Is Notice Appeal form CR-142 Mandatory? or NOLO Press form TR-155 ok for APPEAL?

[avrfan]

Calfornia Traffic Appeals:

I looked over form CR-142 and it has way too many options in there
like what kind of record I will use, and just too many boxes and fields
where a person can make a mistake and lose their appeal on simple
mistake.

I like the NOLO Press form (TR-155) Form ITS IS SO SIMPLE LOOKING.

Here is an example
http://www.placer.courts.ca.gov/grandjury/2006-2007/Final_Report_2006-2007.pdf
from the Placer County (california) website however I am in Contra Costa County.

Why is TR-155 not available on the California Courts Website?
http://www.courts.ca.gov/forms.htm?filter=TR

---

CR-142 Has boxes where you can select Digital Recording of the Trial Hearing as official record of
the trial. I have a copy of this Digital Recording which I purchased for $25 from the court.

How would I send the recording to the Appellate court if I use form TR-155?
Is it better to use Electronic Recording or a Proposed Statement (hand typed)?

Thanks

 

[Zigner]

If you think that form CR-142 is too complicated, then you have no chance of prevailing on an appeal. Really.

For an infraction, you need to use CR-142.

 

[avrfan]

If you think that form CR-142 is too complicated, then you have no chance of prevailing on an appeal. Really.

For an infraction, you need to use CR-142.

Very Encouraging. I used TR-155 to file my notice of appeal before you had a chance to reply, the courts close the clerk windows early here
due to "budget cuts"

What could I expect at the last minute right? The reason I don't like CR-142 is it pre-comitts me to using one form of record/transcript and I haven't
honestly decided whether I want to use a digital recording of the trial or if I want to write my own proposed statement. I decided on TR-155 because
I believe it leaves my doors open for using whatever type of record of the trial I choose instead of being "locked in" by my choices today. The CR-142
form is asking alot of questions up front that I didn't have time to think about or prepare for.

Now I have 2 weeks (15 days) to file the proposed statement. I read somewhere that I can specify what type of transcript I will use with the proposed
statement. Is that correct?

 

[Just Blue]

Very Encouraging. I used TR-155 to file my notice of appeal before you had a chance to reply, the courts close the clerk windows early here
due to "budget cuts"

What could I expect at the last minute right? The reason I don't like CR-142 is it pre-comitts me to using one form of record/transcript and I haven't
honestly decided whether I want to use a digital recording of the trial or if I want to write my own proposed statement. I decided on TR-155 because
I believe it leaves my doors open for using whatever type of record of the trial I choose instead of being "locked in" by my choices today. The CR-142
form is asking alot of questions up front that I didn't have time to think about or prepare for.

Now I have 2 weeks (15 days) to file the proposed statement. I read somewhere that I can specify what type of transcript I will use with the proposed
statement. Is that correct?

Px Hx. This is the 4th Thread for the OP.

 

[avrfan]

Px Hx. This is the 4th Thread for the OP.

Sorry, if I am doing something wrong here. Please let me know. I do feel I make an
honest effort to do my homework before posting. I am not just randomly blasting the
boards here for assistance.

Here is a list of some of the things I have tried:

1. I went the law library,
2. I got the book by Nolo "Fight your ticket and win in California"
3. I pay $40/month for Prepaid legal and attempt to get advice from the law firm "Parker Stanbury" (they are very little help if any I swear its a ripoff )
4. I am a paid member for 6 years and running with the National Motorist Association $35/year, I make use of what advice they can provide.(actually a really good service)
5. I google search the internet for answers
6. I read court documents and information and attempt to use my own brain
7. I ask questions at the court clerk window and call them on their phone line (very little help but some information gained is useful)
8. I search the Free Advice forums for similar threads, read through those that are relative, before posting a new thread (great website, great threads, great members and responses)
9. I have attempted to post on the backs of very similar threads to my subject but then I was criticised for posting on "dead threads" or "old threads" that have not been posted on for a period of time. That steered me towards creating my own threads. I suppose that sounds like an excuse but that is the truth.

That list is probably as good or better than the average legal noob on the forums here. Yes I have other threads but I felt the topic seemed new so I made a new thread. It sounds like there may be a rule here such as 1 thread per case or 1 thread per member? If you want me to combine all my questions onto one thread, I will do so, just tell me what you want and how to do it.

