You need to contact the court and get the name and phone number of the prosecuting attorney/district attorney assigned to your case.
You need to call that attorney and explain your financial situation, that you desperately want to resolve this matter and get the case closed (as he/she will want that as well and off their desk), and offer to do as much community service as they want in lieu of the fines. Every court has some program to reduce fines by offering community service, but you need to be proactive to try to get that kind of deal.
Please let me know, if you have follow-up questions.
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Hi,
I have no time to do community service because I am working 3 jobs just to make ends meet. The ticket was down in Southern CA. I can't take any time off from work because I was off a week for sick time. What can I do.
Your only option then is to pay the fine. You can do this without having to go back to court, but it takes contacting the attorney as described above. And it takes having the full amount of the fine.
If you don't pay the fine or negotiate an alternative arrangment (e.g. the community service), there's nothing else that can be done. The court will not simply erase the fine. This never happens, unfortunately.
It's possible. As the old saying goes, "it never hurts to ask".
You need to contact the court. The longer you wait, the less likely they will be willing to negotiate a resolution other than what has already been ordered.
Also, going back to the community service concept. You don't have to go down there to do it. They can arrange it where you live. In addition, it can occur any time of the day and during the nights or weekends. I understand that you are stretched to the limit. But, you've got to understand it from their perspective: they hear every excuse in the book and are completely desensitized to even the most sympathetic cases. You are going to have to give a little to get anything from them. It's a bad situation, but it is what it is. The important thing is for you to nip it now before it spirals out of control.
Attorney
Attorney and small business owner with 8 years experience in the general practice of law.