Will Face Off in Traffic Court

[BBorne]

I have decided to fight my citation, I received the ticket in Texas on 3/30-scheduled to appear on or before 4/30--set for court May 12th.

Violation: Expired/no Registration
Violation: Fail to maintain Financial Responsibility

1st) The prosecutor told me I could not plead guilty, asked if I had the proof of insurance, I said no, not on me. I was told by her, well you can't plead not guilty you have to do either No contest or guilty...Regarding registration: I told her we had paid by mail, but never received the sticker, nor was the check cashed-yet when we went up there after receiving the ticket--we were told they did not see it in their system. I was then told by her it did not matter, it was after the 60 day period--no contest or guilty.
I was going to pay my fine, I felt I tried--when I stood up in front of the judge he said I will now find you guilty-pay your fines, Goodbye.

2) I called my husband explained how it turned out, we both felt it was not what we had hoped for, he told me he said to plead guilty, and I explained she told me I could not..he said BS--go back in there get an extension. Instead, I was able to change my plea of not guilty and asked for a trail.
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So, I have asked for a Continuance, but do not yet know if I will get it. I also asked for Discovery, but feel they will just ignore that one. What is strange, on SLPD website, there is a place for Open Records request, but it says "Sorry, not able to process online, but you have three other ways:mail, in person and in writing. I selected in person. The PD is in the court along with Police Records, when I asked if they could just tell me exactly what Code I had violated, she said she could not/did not know, to ask the court clerk. They said, the ONLY person who would know what Code I had violated was the Prosecutor. My only chance to speak with her would be Tues-Fri before 9am. They are making it very hard for me..


Question: I would like to have the judge removed, I would love to put the Prosecutor on the stand or have her removed.

Can and how do I site Case Law or Opinion of the Court?

The whole of my argument for Registration is 1) I have the Registration receipt which is acceptable to Texas Vehicle Code, carbon copy of the check, and I hope a statement from their office.

In regards to the "Fail to maintain Financial Responsibility" which I am so insulted and offended by will be, what the Officer asked me for, and what I was ticketed for are two separate things. He did not ask for "proof" of other forms of Financial Responsibility(3 others)...there is more, but this is already long..Here is where I have Court Opinions to add. Not sure where to add them in..Any advice would be great

 

[mightymoose]

1. I think what you may have been told is that if you are going to plead not guilty then you will have to produce some sort of evidence that shows that citation is incorrect. Otherwise you plead no contest or guilty. If you can produce documentation that the vehicle was insured on the date of the citation then that part of the citation can be dismissed. As for the registration, "the check is in the mail" argument won't fly. If you did not have a current registration card in the vehicle then it should not have been on the road, regardless of whether you sent payment. You won't beat it.

2. It seems you misunderstood something. You can always plead guilty. The court actually likes it when you do because it speeds things along. However, no contest is usually the better way to go.... but since this doesn't involve a moving violation it really isn't too big of a deal. Either way, guilty or no contest, you will be ordered to pay fines.

I have a feeling you won't be getting a continuance if the judge has already ordered you to pay the fines... the time for that has passed. Yes, your request for discovery won't likely go anywhere... what is it that you want to obtain??

The code you violated is on the citation you received. You are telling us you were cited for not having proof of insurance and for expired registration... so it seems you already know what the violation was.

Remove the judge? Remove the prosecutor? Over a traffic ticket?? Not going to happen. Even if it did, you would have the same results.

As for your arguments:
1. The law requires you to produce your registration and proof of insurance to a law enforcement officer. The receipt is insufficient. You should have been given a temporary tag if there was a lapse in the registration- but that is a matter for you to settle in court. The officer did the right thing by citing you when you were unable to produce the correct documents.

2. Your Insurance company provides you with a specific document that proofs financial responsibility and you are required to carry this in your vehicle. If you didn't provide the appropriate document, then he was correct to cite you. Again, if you did have coverage for the vehicle at the time of your citation, providing evidence of that ( a letter from your insurance company ) then that violation can be dismissed.

It sounds as if this has become more complicated than it needs to be. So what if you got a citation.... if the officer was wrong then provide evidence that he was wrong. If you can't provide it, just pay the fine. It is not a moving violation and will not effect your license or insurance rate.

 

[army judge]

I have decided to fight my citation, I received the ticket in Texas on 3/30-scheduled to appear on or before 4/30--set for court May 12th.

