Fight a traffic ticket with court advise

[JCave]

I got a cell phone violation ticket which is $160. I was told I need to pay that before I see the judge. I do not want to give them my money at all.

I had a ticket in the past but at the Downey CourtHouse which was ~$700 and I never payed that before seeing the judge (who dismissed my ticket).

But here I am at the Long Beach Courthouse and they are making pay $160 before my court date, I don't want to give them anything, is there something I can do like change court location or get to the judge without paying anything like before?

 

[J J]

Never heard of someone having to pay for a ticket before seeing the judge. Always had to talk to the Assistant DA or DA who determines the final amount of the ticket, then the judge who asks for your plea (or throws the ticket out), then you pay if you plead guilty or are found guilty.

Sounds fishy to me but it's quite possible the courts are different there. Call the DA and see what they say to do.

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

Why not try a local traffic layer , they will know exactly what has to be done , and can likely have your ticket droped to something thats not a moving violation --- Think of your insurance---

Many of the local districts have different pollicys . If you were to just pay the ticket the $$ would go directly to the state but most traffic courts when deals are struck will divert the money to the local district . So they set all kinds of crazy policys to steal

 

[d0rk2dafullest]

Go to your court date appointment. You don't have to pay before your date. Just go to court, the judge will ask you guilty or not guilty. If u plead guilty normally they reduce the ticket. If u want to fight it, then u have time to pay the ticket, then go to court. If u are found not guilty, then u get reimbursed for the amount. I wouldn't hire a traffic lawyer unless you have no time to go. Most likely of they get unlucky you'll have to pay anyways. This is their plan. They'll go to court. And like a month before the court date, they'll postpone the trial. After that another month before the date they'll postpone again. Then they will go to court hoping the officer does not show up, getting your case dismissed. U can pay a lawyer 100 dollars to do this, but of the officer shows, you'll have to pay the ticket, Court fees, and the lawyer.

Edit... I'm in San Diego. Not long beach might b different, but of u wanna try to fight it, use that tactic. U might b able to get it dropped.

 

[kinddiesel]

flea the country . 1 option. option 2 . get new photo id of your self along with new identity . option 3 . get lucky don't let them catch you . or pay the stupid ticket . it is what it is . we all get stupid tickets . and just pay them. they have to prove you were actually talking on the phone. I would ask to see video footage from the cop that seen me talking / because I was no on the phone but actually holding the phone on my head because I had a head ache . idk how can they prove it . ?? I would fight it personally . no proof you were talking to any body.

 

[~Dankster~420]

lol.. over 160$? lol "flea the country". thats great.. Made me laugh.. haha

flea the country . 1 option. option 2 . get new photo id of your self along with new identity . option 3 . get lucky don't let them catch you . or pay the stupid ticket . it is what it is . we all get stupid tickets . and just pay them. they have to prove you were actually talking on the phone. I would ask to see video footage from the cop that seen me talking / because I was no on the phone but actually holding the phone on my head because I had a head ache . idk how can they prove it . ?? I would fight it personally . no proof you were talking to any body.

 

[Nutes and Nugs]

In my town , if you plead Not Guilty, you must pay the full price of the ticket
then they will send you your court date by mail.
If you win, you get the money back, if not, it's paid in full and you walk.

If you don't pay the ticket or plead guilty or not guilty, a warrant is issued for your arrest.

 

[JCave]

I will go down there again soon, and see what I can do the line to see the clerk wasn't as long as the other courts I went to.

Just a background about me, of my almost 10 years of driving on the road I got 3 tickets.

First was in Las Vegas (live there) dismissed when court saw the judge.
The 2nd one was in Cali and I went to the Downey Courthouse when I saw the clerk I told them I wanted to see the judge, she said I don't have to pay my ticket. Came back court month later plead not-guilty, then had to go to court another time for the trial with the officer, the officer didn't show up so I got dismissed again.

What I am trying to figure out is maybe the Long Beach courthouse is making all tickets prepaid before seeing the judge, because all the clerk said to me was "you need to pay the ticket of $160 before you see the judge" I had the money in my bank account at the time but I am not playing any ticket because I am not at fault the officer completely lied to my face when he wrote me this ticket I was in awe when it was happening to me. So no way in hell I will pay $160 to see a judge and then wait months to get my $160 back when the officer doesn't show up for court.

What I am thinking is, is it possible to move my court to Downey since they never had me prepay my ticket before the judge?

 

[J J]

I would definitely try getting to moved. Call the courthouse and find out. The worst that will happen is you get a "No".

I could be completely out of line but it sounds like they are trying to get you to plead guilty by paying the ticket. That's how it works here at least. Paying the ticket without seeing the judge is basically saying "I'm guilty and want to make this as fast as possible". But like I said could be completely different there. Get on the phone and call the courthouse and try to move the appointment to the other court.