failure to appear and parking tickets

[raccar09]

4 years ago i got a littering ticket for throwing a cigarette out my window in Los Angeles County Ca. I missed my court date and didnt get any paperwork so I thought it was dropped. I called the DMV today because my license is about to expire and i have about 2g in parking tickets, they told me that my license has been suspended for 4 years. I know i need to go to court for the warrant but do i need to pay off the parking tickets first? Also will they send me to jail for the failure to appear? I dont know the right thing to do.

 

[HomeGuru]

4 years ago i got a littering ticket for throwing a cigarette out my window in Los Angeles County Ca. I missed my court date and didnt get any paperwork so I thought it was dropped. I called the DMV today because my license is about to expire and i have about 2g in parking tickets, they told me that my license has been suspended for 4 years. I know i need to go to court for the warrant but do i need to pay off the parking tickets first? Also will they send me to jail for the failure to appear? I dont know the right thing to do.

**A: it would help greatly if you paid what you owe don't cha think?

 

[raccar09]

**A: it would help greatly if you paid what you owe don't cha think?

well yeah i know i need to pay off what i owe, but will it effect me moreso when i go into court? should i put off going to court for the warrant till i can pay off the parking tickets? Or just go and try to pay it all after.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Did you ask the court how much the fine for throwing the cigarette was? My guess is that they added the fine for a failure to appear as well as the civil assessment for that as well. That, by itself, will be less than $2000... Although not by much. (I would guess somewhere between $500 to $700).

Depending on how much disposable cash you have, I would deal with the warrant first. Only because my guess is that in addition to the license hold because of the parking tickets, there is a license hold because of the failure to appear. So taking care of the warrant will reduce the full amount you owe but more importantly, it will help you avoid going to jail for the failure to appear (make sense?).

Most importantly, do not drive on an expired... actually suspended license. That is a misdemeanor and the fine for that can range between $380 and $1170 depending on whether you are cited for a violation of CVC12500(a) or CVC14601.1(a) respectively. No need to add to your problems.

Good luck!

 

[20pilot]

Did you ask the court how much the fine for throwing the cigarette was? My guess is that they added the fine for a failure to appear as well as the civil assessment for that as well. That, by itself, will be less than $2000... Although not by much. (I would guess somewhere between $500 to $700).

Man, you are an optimist. The minimum fine is $100 and the law explicitly states that the judge can not go below that. The maximum fine is $1,000. Many jurisdictions are tending towards the high end. In addition, the judge is required to sentence the individual to no less than 8 hours of highway cleanup, which goes up to 24 hours minimum for the 3rd offense. The is no maximum, so if you piss off the judge, you could be picking up trash for as many days/weeks/months as the judge feels like.

Before you call that harsh, here's a little factoid. In 2004, there was a bill introduced to increase the minimum fine to $3,600 and the maximum to $20,000. Yes, that is three thousand six hundred minimum mandatory fine.

 

[raccar09]

i know the fine for the littering is $884. I called the collections agency (it was sent to collections forever ago) and they said that if i pay the 884, then i just have to go to the court to pay some fee to get them to tell the dmv to release the suspension. the 2k i owe is for parking tickets, thats not what got the suspended license, it was the failure to appear. The man i spoke to said that as long as i paid the whole amount off that it would take away the warrant. that sounds a little fishy.

 

[20pilot]

that sounds a little fishy.

Yes, that is very fishy, because you are REQUIRED to do highway cleanup work for AT LEAST 8 hours as part of the mandatory punishment. Plus there is additional punishment for being a no-show.

If the guy you spoke to is from a collections agency, all he care about is getting his money. He will promise you that you get to make a sex tape with Pamela Anderson if you pay him, just so he can get his money. What happens to you after that is not his problem. It is between you and Judge and the DMV and instead of making a tape with Pam Anderson, the judge may sentence you to making a tape with Tommy Lee.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Man, you are an optimist. The minimum fine is $100 and the law explicitly states that the judge can not go below that. The maximum fine is $1,000. Many jurisdictions are tending towards the high end. In addition, the judge is required to sentence the individual to no less than 8 hours of highway cleanup, which goes up to 24 hours minimum for the 3rd offense. The is no maximum, so if you piss off the judge, you could be picking up trash for as many days/weeks/months as the judge feels like.

