I need some advice on a REALLY odd situation

[RonaldM]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?
California


I live in Upland,Ca. I received a red light camera citation in the mail. I was accused of failing to stop at a red light. The photo clearly showed my vehicle in the right hand turn lane.

The bail amount of $351 and a request for a Trial by Declaration was sent to the court via certified mail. It made it there before the deadline.
When the Trial by Declaration forms arrived, I prepared my defense, and sent it in via certified mail before the deadline. Approximetely one month passed and then a check came in the mail from the courthouse. Just a check, nothing else in the envelope. The check was for $151.

Wondering what was going on, I asked someone for advice, and they told me to go online to the court's webpage and check the court cases there.

Well, this is where it becomes FUBAR. I was reading the transcripts and I was convicted of making left hand turn on a red light. To make matters worse, my license was "put on hold" and it was taken "off hold" just a few days ago. The court transcripts say nothing about when or why this occurred. My driving record is clean and I responded promptly to all deadlines. To add to this, the court never contacted me via mail or otherwise. As a matter of fact, they never even contacted me to notify me of the court's decision.

The next day, I called one of the court's clerks and she told me that if I wanted a copy of the court's decison, I'd have to pick it up. What she told me next, floored me. She stated that the police officer handling the citation, stated that I had made a left hand turn on red, even though the citation clearly shows me in the right hand lane.

The transcripts state that the judge viewed the camera footage before convicting me. Isn't this funny? He watched me making a right hand turn, and then convicted me of making a left on red.

If you read the transcripts, it says :"DMV DIRECT UPDATE DISPOSITION ABSTRACT COMPLETED", according to the clerk, this is where they took the "hold" off my license.

I'm really upset and confused as to what's going on but I now apparently have a license suspension on my DMV record. On Monday, I will get an H6 print out to verify this.

I had thoughts about contacting the District Attorney's office to let them know that someone is screwing up big time. If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you

Btw,

Go to:

http://170.164.50.60/openaccess/criminal/default.asp
click on "Defendant Search", and enter Ronald Monerief and then click on "Case Report" to see everything.

 

[NotACopOrLawyer]

Traffic court is where justice goes to die

I hope there still is time for you to file for your Trial de Novo, which you are entitled to after a trial by declaration. I think you definitely will want to do a Peremptory Challenge to keep that judge from being your judge again.

I hope you will also consider submitting your story for inclusion on the Upland page of highwayrobbery.net. That website may also supply you with some additional defenses to use at the new trial.

And while I am on the air here, I will take this opportunity to ask you to contact your state legislators and ask them to vote against SB 57, which if it passes will make that ticket $391.

NACOL

 

[BelizeBreeze]

I hope there still is time for you to file for your Trial de Novo, which you are entitled to after a trial by declaration. I think you definitely will want to do a Peremptory Challenge to keep that judge from being your judge again.

I hope you will also consider submitting your story for inclusion on the Upland page of highwayrobbery.net. That website may also supply you with some additional defenses to use at the new trial.

And while I am on the air here, I will take this opportunity to ask you to contact your state legislators and ask them to vote against SB 57, which if it passes will make that ticket $391.

NACOL

Aside from your political crap, your answer is worthless. After a 'trial by declaration' the ONLY grounds for appeal is a mistake of law.

A party may appeal an unfavorable decision made in the trial court to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. The appeal must be directed towards errors of law only. An appeal is not a retrial, and you will not be permitted to introduce new evidence.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

FURTHERMORE:

If a party to a 'trial by declaration' is dissatisfied with the court’s decision, they may ask for a new trial (“trial de novo”). In order to obtain a new trial, you must file that Request for New Trial (Trial de Novo) (form TR-220) within 20 days after the date the court’s decision was mailed to you.

Since there is absolutely NO INFORMATION as to when the notice of disposition was received, your statement that this option CAN be exercised is again, worthless.

 

[NotACopOrLawyer]

BelizeBreeze posted (and I disagree):

"Aside from your political crap, your answer is worthless. After a 'trial by declaration' the ONLY grounds for appeal is a mistake of law."

No, I was not talking about an appeal, it's a Trial de Novo, which is something different.

The OP (original poster Ronald M) provided a link to all the info about the case. It was actually very recent. So I think that if Ronald acts without delay, he can get a Trial de Novo.

