Why Red Light Camera Tickets Should Be Fought With Trial By Declaration Vs Simply Paying The Fine
Running a red light is considered to be a very dangerous act while driving and, should you be caught on camera while committing this infraction a ticket will be issued to you.
The majority of people who are caught on camera in this situation believe that they are in the wrong and therefore go off and simply pay the fine to finalise the matter and prevent any further costs from being added to the charges levied.
In fact, one should always fight this type of traffic violation fine and the best way to do this is by using the trial by declaration method.
In its most simple form, this process involves the payment of the fine, after which you have the right to present the court with a document which you can draw up yourself stating why you think you are not guilty or, alternatively, even if you think that you are guilty, an excuse or reason why the fine should be rescinded.
In a great number of cases people have won this type of trial, as the traffic policemen who issued the original tickets and fines never sent in their statements of defense or arrived in court to defend their stands.
Whether or not the driver was blatantly guilty or not, the judge would have to throw the matter out of court and the driver would get a refund of the amount of the fine paid.
The key is, submitting a solid statement as your declaration.
Remember, in most California jurisdictions, cops get paid overtime to show up to court for your traffic ticket, but they do not for the time they spend responding to your declaration.
So if your declaration is thorough and customized to your situation, you can bet that the cop is not going to devote hours to opening up law books to craft his response.
Remember, a police officer is not an attorney, and although there are some that act like they are, they are not trained in knowing the legal ins and outs of traffic law.
So chances are, the cop doesn't submit anything at all which would result in a dismissal, or he scribbles something up in ten minutes which would likely get you a Not-Guilty verdict.
Either way, a good declarative statement will likely get you out of the fine, with no points on your driving record, and no effect on your insurance.
It sure beats paying a fine and going to traffic school.
The majority of people who are caught on camera in this situation believe that they are in the wrong and therefore go off and simply pay the fine to finalise the matter and prevent any further costs from being added to the charges levied.
In fact, one should always fight this type of traffic violation fine and the best way to do this is by using the trial by declaration method.
In its most simple form, this process involves the payment of the fine, after which you have the right to present the court with a document which you can draw up yourself stating why you think you are not guilty or, alternatively, even if you think that you are guilty, an excuse or reason why the fine should be rescinded.
In a great number of cases people have won this type of trial, as the traffic policemen who issued the original tickets and fines never sent in their statements of defense or arrived in court to defend their stands.
Whether or not the driver was blatantly guilty or not, the judge would have to throw the matter out of court and the driver would get a refund of the amount of the fine paid.
The key is, submitting a solid statement as your declaration.
Remember, in most California jurisdictions, cops get paid overtime to show up to court for your traffic ticket, but they do not for the time they spend responding to your declaration.
So if your declaration is thorough and customized to your situation, you can bet that the cop is not going to devote hours to opening up law books to craft his response.
Remember, a police officer is not an attorney, and although there are some that act like they are, they are not trained in knowing the legal ins and outs of traffic law.
So chances are, the cop doesn't submit anything at all which would result in a dismissal, or he scribbles something up in ten minutes which would likely get you a Not-Guilty verdict.
Either way, a good declarative statement will likely get you out of the fine, with no points on your driving record, and no effect on your insurance.
It sure beats paying a fine and going to traffic school.
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