Before you call that harsh, here's a little factoid. In 2004, there was a bill introduced to increase the minimum fine to $3,600 and the maximum to $20,000. Yes, that is three thousand six hundred minimum mandatory fine.

I maybe an optimist but $500 to $700 that I suggested is much closer to

the fine for the littering is $884

… than the “three thousand six hundred” minimum mandatory fine that you offered as a factoid. Keep in mind that the $884 as well as my "optimistic estimate" includes the fine for the offense, as well as the fine & the civil assessment for the FTA.

This violation can be cited either as an H&S code 13002 OR as a VC23111 violation. According to the 2009 Los Angeles County Bail Schedule, it shows that the base fines (for either violation) of $100, $500 and $750 for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd violation (which translates into approximately $430, $1950 and $2900 for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd violation respectively) but even that is short of the $3600 to $20,000 min to max mandatory fine that you offered.

Moreover, the H&S 13002 violation does not show any community service hours associated with it. Additionally, and assuming the OP was charged with a VC23111 instead of a H&S13002 then you did get 1 thing right by suggesting the following (this is a footnote attached to VC23111):

In addition, the court shall order the offender to pick up litter or clean up graffiti. For a 1st conviction the court shall require not less than 8 hours, for a 2nd conviction not less than 16 hours, and for a 3rd and subsequent conviction not less than 24 hours.

Now that that is settled..... raccar09, I would not pay that collection agency a single penny if I were you. You are still entitled to a court appearance and although you would still have to pay that amount to the court (when you are arraigned of the charged pending against you which might not happen for another 2 to 3 months (because the courts in L A County are that far behind)), I still would not hand it over to the collection agency. You also have the option of pleading "not guilty" at which point you would still have to post bail with the court (for the same amount) and assuming the officer does in fact show up then the court will keep that amount. If he doesn’t show up, there’s a pretty good chance of a dismissal at which point you‘ll get that amount refunded to you in a few weeks afterwards.

If you follow that procedure, and as soon as your court appearance is scheduled (by visiting the GC Services window next to the clerk’s office at the courthouse where your case is) then upon payment of a $10 abstract fee (which might have been increased) an electronic notice is sent to the DMV releasing the hold that was placed on your license for this matter only.

I’m not too familiar with what procedure if any you could follow for the parking citations. So for that, you are on your own as far as I am concerned.

 

[raccar09]

so even if its my first offense i will still have to serve 8 hours? or is that only if i am on probation, that was kind of unclear. i keep having other people tell me i wont have to to do anything for the warrant as long as i show up nd pay the fine.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

so even if its my first offense i will still have to serve 8 hours? or is that only if i am on probation, that was kind of unclear. i keep having other people tell me i wont have to to do anything for the warrant as long as i show up nd pay the fine.

We posted at the same time... Let me clarify.

If you were charged with Health and Safety Code 13002, then the bail schedule shows no community service requirements.

If you were charged with Vehicle Code Section 23111, then there is an 8 hour "minimum" community service requirement.

Again, this is what the Bail schedule shows... When in court, "your mileage may vary" as they would say.

 

[raccar09]

crap. on my ticket it says 23111vc. so im gunna have to do the 8 hours pick up. which is stupid, if im paying off the ticket.

so im going to have to pay off the ticket, that already got sent to collections, and pay the court minumum of 3600?

 

[I_Got_Banned]

crap. on my ticket it says 23111vc. so im gunna have to do the 8 hours pick up. which is stupid, if im paying off the ticket.

The moral of the story.... USE YOUR ASHTRAY!!!

May I also suggest that you not use that attitude if you choose to appear in court! Remember, the requirement states a "MINIMUM" of 8 hours and you don't want to upset the judge. They can be very sensitive sometimes

so im going to have to pay off the ticket, that already got sent to collections, and pay the court minumum of 3600?

Although the state of California could use an additional $3600 of your money, that $3600 was just a pessimistic suggestion on the part of 20pilot.

So the answer is No, just pay the $884, do the court ordered community service and you're off the hook.

 

[FlyingRon]

God Bless Paul Buzzo.

 

[raccar09]

trust me i learned my lesson about the ashtrays. ill take what is delt to me, i dont have an aditude, just a little scared, never had to deal wih courts or anything.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

God Bless Paul Buzzo.

Yeah, I like Starbucks too...