I think RonaldM would find Fight Your Ticket by David Brown, available at the library, very helpful.

NACOL

 

[RonaldM]

I would to thank everyone for their advice. I would like to add that my license was "put on hold" prior to the guilty conviction as it was taken off hold within a day or so of the conviction.
On Monday, I will track down this officer and ask him what hell happened and if I can get him to make a statement, I think IMO, that would help me.

I contacted highwayrobbery.net prior to filing my defense. I sent the gentleman there a scanned image of my citation. Here it is if you want to see it:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res7584l/ticket.jpg

I'm in the Blue vehicle making a right hand turn.

Would it be ok to base my "Trial De Novo" on the mistakes made in this case, or does it have to be based on what took place during the citation?

Also, according to this:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/tr220.pdf

I must file the Trial De Novo within 20 days of receiving the TR-215 by mail.
With the TR-215 being the Court's decision. This is an obvious issue as the court has not yet mailed anything to me. The TR-220 specifically wants the date I received it by mail.

The more I read up on this, the more apparent the strange behavior is in this case.If I had not looked my case up online, I'd still be in the complete dark about everything.

In any case, I do appreciate the replies, and I do plan on fighting this.
Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Ronald

 

[lwpat]

Aside from your political crap, your answer is worthless. After a 'trial by declaration' the ONLY grounds for appeal is a mistake of law.

Actually your statement is what is worthless. While you are correct in most states this is not the situation in California. It is not an appeal but an entirely new trial. You cannot appeal a Trial by Declaration.

Based on everything else I would not be surprised if they "forgot " to mail the Tr-215, especially in light of the statement by the clerk. I would go pick it up.
Be sure to either have the clerk stamp the TR-220 or send it CRRR.

The new trial will be based on the original citation and evidence, not the Trial by Declaration.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Actually your statement is what is worthless. While you are correct in most states this is not the situation in California. It is not an appeal but an entirely new trial. You cannot appeal a Trial by Declaration.

I suggest you re read the california traffic code.
An appeal can be filed on a trial by declaration if done so within 20 days of receiving the declaration of judgement.

 

[CdwJava]

Trial de novo:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules/titletwo/title2-6-10.htm

Also:

40902. (a) (1) The court , pursuant to this section, shall, by
rule, provide that the defendant may elect to have a trial by written
declaration upon any alleged infraction, as charged by the citing
officer, involving a violation of this code or any local ordinance
adopted pursuant to this code, other than an infraction cited
pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 23152) of Chapter 12
of Division 11.
(2) The Judicial Council may adopt rules and forms governing
trials by declaration in accordance with this section. Any rule or
form adopted by the Judicial Council pursuant to this paragraph shall
supersede any local rule of a court adopted pursuant to paragraph
(1).
(b) If the defendant elects to have a trial by written
declaration, the defendant shall, at the time of submitting that
declaration, submit bail in the amount established in the uniform
traffic penalty schedule pursuant to Section 40310. If the defendant
is found not guilty or if the charges are otherwise dismissed, the
amount of the bail shall be promptly refunded to the defendant.
(c) Notwithstanding Division 10 (commencing with Section 1200) of
the Evidence Code, the rules governing trials by written declaration
may provide for testimony and other relevant evidence to be
introduced in the form of a notice to appear issued pursuant to
Section 40500, a business record or receipt, a sworn declaration of
the arresting officer, or a written statement or letter signed by the
defendant.
(d) If the defendant is dissatisfied with a decision of the court
in a proceeding pursuant to this section, the defendant shall be
granted a trial de novo.

As I understand it, a Trial de novo is not an appeal - it is essentially a second bite at the apple. All that seems to be required is that the defendant not like the guilty verdict and that he filed the correct paperwork in a timely manner.

It seems a crock to me, but that appears to be the way it goes.


- Carl

 

[lwpat]

I guess this forum just picked up a troll. The OP understands and that is what counts. Thanks Carl.

 

[siuwan]

To RonaldM:

I would like to know what you put in Trial by Declaration? I've recently got a citation for making a right turn at light, and thinking of Trial by Declaration. If you could give me some insight I would appreciated it. If you could email me at [email protected]

Thank.

 

[NotACopOrLawyer]

For trial by dec info look on highwayrobbery.net

NACOL