Got a ticket, need help

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

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well, yeah, duh. this is your fault if you get a ticket. even if it was your true father , would you expect someone else to pay for your follies?

No but you don't HAVE to tell the court who did it, you legally have a choice and I'm thinking he will snitch on me.

OP, not sure what jurisdiction you are in, but if you're in California, if you're ever in the squared area formed by the inner lines of a pedestrian crosswalk when you don't have the right of way (i.e., on a red without proper stops), it is a ticketable violation.

Only the registered owner of the vehicle will receive the ticket. The ticket purportedly requires you to SNITCH on the person driving the car if you claim it is not you. So your stepfather can contest the ticket and NOT fill out who was driving the car at the time. He is not obligated to do the city/cop's job by identifying the violator, despite what the form says. He will, however, be required to waste his time going to court. The judge will compare the photo to him and likely conclude he didn't commit the violation and dismiss the ticket. It would be rare for him to ask, "then who was driving?" If I were stepdad, I'd just say, I don't have that information if the question comes up. The law is not, I won't ticket you if you tell me who committed the violation.

I don't know what the protocol is if your dad decides to snitch on you to get out of paying the ticket. If he has to go to court regardless, he should not identify you. If, however, the form expressly states he will not receive a ticket and will not have to go to court if he turns you in, he may be inclined to do so.

Edit: Decided to read more posts after posting - looks like your stepdad can and may help to screw you.

So what you are saying is that everyone should trade cars?

If I register my roommate's car and he registers mine, then we can contest all of our tickets?

if you get the ticket, just pay the damned ticket. it'll make a man out of you. seriously.


(get a job part time to pay it off. go mow some lawns for a couple of months to pay the 400 dollar ticket off. it'll grow some hairs on your balls and will seriously will make you the better man and is a great experience for life growth).

Originally Posted by teddieriley

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OP, not sure what jurisdiction you are in, but if you're in California, if you're ever in the squared area formed by the inner lines of a pedestrian crosswalk when you don't have the right of way (i.e., on a red without proper stops), it is a ticketable violation. Only the registered owner of the vehicle will receive the ticket. The ticket purportedly requires you to SNITCH on the person driving the car if you claim it is not you. So your stepfather can contest the ticket and NOT fill out who was driving the car at the time. He is not obligated to do the city/cop's job by identifying the violator, despite what the form says. He will, however, be required to waste his time going to court. The judge will compare the photo to him and likely conclude he didn't commit the violation and dismiss the ticket. It would be rare for him to ask, "then who was driving?" If I were stepdad, I'd just say, I don't have that information if the question comes up. The law is not, I won't ticket you if you tell me who committed the violation. I don't know what the protocol is if your dad decides to snitch on you to get out of paying the ticket. If he has to go to court regardless, he should not identify you. If, however, the form expressly states he will not receive a ticket and will not have to go to court if he turns you in, he may be inclined to do so. Edit: Decided to read more posts after posting - looks like your stepdad can and may help to screw you.
The fact that you wrote so much before makes the Edit: that much more awesome. Well done.

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

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would you expect someone else to pay for your follies?

This is 2010 America.

I have a question about the legality of a ticket cited by a camera and served via mail.

I was under the impression that you had to actually be served a ticket, i.e. have it handed to you by a law enforcement officer (Thats why the cop always ask you to sign the ticket even though you are not admitting to guilt, because you are saying that you were served the ticket)

What am I missing?

Originally Posted by bigbris1

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The fact that you wrote so much before makes the Edit: that much more awesome.

Well done.

Thanks, consider it a PSA for everyone else. I know all this because it happened to me while driving a car registered to my father. He was annoyed having to drive 45 minutes to Santa Monica and waste his morning fighting the ticket that I got, and he was concerned the judge would ask the identity of the driver. Judge couldn't care less. He compared the photo of a younger, and dashingly good looking gentleman (as grainy as the photo was), then looked at my dad and immediately dismissed the ticket.

Originally Posted by teddieriley

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OP, not sure what jurisdiction you are in, but if you're in California, if you're ever in the squared area formed by the inner lines of a pedestrian crosswalk when you don't have the right of way (i.e., on a red without proper stops), it is a ticketable violation.

