khmergod

This might be off topic, but my wife recently received a traffic citation in August. Court date is to be this Monday, Oct. 6. We wanted to take care of it online, but could not because it wasn't in their system. I called the court and they had no citations against her. I kindly told them that if she went and the citation is not in file, they cannot set a fine, nor have the paperwork necessary for the case. They told me the officer may not have filed it yet and "just come anyway, and we'll get it taken care of.". It's kind a long time not to file it if it's already the weekend of the date?

I know she should go anyway, but if I'm right, she might be wasting her time. So my AMG brothers, what do?

VividRacing

August to October is a lot of time. They still haven't filed it? I would check again in a few days. I myself am honest and would go anyways because you never know that they might file it on the same day as the court date.

sytfu_colan

Check in with the court you're suppose to show up at. I experienced the same situation here in cali and they gave me this citation not on file paper which they initialed to say you attempted to show up, but was not on file. I think I had to check in four times before it was dismissed. The clerks initial the paper each time. GL!

RW Carbon

The cop didn't turn the ticket in. You got lucky. I wouldn't show up if they have no record of it. Had it happen to me before.

sytfu_colan

^Or you could do that, it's most likely not in the system.

khmergod

4 times is a lot of time...weren't you upset with the inconvenience?

sytfu_colan

Nah, I was in and out in 10mins in the court I was in. Not sure how it works over there and if you will even have to do the same.

CarHopper

I would still show up to court. Last thing you need is to have a warrant out or suspended license.

Yea, it is a pain but you'll get brownie points for going. Just tell the DA the situation and see if they'll just drop it. I'd rather go through the hassle and walk away with no fine or points then to make matters worse by ignoring something you know should be there.

PanzerLehr

Show up and if it is not filed kindly demand any charges be dropped.
You should not have to go to court more than once for any one basic traffic citation. Unless you appeal it haha

khmergod

Going of course, just had to rectifyy conscience. Thanks for all the replies.

Ingenieur

How did you get a court date/time scheduled if not filed or in the 'system'?
You don't get that when you get the ticket?
Do you have any paperwork/correspondence other than the ticket?
Did you get a letter with the court date?

Obviously you have to go
The consequences of not going are much worse than going
Increased fines/suspension/warrant vs wasted time

jvanbrecht

Ing,

Some tickets include the date and time when they write the ticket out and give it to you. At least VA and MD do.

Not sure about the OP's state, but in VA and MD, your name is on a list which you check to determine which courtroom to go to (for us I don't think it is available online). If your name is not on the list, if such a list exists, then I would not worry about showing up. Due process also includes reasonable time frames, and submitting a ticket on the court date is unreasonable

VividRacing

Any updates?

Ingenieur

documentation errors do not change the issue
if a guy is released from jail due to a clerical error he isn't 'free'
he must go back when caught

due process also means you must give somebody something writing becasue all people don't have computers

if he knows he has a court date (which he acknowledged), and just becasue it doesn't show up, if he fails to appear/respond, he will be warranted
not worth it because the next traffic stop may end up in handcuffs
or when trying to renew insurance you can't

jvanbrecht

Dude, relax, you simply asked "How did you get a court date/time scheduled if not filed or in the 'system'?"

To which I responded how we would know the date without it being in the system

Secondly, using someone who is already guilty against someone presumed innocent until proven otherwise (note when you sign the ticket it explicitly states that signing is not an admission of guild) is apples to oranges. A better one would be that someone forgot to sign off on an evidence transfer between personnel for an item that was to be used in court. That evidence would actually be tossed out and excluded in many cases. And while I am not a lawyer, I have handled evidence before, and the whole chain of custody thing is beaten into our heads weekly. People get off on clerical errors all the time. People already screwed, rarely are afforded such gifts.

As far as due process, yes, they do have to give you sufficient time to respond, you cannot request a continuance (which is a popular tactic, do it often enough and eventually you can show up to court and the officer might not show) if your ticket is not in the system. Dates also change, and may not be the same as the date given at the time the ticket was written, if it is not in the system, there is no way to know what the actual date is.

And read the rest of my message, which was applicable to my states, and I stated as much. I did not say do not show up to court, I said that if the court uses a similar system to my states, and where your name is posted on a list, if your name is not on it, you will not get called up in court, there is no reason to attend (but you might have to go to the courthouse to see the list).

Learn to read dude, you seem to go off half cocked quite often.

Ingenieur

He said it wasn't in the online system
Yet he had a court date
You said he got it from the online system
???

Relax
He needs to show up
The consequences of not doing so is worse than those of doing so

The point is a clerical error does not negate the charge

He knows he got a ticket
He knows he has a court date
Show up for the court date

I can't believe the whole traffic legal system is predicated on the internet
I guess folks without access by choice or circumstance are screwed lol

jvanbrecht

Read my original post, I stated that the court date is assigned and written on the ticket at the time of it being written

"Some tickets include the date and time when they write the ticket out and give it to you. At least VA and MD do."

While yes, I suppose I could have put the term "the court date is" in the above statement to provide more clarity, but I did not think that was needed