Thanks
Dave

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Why is TR-155 not available on the California Courts Website?
http://www.courts.ca.gov/forms.htm?filter=TR

Because only forms that are approved by the California Judicial Council are approved for use at California Courts. Use the wrong unapproved form and you risk having your appeal dismissed by the appellate division. By that time, your window for filing an appeal has already passed and your inability to follow basic instructions as to which form you can use will result in your being unable to re-file using the proper form.

I used TR-155 to file my notice of appeal before you had a chance to reply, the courts close the clerk windows early here
due to "budget cuts"

I don't know what ^this^ means but if you simply left the form for the court clerk without speaking to anyone, or having them review it to see if it is sufficient, then I suggest you check your mail frequently as you maybe receiving some sort of letter from the court soon.

The reason I don't like CR-142 is it pre-comitts me to using one form of record/transcript and I haven't
honestly decided whether I want to use a digital recording of the trial or if I want to write my own proposed statement. I decided on TR-155 because
I believe it leaves my doors open for using whatever type of record of the trial I choose instead of being "locked in" by my choices today. The CR-142
form is asking alot of questions up front that I didn't have time to think about or prepare for.

The reason why a CR-142 is specific to infraction appeals is simply because it asks you to provide information that is required to either properly qualify your case and because it dictates the steps you must follow to properly proceed through different stages of the appeal. Moreover, the options for what type of record you can present are often limited by the types of record your court used in your particular case. Generally, I would assume that a traffic infraction trial was not recorded, nor was it transcribed. But rest assured that any attempt to manipulate the record in any way will get shut down when the judge reviews that part; and you do know, it has to be approved by the judge before it is forwarded to the appellate division, don't you?

As you were told up top, if you think CR-142 asks a lot of questions then you have no business submitting a notice of appeal!

TNow I have 2 weeks (15 days) to file the proposed statement. I read somewhere that I can specify what type of transcript I will use with the proposed statement. Is that correct?

So you go from not wanting to answer all the questions in the CR-142 form because "it pre-comitts (sic) you to using one form of record/transcript", to asking "if you can specify what type of transcript you will use" all in one post???

Your options are extremely limited for traffic infraction cases and you'll have to check with the court clerk as to what sort of transcript is available to you in your case.

 

[avrfan]

I hadn't realized until the last minute that the examples in the Nolo Press Fight your Ticket book and also several Ticket fighting discussion boards (online) were all using TR-155 but the court appeal packet was CR-142. I had assumed they would all be the same. I have noticed that the court will accept several variations of certain forms used for infractions in the past. I hope that they will accept this TR-155 that I used.

Re: You doubt there was a recording... I have a copy it was electronically recorded (my copy is on an audio CD the clerk gave me) That is standard in my county, no need to request them to record, all trials are recorded electronically. No transcript and no professional court reporter is present (I guess to save money). I can request a court reporter to be present but they say I would have to pay for it. If I want a transcription, it has to be paid for also(several hundred dollars apparently) THE JUDGE at my trial told me that they would send a copy of the recording to the appeals court for me, but I prefer to somehow include my own (attach it somehow) to my appeal filings (proposed statement I guess?) DO YOU or ANYONE know how to attach a CD to Proposed statement filing? I guess on the statement forms there is a section for "attachements" and I mention CD recording of trial and proposed statement (written) and number of pages or number of CD's? Just guessing here.

Well, live and learn I guess. If my form TR-155 is accepted, I will let you guys know by posting back here. Likely in the future they may entirely ban the use of anything but CR-142 if it is not banned already.

Re: multiple questions: I try to put all my questions into one related post. I thought that was better, but it sounds like one question is preferred at a time. Apologies, is there a list of forum rules regarding these details? I actually try to be a little thoughtful before posting.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[I_Got_Banned]

You cannot just send the appellate division a copy of a CD and you cannot send it yourself. All of this is explained in form CR-141 & CR-142...

 

[avrfan]

You cannot just send the appellate division a copy of a CD and you cannot send it yourself. All of this is explained in form CR-141 & CR-142...

