failure to meet deadline for "burnt bulb" fix-it ticket

[jooddang]

Hi,
I'm living in CA.

I got a fix-it ticket for burnt headlight. So, I went to a police office and got signed before deadline. But, I failed to send it to the court before deadline.
Now, the $25 ticket became $200. How can I pay only $25? Please let me know any way to reduce the fine.
Thank you.

 

[Ohiogal]

Hi,
I'm living in CA.

I got a fix-it ticket for burnt headlight. So, I went to a police office and got signed before deadline. But, I failed to send it to the court before deadline.
Now, the $25 ticket became $200. How can I pay only $25? Please let me know any way to reduce the fine.
Thank you.

Borrow the TARDIS from Doctor Who.

 

[sandyclaus]

Hi,
I'm living in CA.

I got a fix-it ticket for burnt headlight. So, I went to a police office and got signed before deadline. But, I failed to send it to the court before deadline.
Now, the $25 ticket became $200. How can I pay only $25? Please let me know any way to reduce the fine.
Thank you.

Borrow the TARDIS from Doctor Who.

LOL, yes THIS.

But seriously... "A lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on MY part." In other words, you got your deficiency fixed and signed off by law enforcement on time. Why should the courts give you a break when you didn't make the time to pay the ticket before your deadline?

The additional amount is either a civil assessment or a penalty for late payment. Either way, you earned it because you failed to prioritize actually PAYING the ticket on time. That's why they call it a penalty - to penalize you for not doing something when you're supposed to.

I mean, you could go to the courthouse to pay and ASK them to waive the penalty - but don't hold your breath. It's not THEIR fault you had better things to do.

 

[Sloop John D]

You want to speak with the courtroom clerk. Explain your situation and see if there's anything they can do about it. They can often be incredibly lenient with deadlines, especially when its minor traffic stuff.

 

[FlyingRon]

Understand that it was always a $200 ticket. You just got discount to $25 if you remedied the problem in a timely fashion.

 

[davew128]

You want to speak with the courtroom clerk. Explain your situation and see if there's anything they can do about it. They can often be incredibly lenient with deadlines, especially when its minor traffic stuff.

There is no clerk. There is a magistrate. Yes, there's a difference, usually involving the difference between black robes and a simply collared shirt and tie.

 

[Sloop John D]

There is no clerk. There is a magistrate. Yes, there's a difference, usually involving the difference between black robes and a simply collared shirt and tie.

That depends on the courthouse and the courtroom. At my local courthouse, a fix-it ticket is handled strictly through the clerk for the traffic ticket office.

I can't say that they will extend the due date for certain, but I had a case where a driver missed his court date for a speeding ticket by an entire week. He didn't have an excuse, he just completely forgot about it. We called the courthouse and they rescheduled his appearance date. It was not even close to being an issue. These types of matters are normally left to the discretion of the clerk, judge, or whoever is in charge of handling citations. They don't have to extend the due date, but often they will. Outside of the internet, it's less common to see a person acting like a jerk for no reason.

 

[Zigner]

That depends on the courthouse and the courtroom. At my local courthouse, a fix-it ticket is handled strictly through the clerk for the traffic ticket office.

To be fair, this is no longer a "fix-it ticket".

 

[CourtClerk]

There is no clerk. There is a magistrate. Yes, there's a difference, usually involving the difference between black robes and a simply collared shirt and tie.

CA has no magistrates (there are judges and commissioners) and clerks can't be lenient on deadlines, especially when penalties are automated.

 

[Blutodidit]

CA has no magistrates (there are judges and commissioners) and clerks can't be lenient on deadlines, especially when penalties are automated.

I agree with you. However, I've sat in court a few times and witnessed the judge waiving many fees like that which jooddang faces, for 'fix it' tickets. In all fairness, jooddang got it signed off before the due date, so I believe it would be likely he would end up paying his initial processing fee upon proof that he fixed it before the payment due date.

 

[davew128]

CA has no magistrates (there are judges and commissioners) and clerks can't be lenient on deadlines, especially when penalties are automated.

Yes, you're right I misspoke. When I went to traffic court in San Diego it was a commissioner.