I need a lawyer's advice - traffic ticket

[Badfysh]

I need some advice if there are any lawyers here familiar with procedure. I have what I believe to be a solid case. the law i was cited for clearly is not supported on the highway. meaning, the DOT is required to maintain signs, etc. None are there. I feel this is a clearly unenforceable law.

on the freeway i was on, unlike most other freeways in california, this one does not have the hours of operation posted and thereforecannot be enforced. my question is, aside from quoting this law, what do i need to do to ensure the evidnece/opinions etc. are presented properly? i am also curious as to how to reduce or completely remove the bail payment. this ticket is over $1100 and i even if i win, it wont be returned for up to 90 days . . .

i have the law here and highlighted the part relevant to winning the case --


21655.5. (a) The Department of Transportation and local
authorities, with respect to highways under their respective
jurisdictions, may authorize or permit exclusive or preferential use
of highway lanes for high-occupancy vehicles. Prior to establishing
the lanes, competent engineering estimates shall be made of the
effect of the lanes on safety, congestion, and highway capacity.
(b) The Department of Transportation and local authorities, with
respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, shall place
and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, signs and other
official traffic control devices to designate the exclusive or
preferential lanes, to advise motorists of the applicable vehicle
occupancy levels, and, except where ramp metering and bypass lanes
are regulated with the activation of traffic signals, to advise
motorists of the hours of high-occupancy vehicle usage. No person
shall drive a vehicle upon those lanes except in conformity with the
instructions imparted by the official traffic control devices. A
motorcycle, a mass transit vehicle, or a paratransit vehicle that is
clearly and identifiably marked on all sides of the vehicle with the
name of the paratransit provider may be operated upon those exclusive
or preferential use lanes unless specifically prohibited by a
traffic control device.
(c) When responding to an existing emergency or breakdown in which
a mass transit vehicle is blocking an exclusive or preferential use
lane, a clearly marked mass transit vehicle, mass transit supervisor'
s vehicle, or mass transit maintenance vehicle that is responding to
the emergency or breakdown may be operated in the segment of the
exclusive or preferential use lane being blocked by the mass transit
vehicle, regardless of the number of persons in the vehicle
responding to the emergency or breakdown, if both vehicles are owned
or operated by the same agency, and that agency provides public mass
transit services.
(d) For purposes of this section, a "paratransit vehicle" is
defined in Section 462.
(e) For purposes of this section, a "mass transit vehicle" means a
transit bus regularly used to transport paying passengers in mass
transit service.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature, in amending this section,
to stimulate and encourage the development of ways and means of
relieving traffic congestion on California highways and, at the same
time, to encourage individual citizens to pool their vehicular
resources and thereby conserve fuel and lessen emission of air
pollutants.
(g) The provisions of this section regarding mass transit vehicles
and paratransit vehicles shall only apply if the Director of
Transportation determines that the application will not subject the
state to a reduction in the amount of federal aid for highways.

 

[Badfysh]

No. i was ticketed for 21655.5. Driving in the carpool lane by myself. i told the cop the lane wasnt in compliance with the lawa dn that there are supposed to be signs advising motorists of the hopurs of operation. He very sternly told me " Sir, I don't think you are a lawyer and I don't think you know what you are talking about." I replied with " No, i am not a lawyer I am just smarter than you with respect to the law." After which he promptly wrote me a ticket.

Point being, as far as the law, I am right. it clearly states they have to post hours of operation. I am not asking for law interpretation. I am asking what is the best way to present this evidence so I win the case. I also, would like some advice on asking the court to waive bail.

thanks

 

[sean]

so it would be a full time carpool lane, they only have to post hours if it is used as regular lane part of the day.
you should have kept your mouth shut, since now you will be paying for that stupid comment.

 

[Badfysh]

so it would be a full time carpool lane, they only have to post hours if it is used as regular lane part of the day.
you should have kept your mouth shut, since now you will be paying for that stupid comment.

did you read the law above? where does it say they only have to be posted if it not full time? it does not say that, what it does say is there have to be signs posted and maintained. to me that means exactrly what it says. it says a sign doesnt have to be posted on on ramps where a signal is located. i wasnt on the ramp.

once again, i am not asking for help with the law itself. I am asking about presenting the evidence with respect to the law and asking for bail reduction until trial. :banghead:

 

[sean]

so your telling us there were no signs for a carpool lane? or just no sign saying giving the time? if there are no signs giving the time the carpool can be used as a regular lane, then it is always a carpool lane.

 

[Badfysh]

yes, no signs for hours of operaqtion.

what you are saying is an implied law. i do not have to abide by an implied law. it says they are place and maintain signs INCLUDING ones "to advise motorists of the hours of high-occupancy vehicle usage". it NEVER states that if they dont put the hours then that means all the time.