First regarding use of use CR-142
I did some digging on the California Court Rules website, I found the following information:
Judicial Council Legal Forms List ->> http://courts.ca.gov/documents/appendix_a.pdf
which says the following on the first page:

Under Government Code section 68511, the Judicial Council may prescribe certain forms. Use of prescribed forms is mandatory. Under rule 1.31, each mandatory Judicial Council legal

form is identified as mandatory by an asterisk (*) on the list of Judicial Council legal forms​

published in this appendix. Mandatory forms bear the word adopted in the lower left corner of the first page. Optional forms bear the word approved in the lower left corner of the first page. Use of an approved (optional) form is not mandatory, but the form must be accepted by all courts in appropriate cases (rule 1.35(a)).

A local court may not reject any Judicial Council form, optional or mandatory, for any of the reasons listed in rule 1.42

FORM CR-142 and in the lower left corner of the form it says it is OPTIONAL

Judicial Council of California,
www.courtinfo.ca.gov
New January 1, 2009, Optional Form
Cal. Rules of Court, rules 8.901, 8.902, and 8.915​

Also, the list of judicial council forms does not place an * asterisk next to CR-142 (meaning it is not mandatory form but it is approved)

Rule 1.42. Forms not to be rejected says the following (notice the last line) :

A court must not reject for filing a Judicial Council form for any of the following reasons:

(1)The form lacks the preprinted title and address of the court;
(2)The form lacks the name of the clerk;
(3)The preprinted title and address of another court or its clerk's name is legibly modified;
(4)The form lacks the court's local form number;
(5)The form lacks any other material added by a court, unless the material is required by the Judicial Council;
(6)The form is printed by a publisher or another court;
(7) The form is imprinted with the name or symbol of the publisher, unless the name or symbol replaces or obscures any material on the printed form;
(8) The form is legibly and obviously modified to correct a code section number or to comply with the law under which the form is filed; or
(9) The form is not the latest version of the form adopted or approved by the Judicial Council.

Rule 1.42 amended effective January 1, 2007; adopted effective January 1, 2007.​

Rule 1.35. Optional forms says:

(a) Use of optional forms and acceptance for filing Forms approved by the Judicial Council for optional use, wherever applicable, may be used by parties and must be accepted for filing by all courts.

(b) List of optional forms
Each optional Judicial Council form appears without an asterisk (*) on the list of Judicial Council forms in Appendix A to the California Rules of Court. The list is available on the California Courts Web site at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms.

(c) Identification of optional forms
Forms approved by the Judicial Council for optional use bear the words "Form Approved for Optional Use" or "Optional Form" in the lower left corner of the first page.

(d) Words on forms
Publishers and courts reprinting an optional Judicial Council form in effect before July 1, 1999, must add the words "Optional Form" to the bottom of the first page.

(e)No alteration of forms
Courts may not require the use of an altered optional Judicial Council form in place of the Judicial Council form. However, a judicial officer may modify a Judicial Council form order as necessary or appropriate to adjudicate a particular case.

(Subd (e) amended effective January 1, 2009.)
(f) No colored forms

Courts may not require that any optional Judicial Council form be submitted on any color of paper other than white.

Rule 1.35 amended effective January 1, 2009; adopted effective January 1, 2007.​

This sounds good because lower left corner first page of FORM TR-155 (Notice of appeal) says "Form Approved for Optional Use Judicial Council of California TR-155 (Rev. January 1, 2007)

I am wondering if the fact that TR-155 is not listed in the current list(2013) of approved forms as mentioned on point B of Rule 1.35 (see above). However notice Rule 1.35(c) says how to identify Optional forms.

ARE YOU 100% CONFIDENT, that I can no longer use recording of the hearing in my Appeal? (since I filed notice via TR-155 instead of CR-142)?
----

SECOND: Regarding attachment or inclusion of Electronic Recording of Trial to Proposed Statement - OR Re: How to ensure Appellate court gets a copy along with the Official Record on Appeal
I found the TR-150 instructions for filing TR-155 here:
http://forms.lp.findlaw.com/form/courtforms/state/ca/ca000625.pdf

Those instructions reference Rules 182 and 184, the conversion table for old to new rules says Rule 182 converts to 8.782 and Rule 184 to 8.784
http://courts.ca.gov/rules.htm

The Rules for California Courts (are organized into sections named Title 1 - 10 and some Appendices.) are found here:
http://courts.ca.gov/rules.htm

Title Eight. Appellate Rules (Rules 8.1 - 8.1125) appears where I should be researching but I am fully understanding about use of Electronic Recordings for proposed statements.
Also I have not seen any mention of Notice of Appeal required to be filed using CR-142 nor TR-155. It just lists deadlines and such.

