Got a ticket need adivice

kevin_1981 said:
Just my $.02, but in Chicago, even if you contest a ticket and win, you still pay court costs, yes - even if you WIN! (from what ive been told) I doubt that other places are this crappy, but it might be worth looking at.
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It is true, I spent 7 years in that area, Chicago is horrible. They will find any way to get in your wallet. They loved my out of state plates there too.
 
Well crap, this thread is making me reconsider whether or not to tint my taillights and put on a 20% tint (which is illegal in MD, 35% being legal). I know MD will issue a "get it fixed" ticket, which would be fine because at least for the tail lights, I have an extra set (totaled my other 03 Malibu, so I have all the spare parts, except a drivers door).

However, I do see people ALL the time with 20% tint or darker, which makes me wonder my chances of being pulled over for having 20% tint. I guess I just won't give the cops a reason to pull me over and I should hopefully be fine.

I live in MD, but go to school in VA and this thread answered my questions about being pulled over in another state for illegal tint in that state even though my car's registered elsewhere.
 
Should be a fix-it ticket, how much trouble is it to fix the tailights?
 
281 said:
Should be a fix-it ticket, how much trouble is it to fix the tailights?
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:iagree: Fix it, drive into the closest California CHP/PD, pay $10-$15 and get it signed off. You don't need to drive 7 hours back.
 
I would fight it as well. Equipment violations vary from State to State, you can't enforce a home state violation unless the opposite State has the same Law. How many people come to Ohio with just ONE license plate on your car?
 
I've ran illegal tint in VA since I had my first car. One time I was just reading the state tint law and it says something like "Any vehicle operated on the commonwealth's roadways, highways, interstates can't have tint more than blah blah blah."

That got me thinking - well, out of state cars with darker than VA legal tint but legal in their home state drive on VA's roadways. The way the law is written - it doesn't say "registered" in VA, it basically says driven in VA. So I've always been wondering what the law is.

But tinted windows are slightly different than tinted tail lights. The member who said the thing about a front plate does have an excellent point though.

I wouldn't have thought the cop would have messed with you since you have NV tags, but the guy is obviously living up to the cop stereotype.
 
GreatAvalon said:
I wouldn't have thought the cop would have messed with you since you have NV tags, but the guy is obviously living up to the cop stereotype.
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Yeah the cop was an a$$hole... I lived in Southern CA my whole life. It wasnt till recently that i moved to Northern NV. Typically Ive had good experiences with the CHP. Normally if i were speeding they would pull you over ask for your stuff go to their car come back and give you your ticket then take off. City cops would pull you over ask when the last time you smoked weed or how many drinks ive had then want to search your car give you a huge hassle then say the reason they pulled you over was because your licesne plate light was out (when it never was...) then give you a ticket 40 min and 5 cop cars later for having something hanging from your rear view mirrior... Or some times they wouldnt ticket you at all but the waste of time was bad enough.

This CHP officer must have been a city cop at one time. The road i was on is 400 miles long and its in the middle of the desert. I wasnt speeding (i learned my lesson lol) and he pulls me over for tail lights... Now my truck is tied up in my divorce right now and my ex is really fighting for it (trying to hit me where it hurts) so i told the cop that i have court in a few weeks and what if i have to give her the truck? then i told him in NV its legal. i also asked if im going to have to come to CA to take care of it. At first he seemed like he was just going to let it go but no he came back and told me if i have to surrender the truck ill have to take care of the ticket first and drive down to the court house and explain it to the judge...
 
I most be missing something. Clearly you need to follow the law of the state where you are driving. It not an excuse to say, my home state allow this or requires this.

Good luck in court.
 
slimnib said:
I most be missing something. Clearly you need to follow the law of the state where you are driving. It not an excuse to say, my home state allow this or requires this.

Good luck in court.
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Umm, you are then. Equipment violations are "generally" different in each state therefore you are excluded from meeting some of those requirements. If that weren't the case and you lived in a State needing only one license plate don't come to Ohio. Ohio allows no window tint, so each car from CA or FL would be getting a ticket if that were the case.
 
Ok,you listed the amount to be paid for the wrong violation, how much is a ticket for tinted tail lights? If it is much less, call the CHP office, explain the mistake,hope they change it to the correct violation, pay the fine, move on. If it is the same fee, pay the fine, move on.
 
What were you actually cited for? Post the actual statute. It is possible that he didn't cite you for an equipment violation, but rather a violation that was considered to pose 'an immediate safety hazard'.

Trial by written declaration may not be an option for you because it sounds like you are well beyond the time frame you were required to submit your defense.

Instructions:
www.courts.ca.gov/documents/tr200.pdf

From:
www.courts.ca.gov/documents/tr205.pdf

I've successfully defended myself with a trial by written declaration in the past and the process is really beneficial to the defendant because you essentially get two chances at defending yourself. If you aren't happy with the results of your TBWD, you can always request a Trial de Novo within 20 days of the decision of your TBWD, which essentially is a new trial, but you will have to be present in court this time around.