Violation: Expired/no Registration
Violation: Fail to maintain Financial Responsibility

1st) The prosecutor told me I could not plead guilty, asked if I had the proof of insurance, I said no, not on me. I was told by her, well you can't plead not guilty you have to do either No contest or guilty...Regarding registration: I told her we had paid by mail, but never received the sticker, nor was the check cashed-yet when we went up there after receiving the ticket--we were told they did not see it in their system. I was then told by her it did not matter, it was after the 60 day period--no contest or guilty.
I was going to pay my fine, I felt I tried--when I stood up in front of the judge he said I will now find you guilty-pay your fines, Goodbye.

2) I called my husband explained how it turned out, we both felt it was not what we had hoped for, he told me he said to plead guilty, and I explained she told me I could not..he said BS--go back in there get an extension. Instead, I was able to change my plea of not guilty and asked for a trail.
------
So, I have asked for a Continuance, but do not yet know if I will get it. I also asked for Discovery, but feel they will just ignore that one. What is strange, on SLPD website, there is a place for Open Records request, but it says "Sorry, not able to process online, but you have three other ways:mail, in person and in writing. I selected in person. The PD is in the court along with Police Records, when I asked if they could just tell me exactly what Code I had violated, she said she could not/did not know, to ask the court clerk. They said, the ONLY person who would know what Code I had violated was the Prosecutor. My only chance to speak with her would be Tues-Fri before 9am. They are making it very hard for me..


Question: I would like to have the judge removed, I would love to put the Prosecutor on the stand or have her removed.

Can and how do I site Case Law or Opinion of the Court?

The whole of my argument for Registration is 1) I have the Registration receipt which is acceptable to Texas Vehicle Code, carbon copy of the check, and I hope a statement from their office.

In regards to the "Fail to maintain Financial Responsibility" which I am so insulted and offended by will be, what the Officer asked me for, and what I was ticketed for are two separate things. He did not ask for "proof" of other forms of Financial Responsibility(3 others)...there is more, but this is already long..Here is where I have Court Opinions to add. Not sure where to add them in..Any advice would be great

You will lose.

You have no legal grounds on which to base your defense.

Judges are not bound by statute to allow you to cure "unregistered vehicles" and "no proof of insurance".

They can, but are nit required to do what you're asking.

This is a strict liability offense.

You have it or you don't.

You'll never win this.

You're only making it worse.

 

[BBorne]

No you misread

What I was told is what I meant to write, the prosecutor told me I could NOT plead NOT GUILTY. Please don't assume you know what was said to me, and maybe I misunderstood.

Before you replied did you look at the Texas Vehicle Code, failure to provide proof of insurance is not the same as failure to maintain financial responsibility. It is the most common form used.

In terms of the receipt, it is the lower portion of the Title & Registration which says if you are mailing please retain the lower portion for your car. It takes at least 15 days to process.

I changed my plea, and I received Trial by Jury, the trial date was set for May 12th, I requested a Continuance to present my case. Request for Discovery is to get a copy of the original ticket with the Officer's notes, and anything the Prosecutor will turn over meaning all she was writing when I spoke with her.

Remove the Judge, because it might be an option. I might have a need for a "fair" trail.

The code I violated is not on the ticket, if it were would I ask. Each violation relates to a statue or code. It can be found in Ch. 6 of Texas Vehicle Code, but exactly which one is the question.

 

[army judge]

What I was told is what I meant to write, the prosecutor told me I could NOT plead NOT GUILTY. Please don't assume you know what was said to me, and maybe I misunderstood.

Before you replied did you look at the Texas Vehicle Code, failure to provide proof of insurance is not the same as failure to maintain financial responsibility. It is the most common form used.

In terms of the receipt, it is the lower portion of the Title & Registration which says if you are mailing please retain the lower portion for your car. It takes at least 15 days to process.

I changed my plea, and I received Trial by Jury, the trial date was set for May 12th, I requested a Continuance to present my case. Request for Discovery is to get a copy of the original ticket with the Officer's notes, and anything the Prosecutor will turn over meaning all she was writing when I spoke with her.

Remove the Judge, because it might be an option. I might have a need for a "fair" trail.

The code I violated is not on the ticket, if it were would I ask. Each violation relates to a statue or code. It can be found in Ch. 6 of Texas Vehicle Code, but exactly which one is the question.

You're probably being prosecuted under a city ordinance in a muni court.

It won't have the same nomenclature as the state statute.

City ordinances mirror state statutes to generate revenue for the municipality.

 

[mightymoose]

What I was told is what I meant to write, the prosecutor told me I could NOT plead NOT GUILTY. Please don't assume you know what was said to me, and maybe I misunderstood.

