Improper Service? Dismissal? Court Tomorrow...Please help!

[hdrider2000]

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

Hi,
I received a red light violation for turning left in Peoria, AZ (Infamous intersection of Union Hills and 83rd Ave). I was served for my complaint, however, please see how I was served.

Here is the scenario:

My family and I left our residence to run some errands. My first stop was to my local bank to make a deposit. As I was exiting the bank, someone called out my name in the parking lot and before I could think about it possibly being a process server, he was right in front of me, handed me the ticket and told me that I was served. I had asked him if he was following me and he said no...he was just in the area. Ok, so I have been served.

The court date on the ticket is scheduled for tomorrow. I went down to the court this past Friday to request a copy of the declaration of service (DOS). They provided me a copy. The DOS states that he served me at my residence, NOT in the parking lot of the bank. He has the correct time and date, but the location is not where I was served. I have a deposit receipt from the bank that has a time stamp 1 minute before he served me, as well as my wife and kids to testify that this was the place of service.

Do I have grounds to ask for this ticket to be dismissed? Improper service? At the bottom of the DOS, he declares under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct and was executed???

I have had one person recommend that I do not attend court tomorrow and let them file a judgement against me and then to appeal. If I go into court tomorrow, they could/would serve me again right then and there.

Thoughts?

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Yes, if you go to court, they may serve you right then and there. If you don't got to court, they may add a failure to appear.

And to wait until they file judgment against you and then appeal? Bad idea... What if your appeal is denied?

Lastly, your bank receipt shows that a deposit was made in your account on or about the same time that you were served. Does it really necessarily mean that YOU made the deposit? I could have made that deposit for all they know...

 

[hdrider2000]

I am not sure if that was meant to be helpful. But yes, I have proof that the deposit was made by me, b/c I personally had to sign and fill out the deposit b/c the kind of deposit. I am the only person authorized on the account to do so.

I have copies of all the signed deposit too. Secondly, my family was with me, they can testify that I was served in the parking lot of the bank.

Lastly, I took a photo of the ticket with my iPhone, which time stamps the picture, and also provides Lat/Longitude. It was taken about 5 minutes after I left the bank, which when I enter in the lat/long, I am over 5 miles from my residence, close to the bank. There is no way I could have been at my house and the place I took the photo in 6 minutes.

 

[HighwayMan]

Don't count on a court accepting a timestamp on a photo taken with a camera phone. There is probably alot of doubt that the data could be manipulated.

 

[The Occultist]

Hdrider, even if you are completely in the right, you still need to get this taken care of. Choosing to not go in because you do not feel you were served properly, even if that is true, will only delay the inevitable. If you don't show up, you will face a new charge for Failure to Appear, which may result in a warrant for your arrest. If the service was indeed improper, then that will be an easy charge to beat, but it means an EXTRA day of court SEPARATE from the original charge(s). The only person that will be negatively impacted by not appearing in court is you, especially since a warrant could mean you are arrested at the worst possible time.

I don't care whether or not you choose to make things easy/complicated for the courts, but why put yourself through all the hassle? The initial charge still stands, so just go take care of it for crying out loud.

 

[hdrider2000]

Dear Occulist....I don't think that I ever said anything about not going to court. There have been recommendations to wait, which I do not want to do. However, because I was not served at home and the process server has submitted the declaration of service that I was, is wrong period.

As I am expected to follow the law...so are they.

 

[Zigner]

Dear Occulist....I don't think that I ever said anything about not going to court. There have been recommendations to wait, which I do not want to do. However, because I was not served at home and the process server has submitted the declaration of service that I was, is wrong period.

As I am expected to follow the law...so are they.

You are going to show up. The judge is going to KNOW you were served. You will claim you weren't served at home. The judge is going to say "But, you WERE served". You can't deny that you were served, can you?

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Zigner, ^that^, is NOT what the OP wants to hear... So I guess we'll have to wait for a 5th opinion to see if that fits within the answer he was expecting...

 

[Isis1]

Zigner, ^that^, is NOT what the OP wants to hear... So I guess we'll have to wait for a 5th opinion to see if that fits within the answer he was expecting...

nope. sorry. not this one either.

 

[hdrider2000]

Dismissed!!