Traffic violation procedures

Scott Chavez5 said:So, here’s the deal—I blew a .08 at a checkpoint, went to court, and just got the final ruling. It turns out I'm officially guilty, and my sentence is $0.67, which includes a three-month license suspension and three points on my record.

Does it actually make sense to file an appeal? And if it does, what’s the best way to go about putting that together?

Also, am I required to physically turn in my driver's license so they can log the suspension on it? A buddy of mine mentioned I don't have to, but I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance!

Whether an appeal makes sense depends entirely on the court's ruling, but honestly, you're probably just looking at a lost cause unless you're hoping the whole thing just hits the statute of limitations on the DMV's end...

You'll be required to surrender your license to the DMV for the suspension, but only once the police send you a formal notice after the court order becomes final. If you decide to ignore that summons, you're basically asking for a whole new violation, and then the cops will be showing up at your house or your office to track you down...

Jessica Smith40 said:... yeah, I haven't actually heard back from them or anything, they just told me the fine would show up in the mail eventually. I guess I was secretly hoping they were just trying to bluff me all along...

Man, I don't get it. Shouldn't they make you sign some kind of report or something first?

Hey everyone
Need some advice... I got hit with a citation for driving with a 0.78 BAC back on September 9, 2006. The ticket was issued on October 18, 2006. I managed to dodge service until now, and since I know the statute of limitations is two years, I figured everything would be dead by October 2008. I can probably just handle the fine through some small payments or a little backroom deal with the judge, so $733 my real question is whether the three-month license suspension also expires under that same rule, or if that part stays on my record regardless of the statute of limitations.

It’s two years from when the violation actually happened, not from whenever they decided to issue the citation 😉

A local court here in the area just handed down a ruling that’s going to hit my bank account pretty hard🙂 5 $0.00 for being caught with about 3.4 grams of marijuana!
Since I’m a complete novice when it comes to navigating the legal system, I was hoping someone could help me out with three specific questions:

1. How much of a difference does it actually make if I file an appeal? I’m currently an unemployed full-time student, and my family situation is incredibly heavy right now—I lost access to my late father’s veteran benefits, my mother is dealing with some serious heart issues and is waiting on surgery, and my brother is going through a really rough patch in his adolescence and is undergoing intensive therapy. (In your experience, which of these details would be most relevant to include in a formal appeal?)

2. If I decide to go ahead with the appeal, what is the best way to send it off since I can't deliver it in person? There is a case number listed, something like Roman numeral case no. xxxx/xx, so I assume that's the key identifier I need to use.

3. Will this misdemeanor lead to any criminal prosecution later on, and honestly, how bad is the outlook for me?

My sincere apologies if anyone has already covered this topic elsewhere...

Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can offer!

Hey there.
On November 26, 2006, I got pulled over by the cops while running at a 0.99 BAC. Since then, I haven’t heard a single word from the courts or the police department. I'm trying to figure out how to check if there's an active case against me. It's been a year now, so maybe the statute of limitations has already kicked in?
I've been scrolling through this whole thread and noticed a few people mentioning that court rulings take forever to arrive, or even worse, they show backdated dates on them.

For what it's worth, I'm driving with an out-of-state license and an out-of-state car.

1. Look, there’s already a massive thread dedicated specifically to traffic violations over in
... you should probably check that first. 2. When you're putting together an appeal, you can honestly include pretty much everything mentioned above, though sometimes just boiling it all down into two really sharp, smart sentences works better... there isn't some magic rule about how much detail actually helps your case.
3. You’ll need to file that appeal with whatever agency is listed in the instructions for legal remedies, and you send it through the same office that issued the decision in the first place.
4. Don't sweat the criminal side of things regarding these violations; they aren't going to pursue criminal charges against you for this. If there were actually elements of a criminal offense involved, they wouldn't have even classified it as a simple misdemeanor 🙂
...

crimsonsailor7 said:1. Look, there’s already a massive thread dedicated specifically to traffic violations over in
... you should probably check that first. 2. When you're putting together an appeal, you can honestly include pretty much everything mentioned above, though sometimes just boiling it all down into two really sharp, smart sentences works better... there isn't some magic rule about how much detail actually helps your case.
3. You’ll need to file that appeal with whatever agency is listed in the instructions for legal remedies, and you send it through the same office that issued the decision in the first place.
4. Don't sweat the criminal side of things regarding these violations; they aren't going to pursue criminal charges against you for this. If there were actually elements of a criminal offense involved, they wouldn't have even classified it as a simple misdemeanor 🙂
...

