Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication What exactly is a "fatal error"

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duralial

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I live in Oregon and recieved an MIP this last weekend as i was walking home from a party. I was obviously drunk, and ended up admitting to it, not only because he claimed he saw me set my beer down (not true), but because it was obvious and i was not in the mood to pretend i was sober and take a breathalizer. Well, on the ticket, the officer wrote my court appearance time as 20:00 AM. As most of us know, but obviously the officer did not know (which is odd because he told me he was previously in the army), 20:00 is always going to be 8:00 PM no matter what, even if it says AM next to it. This means my court appearance time is 8 pm, which is also 3 hours past the courts hours of operation. My question is, is this a fatal error and if not, will the court just reschedule with me or will they issue a warrant for my arrest because i did not appear? I ask because the day after my scheduled court appearance, i leave for Mexico, and would like to prevent being arrested at the border because of some B.S. warrant. I am wondering what exactly defines a "fatal error" in the courts. Also i was told from a not so reliable source, that there is one instance where a minor error could be grounds for dismissal, but i find it very hard to believe. Has anybody heard of a ticket being dismissed solely based on the fact that checkbox(es) are "X"ed out rather than the required check mark? info on this would be great too because all my checkboxes are Xed out. Any info on the subject of what defines a fatal error, or what exactly constitutes grounds for dismissal in the court would be greatly appreciated.
 
new fatal error question

i just did a little research on my ticket and found that an MIP is a violation of ORS 471.430, but the officer wrote down that i violated ORS 470.431. I would imagine that this would be a fatal error, but once again i am not sure. if anyone knows, please let me know. thanks alot
 
Hey man, i am over here in a California and had something similar happen to me. I got an MIP on New Years Eve, December 31st 2004. On the ticket, the cop wrote for my court date that it was in 2004; obviously forgetting we were about to go into 2005. I saw the mistake and thought nothing of it. About a week before my court date I got a letter from the people gave me the ticket, the Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) saying that my court date was moved from march 3rd of 2004 to march 3rd of 2005 (I don't really remember the date, it was in February sometime, so i am just using today). But if a sheriff issued your ticket, chances are he already wrote his reported, and didn't catch it. You would have a valid argument if you didn't show up and just argued that you were at the courthouse at 8:00 pm like the ticket instructed you. Though it may result in a warrant for your arrest and a bunch of nonsense.

Also, I don't know what your states deal is with MIPs, I know with my state that suspend your license for a year (or at the very least restrict it) and you have to pay a hefty fine (200-500) and sometimes do community service. In my case, I got a 1 year restricted license and like 300 dollars in fines.

In regards to the writing of the wrong code on your ticket, does the code he wrote on there exist? If so what is it? Cause whatever is on the ticket is probably would your going to charged with, and if its something like jaywalking, then it will probably just be dismissed.

Note: *i am not a lawyer, and any advice I give here is simple from experience or word of mouth. *
 
Call the Court Clerk and Ask

I think your wisest course of action is to call the clerk to straighten out when you should appear at the hearing. that way you don't risk missing the hearing and all the associated consequences.
 
ive decided to go in to the courthouse beforehand to find the exact time, go in during my scheduled time, and explain to the judge that the ticket is incomplete, illegible, and incorrect. It is incomplete in the fact that there is no year for the court date, and it is illegible because the time seems to say 20:00, but it may be due to the fact that a stamp on the back bled through and blended with the writing on the carbon copy, and it is incorrect in the fact that the oregon revised statute that he put down does not exist, but falls under the section of small city power projects, and the base fine is written for $780, which is almost twice as much as a maximum base fine for a class b violation (MIP) in oregon. If the statute that defines the violation is incorrect and the base fine is not the base fine for an MIP, how do i really know what i was written up for? with this information, can anyone tell me if my ticket is required to be dismissed by default because of fatal errors, or is it always at the discretion of the judge?
thanks
 
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