I have questions on appealing a texting while driving ticket

[agedout]

I am in California and got a ticket for texting while driving. I was not doing so at the time and have phone records to prove it. Unfortunately, I misread my trial information and missed my trial by about 30 minutes. Because I didn't show up on time, the trial was held without me and I couldn't present the evidence of my innocence. I requested an appeal, but in reading the paperwork, it sounds like, I won't get a chance to present my evidence, as the appeal is not a new trial and doesn't consider new evidence. Is there any way I can get a new or retrial?

 

[sandyclaus]

I am in California and got a ticket for texting while driving. I was not doing so at the time and have phone records to prove it. Unfortunately, I misread my trial information and missed my trial by about 30 minutes. Because I didn't show up on time, the trial was held without me and I couldn't present the evidence of my innocence. I requested an appeal, but in reading the paperwork, it sounds like, I won't get a chance to present my evidence, as the appeal is not a new trial and doesn't consider new evidence. Is there any way I can get a new or retrial?

Probably not. Sometimes you snooze and you lose.

What would your defense have been? Were you texting while driving?

 

[Zigner]

Probably not. Sometimes you snooze and you lose.

What would your defense have been? Were you texting while driving?

OP claims to have phone records showing he wasn't texting.

Of course, he's going to have a terribly tough time showing that those records actually relate to the phone he had when cited...but ok.

ETA: By "...going to have a..." I meant "...would have had a..."

 

[agedout]

sandy claus: I was stopped in traffic and was putting my parking card back into my wallet. As for my phone records, ticket time was 5:15. per my phone records, i received a text at 5:07 and replied at 5:09. My parking garage is 2 blocks away from where from where I got stopped a 3 minute drive (per google maps). If I texted from my garage at 5:09, left and got stopped 3 minutes later, that's 5:12... still gives the cop 3 minutes to write his ticket. Yeah, it's a small window, but it's the truth. Cop admitted he saw me looking down and presumed I was texting, but was going to let the court sort it out. When he stopped me and asked to see my phone, I had to find it under some papers on the seat of my car.

Zigner: I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, I suppose I COULD have had someone else's phone, but wouldn't that be up to the cop to prove? I thought he had to prove me guilty, not the other way around.

Regardless, the question is, do I have any way to request a new or retrial? so I can present my evidence....

 

[CSO286]

sandy claus: I was stopped in traffic and was putting my parking card back into my wallet. As for my phone records, ticket time was 5:15. per my phone records, i received a text at 5:07 and replied at 5:09. My parking garage is 2 blocks away from where from where I got stopped a 3 minute drive (per google maps). If I texted from my garage at 5:09, left and got stopped 3 minutes later, that's 5:12... still gives the cop 3 minutes to write his ticket. Yeah, it's a small window, but it's the truth. Cop admitted he saw me looking down and presumed I was texting, but was going to let the court sort it out. When he stopped me and asked to see my phone, I had to find it under some papers on the seat of my car.

Zigner: I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, I suppose I COULD have had someone else's phone, but wouldn't that be up to the cop to prove? I thought he had to prove me guilty, not the other way around.

Regardless, the question is, do I have any way to request a new or retrial? so I can present my evidence....

Really, no. An appeal means you are aruging that there was an error inthe proceedings (Mistake of ofact, misapplication of the law, etc). The court is going to view your not appearing in time for your hearing as you not considering it of enough importance to make sure to be there as scheduled.

 

[agedout]

Really, no. An appeal means you are aruging that there was an error inthe proceedings (Mistake of ofact, misapplication of the law, etc). The court is going to view your not appearing in time for your hearing as you not considering it of enough importance to make sure to be there as scheduled.

well, THAT sucks becuase there were TWO times written on my paperwork, and I misread it. The worst part is, I wasn't even guilty.

 

[Sloop John D]

Did you miss the trial or the arraignment? I had a friend who missed his arraignment on a speeding ticket. He called the courthouse and they rescheduled it for him. It was surprisingly easy. If you already attended an arraignment and scheduled a trial date... I doubt they'll be nice enough to schedule a second trial.

 

[agedout]

I misses the actual trial by 30 minutes.

 

[Dave1952]

Why do you believe that the time that the officer wrote, probably based on his watch, and the time that your phone company recorded would be comparable?