Red Light Camera ticket . . . still the wrong person

[Crispix]

This is in San Diego, California . . .

My name is "John Doe". I received a red light camera ticket. The driver was not me, it was "Susie Doe." The driver's face in the photo is obscured by a visor and large sunglasses, but it is clearly a woman driving. Since I'm a guy, I submitted a trial by declaration and was found Not Guilty. I did not state that I was not the driver, nor did I name the driver of the car in my trial by declaration. I only pointed out that the face is obscured and cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. My strategy was simply to question the evidence.

The police have re-issued the ticket in the name of "Jane Doe" and mailed the ticket to my address. "Jane Doe" is my sister, she lives in New York, and her name isn't even "Jane Doe" anymore: she's "Jane Smith". (She was not the driver of the car, but that's not the point.)

I think it's obvious at this point that the photo cannot be used to determine the identity of the driver beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the second time they guessed wrong. I want to accomplish two things:

1. I need to get the ticket against "Jane Doe" dismissed, preferably without involving my sister. She doesn't know about the ticket and has lived in New York for several years. (She's an attorney, too. lol)

2. I do not want the ticket re-issued again -- the cops are running out of female drivers at my address and they will eventually stumble upon Susie Doe.

My questions:

1. How should I respond to the latest ticket, preferably without involving my sister and without causing them to reissue it a third time?

2. If the ticket is eventually issued again to "Susie Doe", can I use the fact that this is the third time the ticket has been issued to show that the police are unable to determine the identity of the driver with any certainty, and that the photo is not clear enough?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Hey There]

Crispix

In the upper right hand corner at the top of the page you're on is athe word SEARCH followed by Legal Forum. Directly after is a place to type in to search for a specific title.
Type in
_______________________

Red Light Cameras in CA. and click on search
________________________

This will bring up some former posts which answer how to deal with this problem and whether you are receiving a "Bogus Ticket"

Let us know if these former posts have answered your question.

Best Regards,
Hey There

 

[garrula lingua]

If a ticket was issued in your sister's name, she has a right (and a need) to know of this.

You should tell your sister (opened her mail, didn't you); then pay for an attorney to appear and contest the ticket with proof your sister provides that she was not in CA at the time and day as on the ticket (an affidavit with any attached proof).

Unfortunately, only your sister or an attorney can appear to contest it.

Your sister has to have an opportunity to defend herself. If you goof up, a warrant can be issued against her, or her license can be suspended (with repercussions in NY). If you try to do a trial by declaration on her ticket and lose, you are adding points to her license (and you have no right to sign her name under penalty of perjury - that is a felony).

I agree with you - they screwed up the picture/ticket, and there should be a NG for your sister. But you have to come clean and tell sis about the ticket and see how she wants to handle it. You should pay for an attorney if she opts for that.

I'm amazed SD has the time to screw around with a duff ticket.

 

[Crispix]

Thanks very much for the great feedback.

I should've been more clear -- I just found out about this new ticket today and have not told sis yet. We get along fine, and I will of course tell her. Like I said, she's an attorney and will get a kick out of it. (Yeah, I opened her mail. She'll chew me out for that more than the ticket!)

So just to reiterate: she will indeed have to deal with this to some extent, but I will be able to help. So I see my choices now as:

1. Help sis with a trial by declaration. In the trial by declaration, she/we can ask for it to be dismissed with prejudice since this is the second time they've guessed and there is insufficient evidence to convict anyone. I won't sign it for her; she can sign it and mail it in. (I'll pay her bail; what a nice brother she has!)

2. Help sis get an attorney to show up in court for her. The fine will not have to be paid prior to the court appearance, and perhaps an attorney will be better able to get the case dismissed with prejudice.

Which of these two options has a better chance for success? (Ultimate success is when this case is dismissed for good.) I believe I made a mistake in not requesting dismissal with prejudice the first time around.

 

[JIMinCA]

How did they get the sister's name? Did you tell them? WTF??

 

[Crispix]

No, I did nothing of the sort. She used my mailing address several years ago. Cops are throwing darts.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

John Doe is dead... And so is Jane Doe... I looked it up!!!

 

[garrula lingua]

Crispix,
Sorry, the court can dismiss as to the wrong defendant, but the court cannont dismiss 'without prejudice' as to the wrong def.
Think of it: they arrested three wrong men, one after another, for murder. Should the case be dismissed 'without prejudice' so the crime can never be charged against another ?

No. The ineptness of the cops doesn't dismiss the crime from prosecution.

The cops are just playing with you. The Sgt of Traffic has too much time on his/her hands, or the cameras are his/her 'babies'.

I think when these tickets are heard at court, the Judges usually dismiss them immediately & if the Judge sees the same darn ticket come through again (bad picture & cops knew), they will chew out the copshop & the cops are jeopardizing all the red light tickets.

I would always advise people to show up at court.
When the picture is obviously not them, just tell the court that you are not the driver.
You have no legal duty to tell anyone who IS driving.
Any good Judge should dismiss and raise hell when the same ticket floats back with another wrong defendant.
That's what the atty can tell the Judge: they're just pulling names out of a hat and sending tickets.
The Judge should be pretty upset. Judge has a full enough calendar without trying the same ticket several times.

 

[Crispix]

Just an anecdote as a follow up. . .

I called the Sheriff's office and talked to the officer in charge of the camera tickets . . . he agreed to consider dimissing it prior to the court date if sis sends in a copy of her NY license and photo.

But . . . I think he was blowing me off. He didn't really get it, and thinks that I, as the registered owner, must have "nominated" sis as the driver. He was not interested in any proof that she was not in town that day.

So I think we'll end up having to go through the court system to get it dismissed, but maybe the officer will do the right thing. At least he did not ask me who the real killer is, but perhaps that's just an indication that he doesn't believe me.

I'll post again in a few weeks with the results of all this. Fun stuff.

 

[Crispix]

Dismissed!

Just got word that sis's ticket has been dismissed. It does not look like it had been re-issused a third time (nothing in the computer as of today).

All's well that ends well.

 

[JIMinCA]

Congrats!!! I hate red light photo tickets anyway!

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Yeah, congrats...

I hate red lights!