A dear friend of mine in California may be facing jail time over a speeding ticket she can’t pay. I want to help her, but I don’t know how.
We need some help here. Anyone who knows folks near Antelope Valley or Palmdale, California who might be able to help, or good resources for things like this, please let me know. It’s not eligible under the amnesty program, but it is overdue, and I’m really worried about her.
And even if you don’t know anyone, if you could help signal boost this, it would be great.
The details I have at the moment: she was going 13 over the speed limit, it’s not eligible for the amnesty program which is ending today, she hasn’t gone to a hearing over it due to her rather absurd distance from the relevant courthouse and some personal issues with courts having to do with an abusive ex-husband, the ticket is probably something like two years old at this point, and close to $1000.
I don’t know what to do, or how to help. Maybe someone here does.
Since this involves both advice and potential legal issues, let’s move this to IMHO (from GQ). Any factual information about resources may of course still be posted here.
Wow. Just read up on CA speeding tickets. The base fines are low but the fees tacked on are ridiculous.
It looks like her speeding ticket was $35 but ~$200 is added in fees. Late payments can result in these charges being 4-7 times more.
Everywhere I looked recommends contacting a California lawyer who specializes in speeding tickets.
Here in Canada there is an option to propose a payment plan to the court. This would include a breakdown of income, expenses, budget, etc… and the monthly amount you are able to pay until the debt is settled. It would also stop the debt from accruing interest or any more fees.
With $1k on the line it is worth it to contact a lawyer for a phone consultation to review her options. The Ca. state bar referral service can be found here.
It’s usually only about $20 for a quick phone conversation with an attorney specializing in this to hear the details of the situation and offer a recommendation.
Call them and see if they will agree to a payment program of some kind. Ignoring it will not make it go away, they will or have issued a warrant for her arrest at some point. This can be highly inconvenient at best. They don’t give a shit about ex-husbands or anything of the sort, they want the money.
In California, you can usually do a traffic class and get a ticket dismissed (for things like this anyway). You can do those online, so she wouldn’t have to go back to Antelope Valley. Since it’s been so long, she should probably talk to a traffic attorney or call the court and speak with someone about how to get this set up.
You have to pay the ticket - on time - to qualify for traffic school. All that does is keep points from accumulating and affecting your insurance rates and driving privilege.
If it’s two years old, does that mean it’s already been adjudicated and is delinquent? Typically if distance is an issue a person can request trial by declaration and do it via letter to avoid long travel. You’ll probably still lose, but it’s worth a shot. If it’s two years old that option may not be available.
Is the person a resident of CA? If not, then I’m wondering how jail time would be involved. I have heard that people have had luck asking for payment plans, but only when they make the requests timely. Lawyer is probably your best bet and Crazhorse in post #7 gave the link to the referral service. Each county has one I think, and some offer free consults, others charge like $30.
California is a large, high population state with 58 separate counties with their own laws and policies, let alone individual municipalities. There is no specific California fee or penalty, so you can’t really assume what the original penalty was. I’ve never gotten an LA county ticket, but I imagine it was quite a bit more than $35.
A lot of traffic ticket laws only give judges so much leeway to reduce, and there are often minimum fees that they can’t go below. She should definitely contact the court with contrition, and can probably do community service to pay it off. Sounds like the court is far, but maybe there is a closer option to work it off.
Thank you all for the responses. I’m not constantly in contact with this person, so responses to the questions may take a little while, but she is a resident of California.
AV courts are a complete old boys network. The best solution for her (but one she may not be able to afford) is to get a local attorney to talk to the judge. If she is known to the court because of the issues with the ex-husband she may be completely fucked*.
*Based on personal experience.
It may be too late given that the ticket is 2 years overdue, but she could ask the judge for community service. My brother-in-law got a red-light camera ticket that would have been ~$500. He did the trial by declaration thing, lost, then reported to court and asked for community service in lieu of the fine. He spent a few weekends manning the counter in a charity thrift store (I think Goodwill, but not sure). This was in Los Angeles County, so same court system as your friend.
if she goes to jail she is probably looking at checking in, going to a holding cell for a few hours and checking back out. My girlfriend was sentended to 9 months for a DUI, she did about 6 hours. Thats well worth $1,000