Why You Should Always Fight Your California Traffic Ticket
The Original California Ticket Dismissal Team Is Here To Help You Beat Your Traffic Ticket!
If you’ve been issued a California traffic ticket, you’re entitled to contest it. Pure and simple, that’s why you should fight once you’ve received it. You’ve been accused of a criminal offence, and according to law, you’re entitled to a defense. Why wouldn’t you want to state your rights fully in this situation?
Even if you think the ticket means little, and that you’re entirely capable of paying the fine or attending a driving or speed awareness course, you should still try to fight the ticket. And in those cases where you tried to negotiate out of it at the roadside and failed, you’ve still got a very strong chance of officially contesting it in the face of the law.
It’s true! When you’ve been given a traffic ticket, if you know what to do, you have a strong chance of winning your case and getting the ticket dismissed. And this can be done on many different accounts: maybe there’s a lack of evidence, maybe the arresting officer didn’t even turn up, or maybe you can prove that you don’t deserve to get your card marked like this.
As long as you know your rights, and you don’t allow yourself to be intimidated by harsh legalese, you can win your case.
When issued a traffic ticket, it can be easy to feel like you’ve done wrong, and need to pay up in order to make amends. However, you should never feel intimidated by the court throughout this process. You might receive a lot of information in a very short period of time, which may very well overwhelm you and/or go over your head, but don’t let this prevent you from putting up a fight.
The court itself is a collective, versus you the individual, and that can make many people simply want to pay up and get on with their lives. But before making this decision, you should be made aware of your own legal rights, and how you can abide by them. The Californian Courts are unlikely to inform you of these to prevent themselves from losing out on the fines you would otherwise pay. But it’s key to remember that you have many rights here, and you’re allowed to pursue them to the full.
According to California Vehicle Code 40902, you can request a Trial By Written Declaration. In doing so, you’ll skip having to face the court in person entirely. So, when you choose to fight your traffic ticket, in the state of California, you don’t even have to turn up to court to get the ball rolling! You may be informed that you should do so by the court itself, and many courts will give you two ‘official’ chances to contest in person, but you don’t have to take them up on this offer.
Indeed, you can get the documents for dismissal ready at home and then mail them through to the court. You’ll need to do so on your own behalf, but you still won’t have to ever be there in person to hand them in. And if you mail the documents through, the officer who issued the ticket has to put their case in writing as well, which is incredibly time consuming for them. As such, many officers tend not to get their case together in time, thanks to the amount of red tape involved in this process.
No matter what kind of ticket you’ve been issued, fighting it is ultimately worth it due to your driving record. Having a ticket on your record can mean it stays there for upwards of three years, and all that time you’ll be paying a higher insurance rate and you may even be turned down for certain jobs. If you’re someone who works in an industry that involves vehicles, such as being an Uber or Lyft driver, this can be a disaster.
And in California, the wording used in a lot of official notices from the court focus a lot on your driving record. These sentences and phrases may scare you into thinking you could lose your license entirely. However, there is a little chance of this happening, as long as you follow along with the legal process. And even when you choose to fight the ticket, it’s entirely within your legal rights to do so.
*If you don’t have your ticket, we can still start the process and add it later!
*Answer questions about the stop and we will include those specific details!
*We will send you a completed packet for the court that just needs your signature and a stamp!
TicketBust produces results in fighting all kinds of tickets. Unfortunately, this list does not include exhibition of speed citations. Your best bet in fighting one of these infractions, is to contact an attorney. An attorney can negotiate on your behalf to try and reduce fines, or even to reduce the charges to a lesser infraction which could possibly qualify for traffic school.
We do however, contest infractions revolving around speeding, red lights, red light cameras, cell phones, signs (primarily stop signs), carpool violations, U-turns, out of lane violations, and commercial violations. If you receive a citation and have questions, contact us today.