Subject: Re: Need advice on Highway Patrol speeding ticket

From: [email-masked]
Date: 31 Jul 1995 07:00:06 -0700

Since they claim to have "Lost" your citation perhaps you should "Wait"
untill you receive a "Courtesy" notice. This tells you how much among
other things.

    I am not an attorney, but I routinely fight my citations. Since the
State of California takes 75% of the money from the fines and penalties
and "Fines the counties if they do not issue enough citations" the 
counties are really hard put to meat their "Quota".

   You want to be "Wary" of the "Worst case" situation where they could
tell you they "Lost" your citation to trap you into "Violating your
promise to appear" and adding about $243 to your total. This may sound
"SICK" but the phoney 55 mph freeway speed limit is already sick and this
would only be "SICKER".

   So if anyone has any experience along these lines, please come forward.
I am currently trying to come to grips with the Solvang Traffic Court
over CHP citation BB34988. Since I have no living facilities in Solvang
I have elected to let it go to warrant and turn myself in to the Santa
Clara County Jail. Now Solvang says they will not transport me because the
warrant is less than $2500.00 (it is $330 up from $86).

   Well the City of Cupertino does not want to go to the expense of 
transporting me to jail (maybe $50) and "Booking" me (currently $141).

   At each point along the way they seem to want to "Cite me and have
me sign a "Promise to appear in Solvang". I have offered to do that if
they allow me to write "Signed under duress" on the citation. They
give you 3 months to appear so I would have time to resolve the
legal aspects of the duress. I always feel intimidated by people 
with guns.

   I wrote the "Signed under duress" on the origional citation but 
Officer Schmitter (CHP 8371) took the citation book out of my sight
above the roof of my car and crossed off my notation. I did not 
notice it untill later.

    If I had wanted to go to Solvang at my own expense I would have 
done so on the origional citation. If I do not sign they will keep
me 5 days waiting for solvang to transport me. Then they say they
will release me. At this point it is not clear if the origional
warrant is still effective or they issue another one. At any rate
the citation is not resolved.

   In theory I could face an endless series of 5 day jail times. This
sounds like the courts are trying to use the threat of jail as a 
terror weapon to extort money from me.

    The court in Solvang has not answered my fax's. I hear the sheriff
of each county sets the policy on which warrants they will transport.
this poses a problem in that I do not understand how someone other
than a judge can change, modify or ignore a warrent, which I consider
to be a court order to "Capture that person and bring him (her)
before the court." 

    Since I am retired I have the time to "Give of myself" instead of 
paying them money to punish me. I firmly believe that I give them money
they will want to do it again. If I let them punish me (the chance of
winning is so low I do not consider it) and they spend $1,000 in doing so,
they will have to issue $4,000 in citations to "Break even" by the 
time the state takes it's 75%. Or perhaps lay off a civil servant for a week.

   The court in Solvang has has told the DMV that I "Broke my promise to
appear" and they put a hold on my drivers license. I claim I "Renounced 
my promise to appear" because "The officer had a *GUN* and I did not 
feel it was safe to argue with him.

Floyd