Traffic Violations?

Question

if the office writes on the ticket the wrong Vehicle Code for what you actually did, are you still held responsible or are you off the hook?

Answer 1

Usually I give this blanket answer that an error on a citation does not invalidate the citation and does not mean that the charge(s) will be dismissed.

Although court is never a sure thing, this is one area where it is more likely that the courts will dismiss your ticket. If, for example, the officer cites you for a stop sign violation when in fact you committed a red light violation (two totally different vehicle code violations), it is likely that the court would dismiss the citation based on the charging error.

Answer 2

As with almost any legal question, there's no definite answer.

Although the law varies from state to state, the chances are that the prosecutor will amend the ticket to the correct offense prior to your court appearance. It is fairly common that the officer will put the wrong info on the ticket and the prosecutor will amend the charge before it goes before the court. If this happens, the charge sticks.

On the other hand, many prosecutors are so busy that they don't want to spend too much time on petty offenses or tickets. What this means is that if the officer does not personally show up and testify or if he does not inform the prosecutor of the mistake, the prosecutor is only left with the incorrect charge on the ticket. In that case, you would most likely succeed because the prosecutor would not have any evidence that you committed the offense alleged on the ticket (b/c as you say, you didn't do it).

There is a chance that you could succeed, however, I would advise against it. If you lost, you would have to pay the ticket, plus court costs which can be double, if not triple, the cost of the actual offense. Your best bet is to pay the ticket and save your $.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

You can probably beat this in court. You'd have to plead not guilty to the actual charge filed and submit evidence to that fact. It would not be good to state something like "he pulled me over for speeding, but actually wrote the ticket for running a red light". You aren't off the hook unless the judge dismisses the case.

Answer 4

unfortunately, not necessarily. Your copy of the citation is to let you know payment and appearance info. The cop can't make changes to the ticket like charges and court date, but he/she can make corrections and notations. HOWEVER, if they didn't find the error, and shows up with the same ticket you have you may just wait to see what he says at the time he testifies, then if you can prove him wrong, the there is a chance it could be dismissed.

Answer 5

Go t0 Court and consult with the Judge.