How to appeal above superior court in CA

[David4321]

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

I was cited wrongly for a traffic infraction in Marin County, and decided to challenge the citation in a court trial. On the day of the trial, I was unable to appear, due to a medical emergency. The patient was the parent of my pre-arranged driver from Sonoma County where I reside, to the courthouse in Marin. I could not drive, as my license was suspended at the time. I could not arrange for another driver at the last minute within the necessary timeframe to attend the court date. The case was decided against me in absentia.

I submitted an appeal of this decision, and provided documentation of the medical emergency and a letter from the driver who had to cancel at the last minute. There was no other content to the appeal - I simply documented the reason for my inability to appear, and wanted a rescheduled court date. This appeal was decided against me.

This seems like a capricious decision, and no reason was given for depriving me of my right to a trial which I missed due to emergency circumstances beyond my control on the first date.

Here is my actual question: Where and how can I further appeal this bad decision in the case of my original appeal? How can I obtain a new court date for the original citation? I assume I must go above the Marin Superior Court, but they are stonewalling me - I need to know which court to go to and how to submit the appeal.

Thank you.

 

[Zigner]

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

I was cited wrongly for a traffic infraction in Marin County, and decided to challenge the citation in a court trial. On the day of the trial, I was unable to appear, due to a medical emergency. The patient was the parent of my pre-arranged driver from Sonoma County where I reside, to the courthouse in Marin. I could not drive, as my license was suspended at the time. I could not arrange for another driver at the last minute within the necessary timeframe to attend the court date. The case was decided against me in absentia.

I submitted an appeal of this decision, and provided documentation of the medical emergency and a letter from the driver who had to cancel at the last minute. There was no other content to the appeal - I simply documented the reason for my inability to appear, and wanted a rescheduled court date. This appeal was decided against me.

This seems like a capricious decision, and no reason was given for depriving me of my right to a trial which I missed due to emergency circumstances beyond my control on the first date.

Here is my actual question: Where and how can I further appeal this bad decision in the case of my original appeal? How can I obtain a new court date for the original citation? I assume I must go above the Marin Superior Court, but they are stonewalling me - I need to know which court to go to and how to submit the appeal.

Thank you.

It's over man. You COULD have made it to court. There's taxi's and public transportation. You chose to put all your eggs in one elevator...

 

[CdwJava]

Follow this link for more info about appeals in Marin County:

Marin County Superior Court - Traffic Court - Frequently Asked Questions

 

[StevenJ_420Law]

Traffic Appeals go to what used to be called "Superior Court" .. ie upper jurisdiction in todays unified court and review by a upper jurisdiction judge (at least in my area). That is somewhat still informal and you can still get away with a little. However, your grounds for appeal must be based on law. Since it is within the courts discretion to hold your trial after finding you voluntarily absented yourself...upon that finding, pretty much the only way to win that is if the officer fails to appear or doesnt offer proof (like an infraction he did not observe and he has no witness). Otherwise, the officer testified and you were found guilty at a trial. Since by law, it is within the courts discretion to hold your trial, then you need a real legal reason that YOU PRESENT to over turn that.. ie . the way the trial was held, not sour grapes at the end result.

Your appeal based on a "really good story" is not law based and stories will always fail. Trials are for stories. Appeals are for the law. You should have submitted a legal brief with case law and appellate decisions supporting your position.

To appeal higher than superior court requires an appeal to the Appellate Court for your court. Uo up. What court are you? You do not have what it takes to get a case filed there, sorry. Forget it unless you have an attorney. The rules of court governing an appellate level appeal are monstrous and they arent even going to entertain any mumbo jumbo like "I missed my ride with a good excuse".

Most people think an appeal is a retrial and they dont research the law at all or provide the appellate court any legal compelling reason to find in their favor. They just write stuff out. That doesnt work. The judge(s) will decide based on what you present and the law. You gave them nothing to overturn the decision of the judge. If you go up, I doubt you would even get past an appellate level clerk, let alone a review, or least of all, a favorable decision without competent legal assistance and a compelling legal matter to decide. It isnt done by a quickie form. Thats big league stuff. Sorry, but youre done.