statute of limitations or something? can I get out of this ticket ?

[Valhalla1]

this is in TX btw..

so I was in a little fender-bender and a cop happened to be there and decided I was at fault, wrote me a failure to yield right of way ticket. okay, whatever, I'll pay it (or can u get out of these w/ defensive driving also?) I had 15 days to show up at the courthouse to plead guily or not guilty blah blah.. so I show up on the last day, and I had lost my copy of the ticket, they say they can't find it in the system under my drivers license #. the deal was, the ticket was written by a university police officer, who then mail it to the courthouse, but the thanksgiving holiday was in there somewhere and they were behind apparently.

anyway, I got the ticket, showed up where I was supposed to within the 15 allotted days, and they said there was no ticket in their system for me. they told me to "check back", I declined their offer to take my phone # so they could call me when it shows up. can I get this dropped because I did what they asked within the 15 days and there was nothing there? isn't there some technicality here that someone can explain for me

 

[Croton]

well, i'd follow up on it just because u don't want that ticket to come bite you in the ass in the future....

 

[777joee]

Sounds like you might have a due prosses claim to throw it out.

you know you were ready but they didn't have there $hit together you should have complained then and made them charge you or drop it .


Just my $.02

 

[Alienwho]

While we're on the issue of the law I have a question also:

The other day in school while in my weight training class, some idiots broke into my locker and stole $40 out of my wallet. I go and tell the "school cop". They get back to me and he tells me that they found the kids who did it and they admitted it, and they will press charges against the kids, but it is "very unlikely" that I will get my money back. Why the hell is it unlikely i'll get my money back? I know who the little turds are who did this and I don't see a reason why they can't give me my money back. I'll tell you what though, if I don't get my money back i'm gonna take the law into my own hands and kick their asses and take it back, dumbass little punk wannabe gangsters.

 

[joelmold]

Similar question:

I received a speeding ticket on October 2. Ticket says I would receive a notice to show up in court by November 2. Well, now it's December 6 and it still hasn't shown up in their system due to "backlog", according to the clerk. Can I get it dropped with a due process defense? How would I go about this?

BTW, I got the ticket in Alameda County, CA. Don't know if different areas have different laws...

Thanks!

 

[Jittles]

Basic constitutional right to a "speedy trial." There is no length assigned to that but if they said 15 days I think you can get out of it.

 

[Valhalla1]

according to my dad the only way is to plead not guilty and force a court date, and hire a lawyer to debate not wheter I actually failed to yield but whether to drop the ticket because they were a little behind in mailing, and my dad says it would just get laughed out and I'd get an even bigger fine, plus pay a lawyer, etc.

if its all that, screw it, I'll just pay it. anyone know if defensive driving is an option for a failure to yield ticket with a collision ?

otherwise, I was hoping I could just call a desk clerk and say "look, I was there in 15 days and there was no ticket" and she just clicks something in the computer and tosses it. I dont want to go to the hassle of a lawyer

 

[rstokc]

No 14th Amendment Due Process violation. Right to a speedy trial gives much more than 15 days and probably doesn't apply since a traffic citation is generally not considered a criminal offense, but a civil fine. Since an accident was involved, it's unlikely the prosecuting attorney will agree to a reduction in offense since the ticket will be used as evidence in a subsequent case against you if your insurer doesn't settle the claim.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

<< according to my dad the only way is to plead not guilty and force a court date, and hire a lawyer to debate not wheter I actually failed to yield but whether to drop the ticket because they were a little behind in mailing, and my dad says it would just get laughed out and I'd get an even bigger fine, plus pay a lawyer, etc.

if its all that, screw it, I'll just pay it. anyone know if defensive driving is an option for a failure to yield ticket with a collision ?

otherwise, I was hoping I could just call a desk clerk and say "look, I was there in 15 days and there was no ticket" and she just clicks something in the computer and tosses it. I dont want to go to the hassle of a lawyer >>



You dad isn't a lawyer is he? I'm not saying he's wrong about being laughed out of court (I'm not really sure how you should handle this), but he is wrong about paying a bigger fine if you contest it.

And on the flip side of what rstokc said, the prosecuting attourney will be more inclined to reduce or drop the charge if the insurance is already settled, or if you've paid for the damages yourself (since you said it was 'little').