knjazz said:
The VC section on the ticket is 21461a "Failure to obey sign"
The VC section on the courtesy notice is 21451a "Green Signal - Vehicular"
(also my name is butchered almost beyond recognition on the courtesy note)
The driver's license information is what will be important, and the officer or court clerk's mis-spelling of your name won't be that big a problem.
However, it appears that the violation on the courtesy notice was improperly entered. What it seems happened is that the court personnel typed in a "5" when they should have typed in a "6" and that automatically changed the violation. This MIGHT give you a chance if you get the right judge or judge pro tem. However, in all likelihood, your charges will be filed as the original violation per CVC 21461(a).
It's a coin toss. I've seen these go both ways. If I had to play the odds, I'd say they will go with what is on the original cite for the violation. You can try to argue that you were unable to prepare a defense as the courtesy notice provided a different violation than the hand written citation therefore you were not properly prepared ... in which case the court might simply continue the matter.
If you really must beat the cite for some reason, and this is your only chance, I'd recommend an attorney that specializes in traffic matters. Each county has unique procedures and judges that preside in traffic matters and an attorney might best guide you in this. In my county, the matter would be continued to allow you to make a defense. In others, they might simply drop the matter. You might see about sitting in on a few traffic court cases and see what happens.
- Carl