So, if I understand correctly, I just mail everything over to the municipal court address and my work is done.
I ask because I was reading up on federal drug possession laws, which mention both misdemeanor and felony charges, so I was a bit confused about where the line is drawn.

Once again, please accept my apologies for starting another thread.

analoghawk39 said:So, if I understand correctly, I just mail everything over to the municipal court address and my work is done.
I ask because I was reading up on federal drug possession laws, which mention both misdemeanor and felony charges, so I was a bit confused about where the line is drawn.

Once again, please accept my apologies for starting another thread.

Well, honestly, it all just depends on what we're talking about and the specific details of the situation...

analoghawk39 said:A local court here in the area just handed down a ruling that’s going to hit my bank account pretty hard🙂 5 $0.00 for being caught with about 3.4 grams of marijuana!
Since I’m a complete novice when it comes to navigating the legal system, I was hoping someone could help me out with three specific questions:

1. How much of a difference does it actually make if I file an appeal? I’m currently an unemployed full-time student, and my family situation is incredibly heavy right now—I lost access to my late father’s veteran benefits, my mother is dealing with some serious heart issues and is waiting on surgery, and my brother is going through a really rough patch in his adolescence and is undergoing intensive therapy. (In your experience, which of these details would be most relevant to include in a formal appeal?)

2. If I decide to go ahead with the appeal, what is the best way to send it off since I can't deliver it in person? There is a case number listed, something like Roman numeral case no. xxxx/xx, so I assume that's the key identifier I need to use.

3. Will this misdemeanor lead to any criminal prosecution later on, and honestly, how bad is the outlook for me?

My sincere apologies if anyone has already covered this topic elsewhere...

Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can offer!

1. You'd better hope they don't escalate this to criminal charges. (Assuming the crime didn't happen in Boise.) 🙂
2. Everything you need is in the notice of appeal. It gets sent to the State Supreme Court via the local municipal court that handed down the judgment.
3. Could be... depends on the District Attorney's office.

Sorry to hear about your father and your mother's health. But honestly, $17 for a few grams, it's not like it's a massive amount... especially given your situation with your mom and being out of work.

Besides, your dad's pension was substantial—I doubt that'll help mitigate the fine.

crimsonsailor7 said:1. Look, there’s already a massive thread dedicated specifically to traffic violations over in
... you should probably check that first. 2. When you're putting together an appeal, you can honestly include pretty much everything mentioned above, though sometimes just boiling it all down into two really sharp, smart sentences works better... there isn't some magic rule about how much detail actually helps your case.
3. You’ll need to file that appeal with whatever agency is listed in the instructions for legal remedies, and you send it through the same office that issued the decision in the first place.
4. Don't sweat the criminal side of things regarding these violations; they aren't going to pursue criminal charges against you for this. If there were actually elements of a criminal offense involved, they wouldn't have even classified it as a simple misdemeanor 🙂
...

In Boise, anything goes!

James Cox6 said:1. You'd better hope they don't escalate this to criminal charges. (Assuming the crime didn't happen in Boise.) 🙂
2. Everything you need is in the notice of appeal. It gets sent to the State Supreme Court via the local municipal court that handed down the judgment.
3. Could be... depends on the District Attorney's office.

Sorry to hear about your father and your mother's health. But honestly, $17 for a few grams, it's not like it's a massive amount... especially given your situation with your mom and being out of work.

Besides, your dad's pension was substantial—I doubt that'll help mitigate the fine.

Dear Laura, I certainly understand where you're coming from, but I've been hit hard this summer; my pension payments stopped coming in back in October, and my mother suffered a heart attack just twenty-five days ago... you know how life works, everything seems to pile up and strike you all at once. As for that comment about $17 "giving up a few bucks" repeatedly, it sounds much harsher than it actually is, though I suppose the judge wouldn't care one bit.

Good afternoon, everyone.

