Got two tickets in a day :( Need advice since i'm an idiot

[SadbutTrue]

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

I got 2 (yes, two) tickets today. The first for a lane change violation (he wrote down that it was 2 lane changes without signaling... ugh i have a bad feeling about that), the second for straight speeding (66 in a 50). If it matters, the codes were 22107 (LAPD) and 22350 (CHP) respectively.

I have two questions:

The first ticket, the cop wrote down my license # wrong. Any way I can milk that to get out of it?

Second, I believe both tickets occured in the same county. Should I try to deal with one first? I have no prior tickets in this county, last ticket was in a different one roughly 16 months ago, IIRC, which didn't go on my record b/c of traffic school. Do insurance companies/the state look at the two separately? Will I only be able to do traffic school for one? If so, which one should I do?

Beyond that, any general advice (beyond 'stop breaking the law, *******') is appreciated.

[JIMinCA]

The 22107 may be hard, but 22350 is the easiest ticket to beat. First thing is to get a copy of the traffic engineering survey to determine if the speed limit is justified. You can get it by calling Caltrans. If they don't have it, they can put you in touch with who does. Once you have that, you should come back for further discussion.

[Hey There]

SAdbutTrue
VC22107
22107. No person shall turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after the giving of an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this chapter in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.
Was it reasonably safe? were other cars affected?
A driver can always ask for a continuance from a court clerk BEFORE entering a plea.
When a driver enters a not guilty plea all he is saying is that the charge must be proved in court or his case should be dismissed.
In CA. a driver can ask for Discovery which is a copy of the officer's notes (usually written on the back of the ticket), a copy of the front and back of the ticket and all recorded or taped (Video) that the officer has.
A form requesting informal Discovery to mail to the (City Attorney in L.A. rather than the D.A.check on this) and a cover letter can be downloaded from Help! I Got A Ticket!. A request for Discovery can also be sent to the officer who cited you by modifying the form on Help! I Got A Ticket! or copying a Informal Discovery form from the back of a book published by NOLO on fighting traffic tickets in CA.
A friend should then insert copies of the requests , seal the envelopes and mail both copies certified, return receipt. The driver gets a proof of service signed by his friend and keeps this with his records.
Although the D.A. is responsible for providing Discovery a delay MAY occur if the citing officer is not notified as well.(Google Penal Code1054.1 to read rules on this code regarding Discovery rights)

In Ca a driver is entitled to a Trial by Declaration. This is a written explanation of why the driver thinks his case should be dismissed.
The truth needs to be adherred to but the driver is submitting this declaration in support of dismissal and should be careful that his statements support dismissal and not something that might support an adverse ruling.

If the judge rules against the driver the driver can ask for a new trial with a different judge if done within 20 days. Forms can be obtained from a court clerk, the above mentioned website or the book published by NOLO both of which have information on how to contest a traffic violation. Google Trial by Declaration brings up websites with information on this as well.

Best Regards,
Hey There

[Hey There]

SadbutTrue Google
will errors on the ticket result in the charges being dropped?Several websites on the first page should answer your question about the wrong driver's licence being written on your ticket..
It does put into question the officer's powers of observation and may lead to a dismissal but it's not mandatory for the judge to do so.

Regards,
Hey There

[JIMinCA]

Originally Posted by Hey There

SadbutTrue Google
will errors on the ticket result in the charges being dropped?Several websites on the first page should answer your question about the wrong driver's licence being written on your ticket..
It does put into question the officer's powers of observation and may lead to a dismissal but it's not mandatory for the judge to do so.

Regards,
Hey There

I would say that it is less of an issue of the officer's credibility and more an issue of the charge being defectie on its face. However, I would argue both.

[SadbutTrue]

Alrighty, well... I did traffic school for the lane change. I attempted to go into court yesterday to request 12 hour traffic school for the speeding ticket yesterday. However the judge denied the request (said I had too many tickets in the last year or so... interesting since the other ticket mentioned in this thread is the only one).

I have a court date November 6th. This may be for the best anyway since the more i read up, the better I feel about beating the ticket.

I have a few questions to get started preparing my case:

1) How do I apply for an extension to my court date? I had taken it for granted for a while now that I would simply get approved for traffic school and hadn't planned on fighting the case, so I have to catch up and more time would be good. Plus, delays probably won't help on the 'officer showing up' side of things, though I assume he still will show up.

2) If I request discovery, does the officer/court have to grant it?

3) I intend to get a copy of the engineering survey for the road (a 2 lane state highway). I got the number of my local Caltrans station... do I have to call them and ask or is there an easier way?

4) A coworker was driving in another car directly ahead of me at the time... doing roughly the same speed, moving with traffic with me, saw this happen, etc. How can I submit her testimony (preferably without her actually having to come into court)? Can I get a written statement? How do I get this admitted?

5) Are Trials by Written Declaration advisable? I am a pretty good writer and feel I might be able to better convey all my arguments in written form. In addition, it would make submitting my coworker's testimony easier. However, it also seems (and this might just be my cynical side) that a Trial by Written Declaration might be easier for a judge to simply discard in favor of the officer. Has anyone had any experience with these and been successful?

That'll be enough to get me started, thanks a ton!

Ben