Ticket not in the system?

[295566]

Stop calling and appear, get the note that proves you appeared. This happened to me years ago in San Diego, warrant was issued. I found out YEARS later. Showed the note CASE DISMISSED.

I'd advise this as well, but it seems that it may depend... if the LEO/court are late as fuck, oh well you still have to show up again and/or pay the fine. But god help you if you're late for showing up or paying...

 

[mean dad]

Unlikely, but not impossible. The court typically sends them back to us to get corrected.

But March is a super long time, so...the odds are in your favor.

I'm thinking this is unlikely as well. The courts will return them for correction if they think it's necessary.

I posted in here years ago about a ticket I got (along with a friend) and asked if the incorrect items on the ticket(s) would matter. There were a total of 4 blatant mistakes but I only listed 3 here as a bit of a test.
Got renewed tickets in the mail two days later with the 3 listed mistakes corrected but the 4th incorrect item remained.

:laughing

Last time I asked about that kind of stuff. :rofl

 

[295566]

I posted in here years ago about a ticket I got (along with a friend) and asked if the incorrect items on the ticket(s) would matter. There were a total of 4 blatant mistakes but I only listed 3 here as a bit of a test.
Got renewed tickets in the mail two days later with the 3 listed mistakes corrected but the 4th incorrect item remained.

:laughing

Last time I asked about that kind of stuff. :rofl

That would have made an amusing follow up... I hope you went to court and introduced yourself and asked what teh officer's handle was :laughing

 

[bojangle]

I posted in here years ago about a ticket I got (along with a friend) and asked if the incorrect items on the ticket(s) would matter. There were a total of 4 blatant mistakes but I only listed 3 here as a bit of a test.
Got renewed tickets in the mail two days later with the 3 listed mistakes corrected but the 4th incorrect item remained.

:laughing

Last time I asked about that kind of stuff. :rofl

Fuck around and find out!



So, did the error that remained make any difference in the outcome of the case?

 

[mean dad]

No, my buddy went to court before I did and got railed, so I paid up and kept my mouth shut. :laughing

 

[Whammy]

Whammy Wants to know what county is this in?
Santa Clara is notorious for taking forever!

 

[TheRiddler]

I posted in here years ago about a ticket I got (along with a friend) and asked if the incorrect items on the ticket(s) would matter. There were a total of 4 blatant mistakes but I only listed 3 here as a bit of a test.
Got renewed tickets in the mail two days later with the 3 listed mistakes corrected but the 4th incorrect item remained.

:laughing

Last time I asked about that kind of stuff. :rofl

First day at a new office, first ticket I wrote: I forgot to put the person's gender, apparently got their race wrong (that's always a guess), and got the color of their vehicle wrong on the ticket (I put black and it was dark blue).

I sent in a correction to the court a couple days later. Judge still ruled guilty at court. The odds of getting off on a technicality are never good.

 

[mean dad]

First day at a new office, first ticket I wrote: I forgot to put the person's gender, apparently got their race wrong (that's always a guess), and got the color of their vehicle wrong on the ticket (I put black and it was dark blue).

I sent in a correction to the court a couple days later. Judge still ruled guilty at court. The odds of getting off on a technicality are never good.

It was an old wives' tale, like not being allowed to drive barefoot. :laughing
Had to give it a shot.

 

[senpai71]

I got a speeding ticket (in the car), and as he was walking away, the CHP officer dropped his citation book in a puddle. Like, a DEEP puddle.

I waited there for a few moments and watched him retrieve it, but it looked like it was falling apart - basically a big, soggy mess. Once he saw me still there, he waved me away (with a rueful smile).

I never got anything by mail and it never showed up in the online system, and after a year, I gave up waiting...

 

[tgrrdr]

I got a speeding ticket in March of [2019].

Never got a notice in the mail. Called the court prior to the date at the bottom of the ticket (June), and they didn’t have it in their system. I was told to call back, or check online.

I’ve checked online weekly since then. Nothing shows up ...

since someone else revived this old thread, I'm curious if the ticket ever showed up?

 

[Enchanter]

since someone else revived this old thread, I'm curious if the ticket ever showed up?

I check every week...nope.

 

[ctwo]

Unfortunately, I'd say you have to keep waiting and checking. The department would have to file the ticket within the statute of limitations, which would be one year from the violation.

Woohoo! Almost there...

 

[Beanzy]

I check every week...nope.

Why check so often?

If it were me, I would check the day before the one-year anniversary as well as get a paper date-stamped at the court clerk's window before 2 p.m. that I showed up at court on the one-year anniversary but the ticket was never entered into the court system. And I'd stress to the court clerk to type in that the "ticket was not entered as of March x, 2020" on that date-stamped sheet. Please.

 

[bojangle]

Woohoo! Almost there...

Well, as I wrote a couple posts later, I think I originally misstated the statue of limitations. I don't believe it applies for a ticket that was already issued.

There could be a right to a speedy trial aspect. After such a long delay, I'd say one should request dismissal based on a lack of speedy trial.

So I wrote it was one year in the post above, and it is one year for charging infraction or misdemeanor charges. However, with a traffic ticket that just might not apply. The reason is that with a ticket, the person had already been charged with the offense and signed a promise to appear. I believe that stops any statute of limitations at that point, and I'm not entirely sure whether or not it matters that the citation is filed with the court within the year to proceed with prosecution.