Only the registered owner of the vehicle will receive the ticket. The ticket purportedly requires you to SNITCH on the person driving the car if you claim it is not you. So your stepfather can contest the ticket and NOT fill out who was driving the car at the time. He is not obligated to do the city/cop's job by identifying the violator, despite what the form says. He will, however, be required to waste his time going to court. The judge will compare the photo to him and likely conclude he didn't commit the violation and dismiss the ticket. It would be rare for him to ask, "then who was driving?" If I were stepdad, I'd just say, I don't have that information if the question comes up. The law is not, I won't ticket you if you tell me who committed the violation.

I don't know what the protocol is if your dad decides to snitch on you to get out of paying the ticket. If he has to go to court regardless, he should not identify you. If, however, the form expressly states he will not receive a ticket and will not have to go to court if he turns you in, he may be inclined to do so.

Edit: Decided to read more posts after posting - looks like your stepdad can and may help to screw you.

well technically he doesnt have to go to court if he just fills out the form and snitches on me, as i stated earlier i got one of those tickets because my brother ran a red but i filled the form and i never had to show up to court so im thinking he might do the same, if i would have known that i would have just went to court and saved my brother $400 bucks, and yes I am in Los Angeles.

Originally Posted by nerazzurrri

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Well, my mom and stepfather are getting divorced and he does not like me so he probably will

So then tell him to pound sand. Even if he rats you out there is no police officer to come track you down. The Court isn't going to issue YOU a ticket separately. The only thing that will occur at your Step-father's hearing is he will either be found guilty or not guilty. You have nothing to do with it. You could voluntarily go in to accept responsibility, but there's no summons out for you, so you don't have to show.

Originally Posted by coopster

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I have a question about the legality of a ticket cited by a camera and served via mail.

I was under the impression that you had to actually be served a ticket, i.e. have it handed to you by a law enforcement officer (Thats why the cop always ask you to sign the ticket even though you are not admitting to guilt, because you are saying that you were served the ticket)

What am I missing?

You are under a mistaken impression. Service via mail is almost universally recognized as sufficient.

Originally Posted by otc

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So what you are saying is that everyone should trade cars?

If I register my roommate's car and he registers mine, then we can contest all of our tickets?

Not quite. This would only work in those red-light stop light cases where the photo clearly shows the driver, and the driver is not the registered owner. It would never work with an actual police officer because he or she would have your license at the time of the offense.

While your ploy might work once or twice, should you show up to the same local judge pleading the same case multiple times he might get very tired of seeing your face and find you guilty just to spite you.

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

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So then tell him to pound sand. Even if he rats you out there is no police officer to come track you down. The Court isn't going to issue YOU a ticket separately. The only thing that will occur at your Step-father's hearing is he will either be found guilty or not guilty. You have nothing to do with it. You could voluntarily go in to accept responsibility, but there's no summons out for you, so you don't have to show.

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

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You are under a mistaken impression. Service via mail is almost universally recognized as sufficient.



Not quite. This would only work in those red-light stop light cases where the photo clearly shows the driver, and the driver is not the registered owner. It would never work with an actual police officer because he or she would have your license at the time of the offense.

While your ploy might work once or twice, should you show up to the same local judge pleading the same case multiple times he might get very tired of seeing your face and find you guilty just to spite you.

The only problem with me telling him to pound sand is that he doesnt have to pound sand because he can fill out the form that comes with the mail to say who was the culprit and that would be me.

Originally Posted by teddieriley

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What I think he is suggesting is that while your step dad could rat you out, whether you will have to pay the fine depends on whether the city follows up and issues you a separate citation. On the one hand, you can hope that the incompetence or laziness of local government may save you, but on the other, with a cash-strapped state/county, the government may be focusing efforts on revenue generating taks. But in any event, assuming you are issued a separate citation, you might have some basis for contesting the ticket. Not sure what that is, but you can figure something out...

^ This.

Originally Posted by teddieriley

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What I think he is suggesting is that while your step dad could rat you out, whether you will have to pay the fine depends on whether the city follows up and issues you a separate citation. On the one hand, you can hope that the incompetence or laziness of local government may save you, but on the other, with a cash-strapped state/county, the government may be focusing efforts on revenue generating taks. But in any event, assuming you are issued a separate citation, you might have some basis for contesting the ticket. Not sure what that is, but you can figure something out...

they do follow up because my brother got his about a week after i sent mine in