I did find Rule 8.915 talks about filing of Notice of Election to proceed with or without a record of the oral proceedings in the trial court. It can be found here:

http://www.courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index.cfm?title=eight&linkid=rule8_915
it says the notice must specify what form of record I intend to use, written, transcript, recording.

8.915(c) says Failure to file this election -
(c) Failure to file election

If the appellant does not file an election within the time specified in (b), the trial court clerk must promptly notify the appellant by mail that the election must be filed within 15 days after the notice is mailed and that failure to comply will result in the appeal proceeding without a record of the oral proceedings.​

So I guess I have to file my election of what form I wish to use withing approx 15 days of the date I filed my Notice of appeal. DOES THAT SOUND CORRECT?
It appears that I have to choose one form or the other, but cannot do both written statement and include electronic recording.

I am still trying to figure this out, DOES ANYBODY KNOW for sure, How to include the electronic recording with my Filing of Proposed Statement or Brief?
What do you guys think? Is it better to use the Electronic Recording, or would the written statement process be better or does that introduce more chance of failure due to error on my part in the details of forms or the process of settling the account between me and the judge if he should require revisions on my proposed written statement?




Please advise.
Thanks

 

[I_Got_Banned]

First regarding use of use CR-142
I did some digging on the California Court Rules website, I found the following information:
Judicial Council Legal Forms List ->> http://courts.ca.gov/documents/appendix_a.pdf
which says the following on the first page:

FORM CR-142 and in the lower left corner of the form it says it is OPTIONAL

OK.. SO CR-142 is optional.. What other options can you use? It doesn't say TR-155 is one of the options. Does it?

Also, the list of judicial council forms does not place an * asterisk next to CR-142 (meaning it is not mandatory form but it is approved)

That is not the issue though.. We already know CR-142 is approved. Question is, is the TR-155 approved?

Rule 1.42. Forms not to be rejected says the following (notice the last line) :

(9) The form is not the latest version of the form adopted or approved by the Judicial Council.

HINT: TR-155 is not longer on the court's website!

Form CR-142 has 4 pages of information that not only streamlines the process so that is is a lot less confusing and here you are at step one and certainly with no shortage of that, but it also qualifies your case and puts it in proper perspective for the court to evaluate whether it is appeal worthy or not. You though all that information was optional and so you skipped it!

At any rate... the point here is that an appeal, and unlike the IN-formal nature of traffic court, is a formal process, and it MUST follow certain steps and procedures. Otherwise and while it might be your last step (or your first one), if you screw it up, the court can simply reject your appeal, set a deadline for you to correct the mistake or simply toss your entire case aside. And here you are making up your own rules from the get go... You don't feel like answering the questions in CR-142 and you don't trust the court to send the transcript so you want to mail it yourself... and who knows what else.

However notice Rule 1.35(c) says how to identify Optional forms.

CR-142 is an "optional" from.... And the difference between it and your TR-155 is what?

That's right.... Th TR-155 is not listed on the court's website!

Even if they do allow it, it will come to a point during the process where you opting to make up your own rule will come back and bite you

ARE YOU 100% CONFIDENT, that I can no longer use recording of the hearing in my Appeal? (since I filed notice via TR-155 instead of CR-142)?

Where did I say "you can no longer use recording of the hearing in your appeal?" here is what I said:

You cannot just send the appellate division a copy of a CD and you cannot send it yourself.

That means you cannot make a copy on your own, (it has to be made by the lower court clerk) and I also said you cannot mail it to the appellate yourself (it has to be mailed by the lower court clerk).

SECOND: Regarding attachment or inclusion of Electronic Recording of Trial to Proposed Statement - OR Re: How to ensure Appellate court gets a copy along with the Official Record on Appeal
I found the TR-150 instructions for filing TR-155 here:
http://forms.lp.findlaw.com/form/courtforms/state/ca/ca000625.pdf

Those instructions reference Rules 182 and 184, the conversion table for old to new rules says Rule 182 converts to 8.782 and Rule 184 to 8.784
http://courts.ca.gov/rules.htm

Do you not see how much twisting you are having to do to figure out what needs to be done? When all along, you could have followed the procedure that is described on the court's website and you would have had nothing to worry about?

