, date it was made, date it was mailed ,if mailed, and where it was mailed to.
Was it mailed to the correct address if mailed?
On the web does the citation and case number match the TR215 on the form in your file?
Did you file a request for New Trial on TR-220?
and the reason for the request for a new trial?

The request for a new trial MUST be submitted WITHIN 20 days of the date stamped by the clerk.(The date TR215 was mailed)
by the clerk.

The officer's statement (TR235) is also available to you from a clerk for a small copy fee.

Hey There
 

CA Roger

Junior Member
Hey There-
I finally received the TR-215 from the Court. The decision is dated June 19th, 2008. The Clerk's Certificate of Mailing is BLANK! The outer envelope was postmarked on July 9, 2008 more than 20 days after the decision. I did request a new trial on the TR-220 because I did not agree with the decision. Also, the evidence I submitted (diagrams) were not returned to me as per the bottom of the TR-215. Can they throw my case out because I was not properly informed and the Clerk's Certificate of Mailing was blank?
If you can, please let me know.
You have been a tremendous help. Other people on this forum are more "wrist slappers"
and like to tell you how you are guilty and should simply pay the fine.
Hope all is well with you.
Roger
 

occharge

Member
Well, you just have to overcome that expert, unbiased testimony of an officer with a clear line of sight that was a fairly short distance ahead. (oh, and let me add... :rolleyes: )
Zigner,

Short distance or miles away, makes a BIG difference if this "expert" had "HIS BACK TO THE BUS".

How could you have missed that? It was the OP's second sentence in his first post!!!
... The officer had his back to the bus and motioned me and about six cars behind to stop along the curb.
But then he repeated it in his sixth post when he responded to your question (or should I say comment) about "the stop sign being out or not":
... No, the stop sign arm was not out and the lights were flashing yellow. The officer was approximately 150 feet in front of the bus. He was facing oncoming traffic and the bus was in back of him.
I think you're doing too much :rolleyes: that you're missing half of the posts... Concentrate!! :mad:

Just because he is an "Expert Witness" does not qualify him to make the assumption that just because the bus is stopped, that it has Red lights flashing with the stop arm extended out.

It sounds to me like the officer was there with one clear intention; that being to get a few citations issued, so he drove to a school zone, waited for a bus to pull up, turned the other way and started to wave a few unsuspecting motorists over, the OP happened to be one of them...

And lastly, you're not scoring any points by making a statement like "expert, unbiased testimony" of an officerThere is not a single "expert witness" that can be described as "unbiased" . Please dont ask me to explain that...
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Zigner,

Short distance or miles away, makes a BIG difference if this "expert" had "HIS BACK TO THE BUS".

How could you have missed that? It was the OP's second sentence in his first post!!!


But then he repeated it in his sixth post when he responded to your question (or should I say comment) about "the stop sign being out or not":


I think you're doing too much :rolleyes: that you're missing half of the posts... Concentrate!! :mad:

Just because he is an "Expert Witness" does not qualify him to make the assumption that just because the bus is stopped, that it has Red lights flashing with the stop arm extended out.

It sounds to me like the officer was there with one clear intention; that being to get a few citations issued, so he drove to a school zone, waited for a bus to pull up, turned the other way and started to wave a few unsuspecting motorists over, the OP happened to be one of them...

And lastly, you're not scoring any points by making a statement like "expert, unbiased testimony" of an officerThere is not a single "expert witness" that can be described as "unbiased" . Please dont ask me to explain that...
Was the OP concentrating on DRIVING, or watching what an individual standing on the side of the street 150 feet away was doing?
I ignored the part that you claim I "missed" because it sounds like the OP puffing up his story to make it sound better.

ETA:
Oh and I almost forgot..... :rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

occharge

Member
... Does it help to ask for a continuance once the date is set? Perhaps the citing officer will get tired of juggling his schedule and won't want to show up at the trial? ...
I tried that once..not in an attempt to tire the officer, simply because I had a family emergency and had to leave town. The first response I got at the traffic window was "hmmmm... Let me check one thing!". Then the young lady came back and said ", my supervisor said that once a Trial date is set for a Trial de Novo, no extensions/continuances will be granted to either side.

... Can they throw my case out because I was not properly informed and the Clerk's Certificate of Mailing was blank?...
Not sure if that will do the trick to get a dismissal... If they manage to get your Trial de Novo request and schedule you for trial within the 45 days, then the fact that the Clerk failed to complete the Certificate of mailing has not joepordized your right to due process; moreover, the fact that it occurred after the TBD decision, it did not influence the Judge's decision either...Nor should it affect the judge's decision in the Trial de Novo.
 

occharge

Member
Was the OP concentrating on DRIVING, or watching what an individual standing on the side of the street 150 feet away was doing?
Can I answer that with a -sort of a- quote... from you?
The OP saw the officer in his clear line of sight just a fairly short distance ahead!!!!

I ignored the part that you claim I "missed" because it sounds like the OP puffing up his story to make it sound better.
I'm sure everybody who will come across this thread in the future will appreciate your great unbiased expert legal opinion!

ETA:
Oh and I almost forgot..... :rolleyes::rolleyes:
LOL, I see why they've kept you around Zig... You've got a great sense of humor... :D
 

jinalbert

Junior Member
Okay, I know this is an old thread, but it is somewhat relevant.

Basically, I was found guilty for my TBD, so now I am working on Trial de novo. However, one additional suggestion is to have a different judge via A Peremptory challenge (CCPsection170.6).

So, do I send CPP170.6 form along with my Trial de novo form to the Metropolitan Court together? Or do I have to submit it in person, or before court?

I call the clerk, but she doesn't know about CPP170.6

Any help would be appreciated.
 

I_Got_Banned

Senior Member
Okay, I know this is an old thread, but it is somewhat relevant.

Basically, I was found guilty for my TBD, so now I am working on Trial de novo. However, one additional suggestion is to have a different judge via A Peremptory challenge (CCPsection170.6).

So, do I send CPP170.6 form along with my Trial de novo form to the Metropolitan Court together? Or do I have to submit it in person, or before court?

I call the clerk, but she doesn't know about CPP170.6

Any help would be appreciated.
Please start your own thread.
 

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