Should I pay for a traffic ticket where my name was mispelled?

Question

I just received my court notice for it but I found out that my last name was mispelled? Do I have to pay it?

Answer 1

"Well, I clocked you going 112."

"Really," I said, with interest. "I didn't think this car could go that fast. I mean, the speedometer only goes up to 85."

"Could I see your license and registration?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," I said, and proceeded to root through the glove box, dislodging a lease agreement, a very large hunting knife, a package of Tylenol, a case of .22 bullets, a stale pack of cloves, and a hair crimper. I also dug out my insurance for good measure, and handed him the pile of papers.

He studied them for a moment, and then said: "this vehicle isn't licensed to you."

"Really? That's odd," I said, "since I sure pay a lot for insurance and registration on it every year."

"The name on this registration doesn't match the name on your license."

With a sinking feeling, I realized what had happened.

I have a somewhat unusual name, you see. Let's say, hypothetically, that it's Starshine Defenestrate Jones. Not the sort of name you encounter every day.

Well, on my license, my name is displayed correctly, because I filled out the paperwork.

However, when filling out the paperwork at the DMV, the car dealer mispelled my middle name, so the car was registered to Starshine Defenesterate Jones.

The car insurance muddled it further, insuring the car under Defenestrate Starshine Jones, and their system truncated my middle name, so the car was insured to Defenestrate Jones.

Now, any person with a brain could take this information and understand the the driver, the registrant, and the insured were the same person. But the Highway Patrolman decided that this was apparently not the case.

"Come on man," I said. "How many people in California are named Starshine Defenestrate Jones? I mean, seriously. and how many more are mispelled? You must realize that this is, in fact, my vehicle. Besides, if I was faking the paperwork, I would have spelled my own name right. I hate my name. It's humiliating enough already. Could we not prolong this?"

"Well," he started to say, grudgingly, "I suppose that makes sense."

"Well then," I said, "no matter who the car belongs to, you'd better write me a ticket, hadn't you?"

"Er, yes," he said, brightening visibily. "Don't go anywhere, Miss Jones," and he strode briskly back to his vehicle.

I picked up In the Shadow of Young Girls In Flower from the front seat, where I had left it, and started to read. As I turned a page, I suddenly realized that I was in deep ****. I was going well more than 30 miles an hour over the speed limit, which I was pretty sure was a felony. My license would be revoked for sure. And God knows what else.

Oh God, I thought, ****.

The officer was meandering back to the car and I waited to hear my fate.

"Well, Miss Jones, I've decided to write you up for 92."

"Oh, thank you," I said.

"But you should be more attentive in the future."

"Oh, for sure," I said. "But, uhm, why only 92?"

"Well, you didn't try to weasel out of it. And you were reading Proust."

"Oh," I said.

Several weeks later found me in the halls of the Sonoma County Traffic Court, getting ready for my hearing. I figured I might as well go--I'd heard that if the cop doesn't show up, you get off.

But as I handed the ticket to the clerk, I realized something: the officer had mispelled my first name.

When my turn came, I looked the officer in the eye and said:

"Well, Your Honor, as you can see here, this ticket is written out to Starshieen Defenestrate Jones, and that's not me," I said. "I fail to see why I should pay it."

And that was that. My first traffic infraction, and hopefully the last...the last one I get caught at, anyway.

Answer 2

Take it to court but it could be a little difficult because you didn't report your car stolen on the day of the violation. What are the chances even if you did that the thief would have almost the same name as your own? Go for it anyway because the guy filling out the violation may have had numerous tickets just like this one, maybe he or she needs glasses.

Answer 3

Pay it or go to court. Those are your only two options. If you do neither they will put a warrant out for your arrest. By the way, did they get your driver's license number correct? That would be something to argue about, your name on the other hand may count as a technicality, then again, it may not.

Answer 4

You should at least appear in court to contest the ticket. Otherwise you may find an arrest/bench warrant issued in your name. Spelled correct or not, they will look for you.

The Officer can amened his error by supplying the court with a "Supporting Deposition or Information on the incident.

Answer 5

Yes, by law the spelling of the name is almost meaningless. Citations are issued per drivers license number and also uses other descriptive items to identify the driver, such as address, car registration, physical identifiers, and a few other things. If you don't pay it you are liable for the same consequences as if your name was properly spelled.

Answer 6

I had this happen to me. The police officer wrote me down as a male, even though I am obviously female. You don't get out of a ticket for their mistake. You may want to point it out to the district attorney though when you bring it to court, to help plea down the ticket (I got mine reduced from $250 to $100, and points on my license from 6 to 2).

Answer 7

You'll have a warrant for your arrest if you don't pay for it, which will certain have the correct name on it. Your license will be suspended. If you get caught driving on the suspended license, it will be horrible expensive and you'll be handcuffed and taken to jail.

If you take this to court, the judge will side with the cop 100% of the time.

So, you tell me...?

Answer 8

it might be dismissed but they also could fix the ticket right there in court. In order for it to be dismissed the officer can't show up to testify. He'll testify and be a witness that it was you. If all the other info is right then you really can't have it dismissed. You can try it might work for you. The officer might not show up on your court date.

Answer 9

If a cop gave you the ticket or it was mailed to you based on a picture of your car tag then yes because they have your driver's license number and will suspend it causing you to go to jail next time you get pulled.

Answer 10

Your name spelling has little to do with anything nowadays. Recheck the ticket and see if your drivers license number is correct. If it's correct and your name is spelled close enough...you're responsible for the ticket.

If you license number is screwed up and your name is really messed up, then I wouldn't worry about the ticket.