Also I have not seen any mention of Notice of Appeal required to be filed using CR-142 nor TR-155. It just lists deadlines and such.

Simply because anyone who is looking to appeal their case, would have looked into the rules, and upon making the decision to file their notice of appeal, they would have simply clicked on the "forms" link and downloaded and completed the ONLY form that is titled "Notice Of Appeal"... Instead of going off site, picking up a form that is SIX years old and using that instead.

I did find Rule 8.915 talks about filing of Notice of Election to proceed with or without a record of the oral proceedings in the trial court. It can be found here:

http://www.courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index.cfm?title=eight&linkid=rule8_915
it says the notice must specify what form of record I intend to use, written, transcript, recording.

An d that decision is made based upon th e facts of your case and the reason why you are appealing. Not based upon how you feel about each option and whether you think it restricts you or not!

8.915(c) says Failure to file this election -
(c) Failure to file election

If the appellant does not file an election within the time specified in (b), the trial court clerk must promptly notify the appellant by mail that the election must be filed within 15 days after the notice is mailed and that failure to comply will result in the appeal proceeding without a record of the oral proceedings.

Issue #1.... ^That^ would not have popped up had you used the correct form! So not only are you making the process more difficult for you, you are already overburdening the clerk with having to run through extra steps to accommodate you!

I am still trying to figure this out, DOES ANYBODY KNOW for sure, How to include the electronic recording with my Filing of Proposed Statement or Brief?

Once again, you do not file it. The clerk does.

What do you guys think? Is it better to use the Electronic Recording, or would the written statement process be better or does that introduce more chance of failure due to error on my part in the details of forms or the process of settling the account between me and the judge if he should require revisions on my proposed written statement?

It depends on what you are appealing and why!

Which brings us to this.... Had you read CR-141 and completed CR-142, you would have come across the following: On page 1 of CR-141, under section (2), what are you appealing?

Are you appealing based upon:

Prejudicial Error, or

Insufficient evidence.​

​

Explain!

 

[avrfan]

ok, (igotbanned) you gave me a really good lecturing and I feel really stupid right now.
Anyhow, yes I realize now in hindsight there's going to be more effort involved I apologize (to igotbanned)
it looks like I confused your response/userid with the other member who said CR-142 was mandatory.

To get this thread more on point I'm going to narrow this to this immediate concern:
Since I filed Already Notice of Appeal using Form TR-155 (as shown in Nolo Press book "Fight your Ticket")
what form should I use to notify the court of my election to use Electronic Recording?

Note: My reason for filing appeal was not based on my feelings about the case but rather the judge acting
as a prosecutor and also changing the charge to a different section to match the evidence. I was charged
with turning right on Red Arrow but photos shows it was a red circle. I motioned for acquittal on facts presented
being insufficient evidence for conviction as charged. Judge dismissed original charge and found guilty of new charge.
I think that is a good reason to file appeal. Also, my request for county seat was I believe wrongfully denied but
not the main issue for the appeal.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

ok, (igotbanned) you gave me a really good lecturing and I feel really stupid right now.

I had nothing to do with how you made yourself feel... And you need not apologize to me. I don't take offense to anything that is said on this, or any other forum. No one said a CR-142 was mandatory. But if that is the ONLY form that is designated for an infraction appeal, someone made that decision for a reason. But enough "lecturing"....

To get this thread more on point I'm going to narrow this to this immediate concern:
Since I filed Already Notice of Appeal using Form TR-155 (as shown in Nolo Press book "Fight your Ticket")
what form should I use to notify the court of my election to use Electronic Recording?

And therein lies the problem... You chose to go out on a limb... You are all alone on that one. I've never filed a notice to appeal on a TR-155 form and therefore I don't know how to recover form such error. It sounds to me like a visit to the court clerk's window is in order, first to verify whether your notice of appeal was filed and accepted and second, to inquire about what to do going forward with regards to the information that would have been otherwise submitted on a CR-142.