I’m looking for some legal perspective regarding a red light violation. Here is how the whole thing went down.
I was driving through an area with active construction, where they had set up those temporary traffic lights to manage the flow. I drove through the construction zone, and as I was exiting on the other side—where there’s another signal—the police pulled me over, claiming I ran a RED light. How on earth can they claim I blew through a red light when they were stationed at the exit point of the work zone? It seems like they just assumed I did it because the light on their end turned green while I was still technically within the construction site. There were plenty of variables: I could have kept moving, maybe workers were crossing the lane, or the road surface itself was just terrible. Plus, these portable signals aren't exactly synchronized; they don't always talk to each other. And honestly, if some untrained construction worker was the one who set the timing, how can they be so certain? They simply didn't SEE what happened.
I filed an appeal, and now I’ve received a summons for a formal hearing. Unfortunately, I can't make it on that date because I'll be away in Washington, D.C. The notice says I have the option to submit my defense in writing.
Is it even worth fighting this? In my view, the court should toss this citation out entirely because the whole case is built on pure guesswork. They didn't actually witness the infraction; they are just assuming I ran the light. To make matters worse, there was a massive semi-truck crawling along right in front of me, which completely blocked any clear line of sight.

Need some help with a legal question here. Is it actually true that a fine from a misdemeanor court—you know, the money and $267—gets counted toward the fine $833 handed down in a verdict from a municipal criminal court for the exact same offense? Like, does that mean you end up only paying $567 in total... or are they both separate payments that need to be cleared?
Thanks for any input

Got pulled over by the cops earlier. They clocked me at 52 miles/h when the limit is
in this residential area. It was 37 miles/h. Ended up with a ticket for $167+$37 and
one point on my license. This is my first offense, and I’m just a broke college student. Is it worth filing an appeal? What are the odds they actually drop the fine or let me off easy? Or maybe I could ask about community service? Does that even work in the real world or is it just some theoretical thing you see in movies? Thanks
Later.

Just saying, it won't hurt to speak up...

The work being done for the common good is finally starting to pay off 🙂

Honestly, if you’re going to choose to blow past the speed limit, you better be ready to deal with the fallout, because you aren't a kid anymore...

crimsonsailor7 said:Just saying, it won't hurt to speak up...

The work being done for the common good is finally starting to pay off 🙂

Honestly, if you’re going to choose to blow past the speed limit, you better be ready to deal with the fallout, because you aren't a kid anymore...

I know I messed up, I'm not denying it. But what can you do? I was flying... it was 11 PM, nobody else on the road, and I hit 50 miles/h entering the residential zone even though I let off the gas. Didn't brake hard enough. I'll file an appeal and see what happens. Later.

If you're actually right about all this, just go full throttle. They’ll probably toss the whole claim because they're building their case on assumptions while yours is based on actual facts. Just stick to your guns and say you hit the green light—it’s your word against theirs, but yours is backed by reality. My advice? Send them an apology note to stall for time and drag out the main argument. There's a real chance this thing just drags on forever; I know from experience that cops rarely even bother showing up to court hearings. Whether it's fear or just laziness, who knows.

boldharbor14 said:Good afternoon, everyone.

I’m looking for some legal perspective regarding a red light violation. Here is how the whole thing went down.
I was driving through an area with active construction, where they had set up those temporary traffic lights to manage the flow. I drove through the construction zone, and as I was exiting on the other side—where there’s another signal—the police pulled me over, claiming I ran a RED light. How on earth can they claim I blew through a red light when they were stationed at the exit point of the work zone? It seems like they just assumed I did it because the light on their end turned green while I was still technically within the construction site. There were plenty of variables: I could have kept moving, maybe workers were crossing the lane, or the road surface itself was just terrible. Plus, these portable signals aren't exactly synchronized; they don't always talk to each other. And honestly, if some untrained construction worker was the one who set the timing, how can they be so certain? They simply didn't SEE what happened.
I filed an appeal, and now I’ve received a summons for a formal hearing. Unfortunately, I can't make it on that date because I'll be away in Washington, D.C. The notice says I have the option to submit my defense in writing.
Is it even worth fighting this? In my view, the court should toss this citation out entirely because the whole case is built on pure guesswork. They didn't actually witness the infraction; they are just assuming I ran the light. To make matters worse, there was a massive semi-truck crawling along right in front of me, which completely blocked any clear line of sight.

My bad, forgot to mention the quote above is for boldharbor14. Cheers!

Emily Davis61 said:My bad, forgot to mention the quote above is for boldharbor14. Cheers!

I officially submitted my written statement to the court today, laying out every single detail of how everything went down. It’s honestly ridiculous; how can they be sitting there, 700 yards away from where I actually crossed the intersection, and claim they know whether I hit a red light or a green one? It seems like the whole issue stems from the side plates on my vehicle, which I assume is the real reason they pulled me over and slapped me with this fine in the first place.