I just got a ticket for a car I already sold

On May 27, 2015, I sold my car.

In the notes section of the contract, the buyer specifically wrote that "license plates will be deregistered." The bill of sale was properly notarized by a public notary.

The guy never sent me the plates, nor did he handle the deregistration himself.

To make matters worse, he went ahead and sold the vehicle to a third party.

The car's registration expired on July 13, 2015.

Yesterday, I received a citation for $233 (or $350 if I pay within the next three days). The fine is based on Section 250, Subsection 2 of the Highway Safety Act.

My question is this:

Is it smarter for me to just go pay the fine immediately, or is there some other way to handle this?

Nothing else comes to mind, and frankly, I don't have the money to hire a lawyer.

But he didn't even specify who’s responsible here. Those tickets always find their way back to you eventually.

"If you sold your vehicle before June 11, 2015, you’re legally required to deregister it, unless the bill of sale explicitly states the buyer is taking over the deregistration duties.

Now, if you sold the car after June 11, 2015, the responsibility falls squarely on the buyer to handle the deregistration."
https://www.usa.gov/registration-info

Honestly, you could just admit to the violation in your appeal and ask them to follow Article 24a of the Misdemeanor Act, since you genuinely thought the fine print meant the new owner would take care of the paperwork as laid out in Article 40, Paragraph 2 of the Regulations.
http://www.dmv.gov/regulations

Taylor Diaz3 said:On May 27, 2015, I sold my car.

In the notes section of the contract, the buyer specifically wrote that "license plates will be deregistered." The bill of sale was properly notarized by a public notary.

The guy never sent me the plates, nor did he handle the deregistration himself.

To make matters worse, he went ahead and sold the vehicle to a third party.

The car's registration expired on July 13, 2015.

Yesterday, I received a citation for $233 (or $350 if I pay within the next three days). The fine is based on Section 250, Subsection 2 of the Highway Safety Act.

My question is this:

Is it smarter for me to just go pay the fine immediately, or is there some other way to handle this?

Nothing else comes to mind, and frankly, I don't have the money to hire a lawyer.

Wait, pay what? For what??

Look, you sold the car while the old traffic laws were still in effect, and under those rules, you weren't even required to de-register the vehicle yourself. The buyer can always take care of that.

And since you aren't the owner of the car anymore, you shouldn't be held responsible for failing to de-register it.
Just mail or fax a copy of the sales contract to the police station that sent you the ticket. Tell them to go chase down the actual owners instead of bothering you!

Thanks for all the input!

I'll be heading down to the local precinct this Monday to file a formal written protest, and I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on how things unfold. =)

Make sure you grab two copies and don't forget to have them hit both with a receiving stamp.

Honestly, they could have just headed over to the Opportunity Institute instead and avoided all these fines altogether.

Look, if what you got was just a notice, then there’s really nothing to protest; you can only push back if a citation was actually issued under the Misdemeanor Act.

Once you have a signed purchase agreement in hand, you are essentially set.