And there is a reason you were told that. You were asked if you had proof of insurance and said you didn't. Are you really going to plead not guilty and go in there without proof of insurance??? Your only real option was no contest or guilty.

Before you replied did you look at the Texas Vehicle Code, failure to provide proof of insurance is not the same as failure to maintain financial responsibility. It is the most common form used.

No, I did not. I don't need to either. The burden is on you to provide proof of insurance. If you have maintained insurance, but simply did not have the proper paperwork, then by providing proof you can usually get the violation dropped. If you are still going to court without proof and trying to argue that the violation is not correct, you will lose. YOU must provide evidence of financial responsibility at the time of the citation.

In terms of the receipt, it is the lower portion of the Title & Registration which says if you are mailing please retain the lower portion for your car. It takes at least 15 days to process.

Ok, so maybe Texas allows you to temporarily carry this receipt for 15 days. It sounds as though you were well beyond that 15 days though. Again, the burden is yours to prove that payment was sent- and if you can show that the system failed then you might get the violation dropped. However, at a certain point you probably should have looked in to the matter. Showing the receipt and claiming the check was in the mail won't get you anywhere. You must PROVE payment was sent. You would have known that the check was never cashed, so it will be hard to argue that you thought your registration was paid.

I changed my plea, and I received Trial by Jury, the trial date was set for May 12th, I requested a Continuance to present my case. Request for Discovery is to get a copy of the original ticket with the Officer's notes, and anything the Prosecutor will turn over meaning all she was writing when I spoke with her.

If you don't show up with a letter from your insurance company stating that your vehicle was covered at the time of the citation, you will not beat that violation.
If you show up without proof that you sent payment and the state failed to cash the check then you will also lose on that count. You knew the check had not cleared- you are fighting a losing battle.

Remove the Judge, because it might be an option. I might have a need for a "fair" trail.

It isn't an option. You need much better reason than what you are providing, and even so, this is a traffic citation, not a criminal offense.

The code I violated is not on the ticket, if it were would I ask. Each violation relates to a statue or code. It can be found in Ch. 6 of Texas Vehicle Code, but exactly which one is the question.

Somewhere on that citation it says what you were cited for. If the code isn't there then it is in words. Does your citation state the same as what you posted at the beginning? If so:

Transportation Code

Sec. 502.407. OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH EXPIRED LICENSE PLATE. (a) A person commits an offense if, after the fifth working day after the date the registration for the vehicle expires:

(1) the person operates on a public highway during a registration period a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that has attached to it a license plate for the preceding period; and

(2) the license plate has not been validated by the attachment of a registration insignia for the registration period in effect.

(b) A justice of the peace or municipal court judge having jurisdiction of the offense may:

(1) dismiss a charge of driving with an expired motor vehicle registration if the defendant:

(A) remedies the defect not later than the 20th working day after the date of the offense or before the defendant's first court appearance date, whichever is later; and

(B) establishes that the fee prescribed by Section 502.176 has been paid; and

(2) assess an administrative fee not to exceed $20 when the charge is dismissed.

(c) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $200.

Sec. 601.051. REQUIREMENT OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. A person may not operate a motor vehicle in this state unless financial responsibility is established for that vehicle through:

(1) a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that complies with Subchapter D;

(2) a surety bond filed under Section 601.121;

(3) a deposit under Section 601.122;

(4) a deposit under Section 601.123; or

(5) self-insurance under Section 601.124.

Sec. 601.053. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) As a condition of operating in this state a motor vehicle to which Section 601.051 applies, the operator of the vehicle on request shall provide to a peace officer, as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or a person involved in an accident with the operator evidence of financial responsibility by exhibiting:

(1) a motor vehicle liability insurance policy covering the vehicle that satisfies Subchapter D or a photocopy of the policy;

(2) a standard proof of motor vehicle liability insurance form prescribed by the Texas Department of Insurance under Section 601.081 and issued by a liability insurer for the motor vehicle;

(3) an insurance binder that confirms the operator is in compliance with this chapter;

(4) a surety bond certificate issued under Section 601.121;

(5) a certificate of a deposit with the comptroller covering the vehicle issued under Section 601.122;

(6) a copy of a certificate of a deposit with the appropriate county judge covering the vehicle issued under Section 601.123; or

(7) a certificate of self-insurance covering the vehicle issued under Section 601.124 or a photocopy of the certificate.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an operator who does not exhibit evidence of financial responsibility under Subsection (a) is presumed to have operated the vehicle in violation of Section 601.051.

(c) Subsection (b) does not apply if the peace officer determines through use of the verification program established under Subchapter N that financial responsibility has been established for the vehicle.