Note: My reason for filing appeal was not based on my feelings about the case but rather the judge acting
as a prosecutor and also changing the charge to a different section to match the evidence.

Well, lets see...

I was charged with turning right on Red Arrow but photos shows it was a red circle. I motioned for acquittal on facts presented
being insufficient evidence for conviction as charged.

And whether your motion was denied or granted, the original charge was dismissed by the judge. Am I wrong? No I am not...

Now, that is not the part that you are claiming where the judge acted like a prosecutor, because fact is, there is nothing prosecutorial about a judge dismissing a change where the elements of the offense did not meet the acts or omissions committed by the defendant.

Judge dismissed original charge and found guilty of new charge.

A "new charge" filed/submitted/presented by whom?
The judge did not do any of that, did he?
It was all done in the presence of the officer, and more likely BY the officer, was it not?
And was it initiated within 1 year from the date the act was committed?
Did you request a continuance so that you can prepare a new defense when you were told the charge will be (in essence, "amended")?

I think that is a good reason to file appeal.

You mean you "feel" that is a good reason to file appeal, don't you?

Do you really think that what could have possibly been a simple typo on behalf of the officer should result in a dismissal of a charge where you could have possibly injured or killed a pedestrian or caused an accident with another driver?

Depending on how you would answer the questions I posed, I am thinking you should have expected that the charge can and would be amended and knowing you had no defense if it was so amended, I am sure you would agree that simply having no defense is not sufficient grounds for an appeal.

Also, my request for county seat was I believe wrongfully denied but not the main issue for the appeal.

There is no requirement that a request for a transfer to county seat be granted. But even if there was, it appears that you did in fact make it to the court where the citation was filed, you don't mention having suffered any hardship nor were you subjected to any sort of difficulty getting there. that alone simply proves that you were simply using the change of venue as a means to making it more challenging for the officer to appear which would improve your chances for a dismissal. Furthermore, you'd be hard pressed to even suggest that this did impact your ability to defend yourself. In fact, and while it may be impossible to try and decide what the outcome would have been had you been tried in a different courthouse, the fact that there is nothing that would have prohibited the officer from refiling the citation under the correct code could have happened in any other court in the state, not just in the county. Y of any of your rights... So even if an error was committed by not granting your change of venue request, it was a harmless error and the appellate will not reverse on that in such cases.

 

[avrfan]

I object, forum member acting as prosecutor!

I beg to differ with you (a stranger to me with no obvious credentials besides possibly a history of heckling people on this board). I reference a well respected book written and published in California by Nolo Press and it clearly states that a person has a right to request COV and that it is a god grounds for appeal, usually the result being a retrial no dismissal. You do not know the details of my request for COV and reasons for it, and besides if the done properly the judge had no jurisdiction in presiding over my case, which means his decision should be reversed on that grounds alone.

<igotbanned> You have not been very helpful from what I can see. Your responsives are perceived as nearly constant attack and destructive against me, very negative and unhelpful responses provide little if any assistance towards a lay person who is making their best effort to represent themselves in fighting a traffic citation. Unless you can provide actual guidance towards winning this appeal, then please refrain. Otherwise, I welcome any constructive criticisms and guidance in actually exercising rights, and holding the courts to the laws that govern their conduct.

 

[Zigner]

Unless you can provide actual guidance towards winning this appeal, then please refrain.

Sometimes the only winning move is not to play.

 

[TheGeekess]

I beg to differ with you (a stranger to me with no obvious credentials besides possibly a history of heckling people on this board). I reference a well respected book written and published in California by Nolo Press and it clearly states that a person has a right to request COV and that it is a god grounds for appeal, usually the result being a retrial no dismissal. You do not know the details of my request for COV and reasons for it, and besides if the done properly the judge had no jurisdiction in presiding over my case, which means his decision should be reversed on that grounds alone.

<igotbanned> You have not been very helpful from what I can see. Your responsives are perceived as nearly constant attack and destructive against me, very negative and unhelpful responses provide little if any assistance towards a lay person who is making their best effort to represent themselves in fighting a traffic citation. Unless you can provide actual guidance towards winning this appeal, then please refrain. Otherwise, I welcome any constructive criticisms and guidance in actually exercising rights, and holding the courts to the laws that govern their conduct.

Alrighty then.