Disregarding Traffic Signal--Technicality ?

What is the name of your state? VA

I need help asap as I am facing court next week in Fairfax County, VA.

I was given a 'disregarding traffic lights' summons when I was trying to move on when the light was yellow--I don't know if the red light came on a second or so before I went past the light..but honestly I didn't think it was a violation at that time.

Anyway, my question is this:

In the summons, the officer had written my race as White Caucasian, but I am of Indian (Asia) origin and have dark complexion, dark hair etc. If I were to argue that this stark difference showed the state of mind of the police officer and that his observation at that time could not be relied on, would the judge say it is a frivolous argument?

I think it is relevant and not frivolous--unlike the car model/make etc., how could someone confuse something as obvious as race? Neither my appearance nor my tongue-twisting Indian name as it appears on the driver's license would give anyone any reason to think I am Caucasian.

Please advise me if I should avoid this line of defense and instead try to plead 'no contest' and plea bargin to eliminate points. Alos please let me know if the traffic school alternative is available in Fairfax Co, for those above 20.

Thanks for all help.
TedK

[CdwJava]

I doubt that it will result in a dismissal of the citation. If the description is all that was being relied upon for identification, then maybe. However, if the license information and the rest of it is still good, the fact that he entered the wrong race (or marked the wrong box for race) will likely be seen as 'harmless error'.

And courts have often ruled that race cannot be relied upon as an absolute. Plus, different states have different racial codes and categories ... some states recognize as few as 5, while others may recognize many more ... I believe CA recognizes 8 ... but I'm tired and cannot quite recall off the top of my head.

So, while you may know you are of Indian descent, that does not mean that the officer might not have presumed you fit the category of 'White Caucasion' for citation purposes.

If you really want to know if this is a good defense, you may wish to consider spending the money to consult a local traffic attorney. I suspect, however, that you will find this is not likely to do much good.

Good luck.

- Carl

Carl:

Thank you for the advice. Ok, I am leaning toward pleading 'no contest.'

The problem is I don't know for sure if such an option is available for sure--I see only 'guilty' or 'not guilty' options on the court website. I don't even see anything about going to traffic school to keep the points off the record.
Does anyone here know the situation in VA?

Right now, I don't have a lot of money and don't want to hire an attorney; nor do I want to just pay off the fine, incurring heavy rise in insurance premium, etc.

Thanks
-TedK