Today I handed in a "Trial by Written Declaration" for a traffic infraction, to the court clerk.
It was an interesting conversation. First she told me, incorrectly, that if I lost I would still have to appear in court. Then she said if I lost, I would lose the option of traffic school. Which again is not a given.
The courtesy notice also encourages the paying of the ticket and has a distinct lack of clarity of what is the process for filing a Trial by Written Declaration. The forms are not user friendly to say the least.
The police also refused to give me a copy of the video.
Apparently, most people are intimidated / confused / too busy to do anything but pay up. And the system seems to like things to be this way.
In my research, I figured there was nothing to lose by entering a Trial by Written Declaration.
The court wanted extra money if I requested traffic school, and that money, plus the cost of traffic school, were going to be the same as the cost of my insurance increasing. Factor in my time, and it wasn't worth it.
Additionally, the fine they ask for is the maximum they can charge under that infraction. So even if I'm found guilty of the infraction after the Trial by Written Declaration, I'm no worse off than if I'd pled guilty and there is a chance of being found not guilty or a reduced fine.
Also, it forces the traffic officer to justify the citation and the court to look at the case.
Interestingly, even if I'm found Guilty, I can request a new court trial. Depending on the outcome, I may pursue this.
Anyhow, I'm sharing this story because I think it's important that more people don't do exactly what the system wants them to do. Instead of paying up, spend a few hours to put together your trial by Written Declaration and you may save hundreds of dollars and if not, you'll at least make the officer and the system aware that some citizens aren't willing to be ATMs.
If enough people were to challenge their citation through a Trial by Written Declaration, it is likely that the system could not cope and many cases would be dismissed because they were not looked at within the required time.
It was an interesting conversation. First she told me, incorrectly, that if I lost I would still have to appear in court. Then she said if I lost, I would lose the option of traffic school. Which again is not a given.
The courtesy notice also encourages the paying of the ticket and has a distinct lack of clarity of what is the process for filing a Trial by Written Declaration. The forms are not user friendly to say the least.
The police also refused to give me a copy of the video.
Apparently, most people are intimidated / confused / too busy to do anything but pay up. And the system seems to like things to be this way.
In my research, I figured there was nothing to lose by entering a Trial by Written Declaration.
The court wanted extra money if I requested traffic school, and that money, plus the cost of traffic school, were going to be the same as the cost of my insurance increasing. Factor in my time, and it wasn't worth it.
Additionally, the fine they ask for is the maximum they can charge under that infraction. So even if I'm found guilty of the infraction after the Trial by Written Declaration, I'm no worse off than if I'd pled guilty and there is a chance of being found not guilty or a reduced fine.
Also, it forces the traffic officer to justify the citation and the court to look at the case.
Interestingly, even if I'm found Guilty, I can request a new court trial. Depending on the outcome, I may pursue this.
Anyhow, I'm sharing this story because I think it's important that more people don't do exactly what the system wants them to do. Instead of paying up, spend a few hours to put together your trial by Written Declaration and you may save hundreds of dollars and if not, you'll at least make the officer and the system aware that some citizens aren't willing to be ATMs.
If enough people were to challenge their citation through a Trial by Written Declaration, it is likely that the system could not cope and many cases would be dismissed because they were not looked at within the required time.