At the time you were issued your citation for a traffic or other infraction, the officer probably asked you to sign the bottom of the citation to indicate your promise to appear before the court on a specific date and time also indicated on the citation. Failure to appear or resolve your citation prior to that date can result in additional charges and penalties so it is important that you make every effort to appear as directed or to resolve your matter without appearance prior to that date.
The officer will send the original infraction citation to the court and, upon receipt, the court prepares and sends a courtesy notice to you at the address on the citation. The courtesy notice will include information on the fines you may be required to pay (referred to as total bail amount) and the date by which you must resolve the matter or appear in court, which will be the same date as on the citation (referred to as the appearance date). The courtesy notice also contains information on options you may have for resolving your citation. If for any reason you do not receive the courtesy notice, you must appear in court on the date and time listed on the citation to protect against the imposition of additional charges or penalties.
You may appear in court on the date and time contained on your citation or courtesy notice. In order that the judge may have your case information when you appear, we ask that you contact the court clerk at (209) 754-6336 to confirm you do plan to appear in court. This appearance is for arraignment. You will be advised of your rights, the charges contained in the citation and be given an opportunity to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.
The clerk of the court may reschedule your appearance date, at your request, one time. The continuance may not be for more than 4 weeks.
The following options may allow you to resolve your citation without having to appear in court. Some of these options only apply to vehicle code violations so if your infraction citation was for a violation of a code or ordinance other than the vehicle code, those options would not be available to you
You may be eligible to have a vehicle code infraction violation dismissed by attending traffic school if all of the following apply:
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You do not hold a commercial class A, B, or C drivers license; |
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You were not driving a commercial motor vehicle (as defined in VC15210(b)) at the time of the offense; |
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You have not attended traffic school within the past 18 months from violation date to violation date; |
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You did not exceed the speed limit by more than 25 miles per hour; |
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The charge does not involve alcohol; |
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The charge does carry a point count. |
The courtesy notice sent by the court will also indicate whether you are eligible to attend traffic school and also includes a place on the back of the notice where you can sign to elect this option. You must return the courtesy notice with your signature back to the court prior to the appearance date indicated on the citation. The Court will then mail you a referral to attend traffic school and direct you to provide proof of attendance and a traffic school fee (the fee is indicated on the front of the courtesy notice) by a specified date. You may attend any traffic school approved by the California DMV. You may pick up a list of DMV approved traffic violator schools from the court or you may view the list online at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/ol/ol745.htm. The court does not allow on-line or home study traffic school. The school you select will charge an additional fee. If you provide proof of completion of traffic school and pay the Traffic School Fee within the time allowed by the court, your citation will be dismissed.
If you are eligible, but do not attend traffic school your automobile insurance may be adversely affected.
The infraction courtesy notice will include the amount of any bail (fine) for the violation(s). Unless the courtesy notice indicates your appearance in court is mandatory, you may pay the bail amount prior to the date on the citation to appear to resolve the matter without appearing in court. This is called a bail forfeiture. When you elect to forfeit bail you are waiving your right to a trial, entering a plea of guilty to the charges and paying the fine without appearance in court. If you elect to proceed by this option, you may sign where indicated on the back of the courtesy notice and provide to the court the total bail amount indicated on the courtesy notice and any proof of correction that is required prior to the appearance date.
If you are unable to pay the entire fine prior to the appearance date you may request to pay in six (6) monthly installments. There is an administrative fee of thirty dollars ($30) added to the total bail amount indicated on the courtesy notice for this payment plan. You may elect this option by signing where indicated on the back of the courtesy notice and provide to the court a payment of $55 ($30 administrative fee plus $25 minimum payment) with any proof of correction prior to the appearance date. You will then be notified of the minimum amount you must pay each succeeding month for the next five (5) months. Under this procedure you do not have to go to court. If you cannot pay the fine and fee of $30 within 6 months you must come to Court on or contact the clerk for a new date prior to the Due Date.
Trial by declaration is available only for traffic related infractions and is not available for infractions committed outside the presence of the citing officer (this is often the case where the citation was issued as a result of an accident investigation or a citizen complaint.) The trial by declaration procedure allows you to plead not guilty and have your case reviewed by the judge without having to appear in court. If you wish to elect this option you may sign where indicated on the back of the courtesy notice and submit the request to the court along with the total bail amount, to the Court prior to the appearance date. Once received, the Court will mail you and the citing officer the declaration forms to complete which must be returned to the Court within two weeks. There is no personal appearance allowed at a trial by declaration. The Court will decide the case based upon the documents and declarations in the file and you will receive notice of the Court’s decision by mail. If you are found not guilty your bail will be returned to you. Your failure to strictly follow the timelines will result in forfeiture of bail and a conviction as charged. No monthly payment option is available for trial by declaration.
If you deny the violation(s) on your citation you are entitled to a trial. You must appear in Court on, or contact the clerk for a new date prior to, your appearance date to be arraigned on the charges and set a trial date. You may elect to skip this first hearing by submitting your signed request as indicated on the reverse of the courtesy notice along with the total bail amount which will be indicated on the courtesy notice to the Court prior to the appearance date. Upon receipt of your request for trial and the total bail amount, you and the citing officer will be notified of the trial date.
When making any payment to the court, DO NOT SEND CASH. Make check or money order payable to CALAVERAS SUPERIOR COURT. Please also print your docket number, located on the top right corner of the courtesy notice, on your check or money order.
If you fail to appear in court or resolve your citation by the appearance date or any date to which your matter may have been continued by the clerk at your request, the court will proceed pursuant to §40903 of the California Vehicle Code which will, most likely, result in your conviction of the violations and the fine imposed. Failure to pay the fine will result in the imposition of an additional $300 civil penalty and the matter may be referred to a collections agency which may adversely affect your credit.
For more information regarding traffic issues see the links below.
Copyright © 2003 Calaveras Superior Court. All rights reserved.
Revised:
06/23/06