You were issued the citation because you were the legal owner of the vehicle. For equipment violations of any nature, it is the requirement of the owner, not the operator, to comply with the vehicle code in CA. Furthermore, if the vehicle is being operated in the state of CA, it MUST comply with the laws in which the vehicle is being operated regardless of the laws in the state for which the vehicle is registered. You may catch a break from an officer for being out-of-state, but there is no guarantee you will not be cited under the laws that he/she is legally bound to uphold. Most won't cite you for a run-of-the-mill equipment violation, but if they deem it more than that...well...
 
parttimer said:
Umm, you are then. Equipment violations are "generally" different in each state therefore you are excluded from meeting some of those requirements. If that weren't the case and you lived in a State needing only one license plate don't come to Ohio. Ohio allows no window tint, so each car from CA or FL would be getting a ticket if that were the case.
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If you live in a State needing only one Plate and you drive in a state needing two, yes you may get a ticket, however, you can show the cop that you are just passing thru or that you are a tourist they may let you pass. But a plate is not a good example.
Cops will generally pass on that one. You cannot make a right turn on a red light in NYC'
Most other places let make a right turn. Tell a cop that you home state or city is OK with that. He will get a good laugh.



Give that some state my have an exemption for certain items.

But given no specific exemption, you may get a ticket.

But as I said, given a large fine I would also fight it
 
I would look into hiring a traffic lawyer (someplace like the ticket clinic or something similar). If he wrote the wrong violation on the ticket, good chance a lawyer will be able to get it dismissed. This is what they specialize in, and even though you live in Nevada, they can probably represent you in California.
 
brondondolon said:
A few months ago i got a ticket in CA. I live in NV and was traviling home from CA when i got pulled over. I ended up getting a ticket for my tail lights being tinted. Now when i tinted my tail lights i used a paint that is very transparent. CA is very strict with tail light laws but NV doesnt really care. The law in NV states that a break light must be visible from 300 feet which mine are. Heres the kicker though. When i got the ticket i wasnt even driving. On top of that the CHP wrote the ticket for the wrong violation. Its now a ticket for $658.83 which i think is ridiculous. CA deficit isnt my problem so to charge such an outrageous amount is extortion IMO. So im going to plea not guilty by trial of written declaration. For those who have experience do you think i have grounds to plea not guilty?

Heres some facts as stated above for those who read this quickly. Got ticket for tail lights, i wasnt the one driving although i was in the car, lights are compliant in the state in which i live, cop wrote the wrong violation on the ticket. The violation he wrote down pertains to interior lights altered to impersonate a police officer or something to that effect.

What do you guys think?
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Did he write the ticket as a violation of CVC24003?
 
parttimer said:
Umm, you are then. Equipment violations are "generally" different in each state therefore you are excluded from meeting some of those requirements. If that weren't the case and you lived in a State needing only one license plate don't come to Ohio. Ohio allows no window tint, so each car from CA or FL would be getting a ticket if that were the case.
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Each state will have a variety of rules that differ. Each state will also vary on how they handle violations of their statutes by vehicles registered in other states.

It is very possible to live in one state and abide by their laws to only be in violation of another state's laws. There is NO federal law that subverts this fact for traffic law.

Depending on the states in question and whether or not the statutes/regulations in those states claim juridiction over any particular violation, you may be ticketed and found guilty of an infraction in one state when it is completely legal in the registration state.
 
Jaretr1 said:
I would look into hiring a traffic lawyer (someplace like the ticket clinic or something similar). If he wrote the wrong violation on the ticket, good chance a lawyer will be able to get it dismissed. This is what they specialize in, and even though you live in Nevada, they can probably represent you in California.
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Isn't the fine like $700? Dunno what kind of lawyer you'll get for that money. I was in a few "jambs" many years back and payed like $3k+ for a lawyer. Of course I got the best lawyer I could find. Dude walked up to the prosecutor and had the thing dismissed in like 2 mins. I just had to sit there and look sad & sorry.
 
swanicyouth said:
Isn't the fine like $700? Dunno what kind of lawyer you'll get for that money. I was in a few "jambs" many years back and payed like $3k+ for a lawyer. Of course I got the best lawyer I could find. Dude walked up to the prosecutor and had the thing dismissed in like 2 mins. I just had to sit there and look sad & sorry.
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If I learned anything in my BS degree in Crim, I learned when you get into trouble get the best lawyer you can possibly afford. If you can't afford a good one, figure out a way to afford a good one.

Sounds like you put that to good use. My buddy just got off on a Reckless Boating charge due to a good lawyer. Got it reduced to boating w/o a Boater's Safety Certification. Now, the fine he paid for the boating w/o cert. charge was substantially higher than the normal fine for that (his fine was $5-600), but he doesn't have a Reckless on his record.
 
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