You can still appear in court on your court date and see if the judge will allow you to take traffic school. There is a chance the officer will not show and they will dismiss. You can always enter a not guilty plea and ask for a trial. If you go to trial you will usually lose unless you have an attorney and even then you only have a 50/50 chance at best in most cases. In CA you can only get a trial by judge, not by jury. Many of the judges simply agree with whatever the officer says.
Like everything it depends on the circumstances, any witnesses you may have, and any defenses that are available to you.
There is not another penalty except the one you will get from your insurance company.
Where did you get the 6 month idea from? In CA you only have 30 days.
Wayne as I explained I have just missed my court date so to speak - the deadline for the Trial by Written Declaration (court appearance by declaration) - what do you mean making a court appearance on my court date? And what are you talking about traffic school? This is an infraction to do with vehicle registration which I have now corrected, and in any case according to section 4456c of the Vehicle code I am allowed to operate the vehicle for 6 months after the purchase date on the Report of Sales form - I legally driving the vehicle when I was given the citation. My problem is again: what happens now that I have missed my deadline for the TBWD - will I be given another court date, another chance? Do they have any grace periods for genuine mistakes like this? Does the court clerk have any leeway on earth to accept or backdate my expired Trial by Declaration form when I show on Monday morning at his/her office?
They can't backdate the TBD but you should still be able to ask for a trial date. Talk to the clerk. Due to a site problem we can't see the already tried info until later. That causes a lot of confusion and they are working on it. sometimes it shows and sometimes not. I didn't know what was the violation until you posted again.
I found the section you were talking about. I was referencing the 30 days the fees have to be paid to the DMV. It looks like you are correct about the 6 months so you should be able to get a dismissal in court. Surprised the officer gave you the ticket in the first place.
dear wayne,
Thanks for that - do you have any advice about possible arguments that may make the clerk more sympathetic to someone that has made a genuine (cultural) mistake like this and whether they accept (in any circumstances) to give you another chance, another right for a Trial by Written Declaration?
I could not find your answer to my latest question. Perhaps another system blip? I am pasting it below
Attorney
Experienced in Construction Law and Traffic Law