However, if a year has passed before the citation is ever filed with the court, I think it would be worth it to request dismissal of the charge based on the fact that it is over a year old. Even if statute of limitations is not a legal argument, a case can still be made for dismissal in the interest of justice based on the long time period that passed.

 

[Beanzy]

Oops.

Bojangle is apparently correct, that no statute of limitations applies in your case, as you promised to appear in court when you signed the ticket. Also see this lawyer's nearly ten-year-old answer to a driver regarding his old speeding tickets:

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/unpaid-traffic-tickets-beyond-5-year-statute-of-li-489876.html

So do consider going to the court clerk's window to get a seat before the traffic commissioner on the morning of the one-year anniversary or ASAP to get that judge's ruling on a possible dismissal.

Wouldn't it be neat to get the ticket dismissed? I'm guessing the commissioner will rule that since the issuing officer did not enter the ticket into the court system, it's as if the officer did not show up in court.

Plus the court never issued you a "failure to appear" letter as well. So no additional $300 fine either.

 

[bojangle]

Oops.

Bojangle is apparently correct, that no statute of limitations applies in your case, as you promised to appear in court when you signed the ticket. Also see this lawyer's nearly ten-year-old answer to a driver regarding his old speeding tickets:

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/unpaid-traffic-tickets-beyond-5-year-statute-of-li-489876.html

So do consider going to the court clerk's window to get a seat before the traffic commissioner on the morning of the one-year anniversary or ASAP to get that judge's ruling on a possible dismissal.

Wouldn't it be neat to get the ticket dismissed? I'm guessing the commissioner will rule that since the issuing officer did not enter the ticket into the court system, it's as if the officer did not show up in court.

Plus the court never issued you a "failure to appear" letter as well. So no additional $300 fine either.

The problem is, if the officer/agency never submitted the ticket, the court won't have a case for the judge to dismiss. I think the best course of action is to get and retain proof that you appeared in court to try and take care of the matter. Then, if it ever showed up in the future, request a dismissal for a lack of a speedy trial. Maybe, after a long time has passed, go to the agency that issued it and inquire about it?

 

[TheRiddler]

The problem is, if the officer/agency never submitted the ticket, the court won't have a case for the judge to dismiss. I think the best course of action is to get and retain proof that you appeared in court to try and take care of the matter. Then, if it ever showed up in the future, request a dismissal for a lack of a speedy trial. Maybe, after a long time has passed, go to the agency that issued it and inquire about it?

All of this is what I would do.

 

[Enchanter]

The problem is, if the officer/agency never submitted the ticket, the court won't have a case for the judge to dismiss. I think the best course of action is to get and retain proof that you appeared in court to try and take care of the matter. Then, if it ever showed up in the future, request a dismissal for a lack of a speedy trial. Maybe, after a long time has passed, go to the agency that issued it and inquire about it?

All of this is what I would do.

As mentioned above, the courts don’t have any knowledge of the ticket, and as such they can’t help me. I’ll head over to the SJ CHP office and see what happens.

EDIT / UPDATE:
I just spoke with the court and the chp. They told me that there is nothing to do. There is nothing in the system, so essentially there is nothing to dismiss or dispute. The CHP told me that they expect a 2mo processing time for citations to get into the system, and 11mo is enough to consider it ‘lost’. He also said that it is possible someone will find it when cleaning out a desk and put it in the system, so “You should just keep checking every few weeks to see if you have a failure to appear.”

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear.

 

[Beanzy]

As mentioned above, the courts don’t have any knowledge of the ticket, and as such they can’t help me. I’ll head over to the SJ CHP office and see what happens.

EDIT / UPDATE:
I just spoke with the court and the chp. They told me that there is nothing to do. There is nothing in the system, so essentially there is nothing to dismiss or dispute. The CHP told me that they expect a 2mo processing time for citations to get into the system, and 11mo is enough to consider it ‘lost’. He also said that it is possible someone will find it when cleaning out a desk and put it in the system, so “You should just keep checking every few weeks to see if you have a failure to appear.”

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Why not go to the court clerk and ask for a paper that shows you appeared and get it date-stamped just in case the citation gets entered later? If you show up at 8 a.m., time spent will be a few minutes rather than an hour in line.

At least with the paper you can forget worrying about the ticket and have a defense if it shows up later in the court system.

 

[TheRiddler]

As mentioned above, the courts don’t have any knowledge of the ticket, and as such they can’t help me. I’ll head over to the SJ CHP office and see what happens.

EDIT / UPDATE:
I just spoke with the court and the chp. They told me that there is nothing to do. There is nothing in the system, so essentially there is nothing to dismiss or dispute. The CHP told me that they expect a 2mo processing time for citations to get into the system, and 11mo is enough to consider it ‘lost’. He also said that it is possible someone will find it when cleaning out a desk and put it in the system, so “You should just keep checking every few weeks to see if you have a failure to appear.”

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear.

AFAIK, after a year, it's no longer valid.

I've accidentally written violation dates a year away from issuing dates (usually in January), and the court kicks them back as invalid.