ONCE AGAIN. I dont need help with the law. I need help with what procedures to use to submit this law, ask for lower bail.

nevermind. unless alawyer who can understand my question can help me. please dont respond. thanks for the attempt sean, but i am not asking you to verify my defense. i am asking how to present it accurately at trial. ie: motion to suppress? etc. reduction in bail amount? that kind of stuff.

i signed up on expertlaw.com forum so forget it.

 

[az_max]

There are a few stretches of always HOV lanes here in phx. Most notably the i-10 to loop 202 HOV bridge. Motorcops sit on the downhill side and pick off single drivers all rush hour long. There also was a stretch of i-10 west of downtown phoenix that was that way too. I haven't read our law, but it seems to say HOV lanes are 24hrs unless posted.

and it's motion to dismiss on the grounds of the way the law is written.

I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once

 

[LR Max]

Damn. Sounds like a good old fashion ownage there. Like others said, I do believe your mouth got you into this one and I don't know if it'll get you out...

 

[syoung]

The lanes probably were marked somehow- like the diamond shape painted thingie used in the DC area etc or something similar. When posted as HOV lane, only a sign that states a condition such as a time of operation will make the marked HOV lane a non-HOV lane as per the directions on the sign. Or something like that.

 

[chris snell]

I'm not a lawyer but I have successfully fought traffic tickets. Show up at your court date with pictures and a copy of the law(s). Also, show up with a friendly, cooperative attitude and be prepared to pay for the ticket and court costs if it comes down to it. If you go in with a chip on your shoulder, you'll have a lot harder time convincing the judge.

 

[Steve Rupp]

I think you're fucked. Nice going telling the cop he's an idiot.

 

[Golden Oliver]

I am a lawyer...but I am not licensed to practice law in California. The only advice I will give you is to open your phone book and call a local attorney who can help you. You can call the county bar association where the ticket was issued, the state bar association or perhaps call the court and ask them if they can refer you to an attorney who routinely handles traffic cases.

Sorry I can't help more than that. You should know that attorneys (at least thoselicensed in Ohio and Michigan like me) are prohibited from giving legal advice to people in other states. It is considered the "unlawful practice of law." The reason I mention that is so you don't waste your time trying to get advice from people on web sites who are not familiar with california law....INCLUDING the local rules of the court you will be in. You have been asking for legal advice onHOW to PRESENT evidence and the statute you were charged under. A local attorney will know how to do that...someone on this site (unless active in the Cali. bar or your local area) probably won't.

Good luck. atriot:

 

[jcs2179]

hey bad,

Copper here from Illinois, formerly with Florida Agencies also...the vehicle code here is identical to the one out West, except for equipment stuff (where you guys take the cake for fluff)
Anyhow, specially in California, I highly doubt that the cop answered you "...Sir, you are not a lawyer, bla bla bla..." no way...that's just asking for more trouble and the truth is, we don't care who you are....

On to the "defense"...good luck. The best advise I've seen here so far was to show up well dressed (like OJ, remember him? killer by night, boy scout by day?), take some pics of the scene and state your case with a FRIENDLY attitude. While the judge might reduce the fine and give you an A+ for effort, the court costs will nail you anyway, specially in Cali , where the tree huggers rather see you die than burn more fuel by yourself in a non-carpool lane...

Onto the ticket...you should go back to the scene and drive around. You are incorrect to say that you do not have to abide by an implied law. Take DUI for instance. If you get pulled over and you are asked to see your drivers license, you CAN'T refuse....you can however refuse to submit to field sobriety, but you will be promply arrested (assuming they already had probably cause to stop you, wich is really child's play) In any case, those examples are covered by implied law. When you agreed to take the State's driver license test and driver's license card, you also (wheter you knew it or not!) agreed to certain things....that's just an example.

The carpool lanes in Fl for example are marked by large hwy signs. They also happen to be time-sensitive so they are marked with the times of the day that you can or can not drive in them...most likely (you would know better than anybody) your hwy is marked on the ground, or a few miles BEHIND you. If you merged in mile-marker 34 and the sign was in mile-marker 29, you simply missed it. My guess is that you knew exactly where you were driving on, but just trying to make better time. Am I wrong? let me know...In any case, telling the Officer that "you know the law better than bla bla bla", was the stuppidiest thing I've heard in months....fist day in the Academy they try to teach us not to write tickets on attitude, but the truth is they are the most fun. I haven't written tickets in 6 years, but I do remember how much fun can be to let ppl go when they are honest and humbled by the stop (the real reason for traffic stops is for corrective action, not to make money), but inevitable you bump into the asswipe with the big mouth. It's been me in the past too, but I'm afraid that today it was you. Good luck in court, and let us know how your "defense" was mounted....

Maybe you can build a couple of bumpers and sell them before your court date...just kidding. See, I can too be an asswipe :rofl:
By the way, Bad, may I ask how old are you?
anyway, sorry for the long post.

 

[JamesWyatt]

In Texas I have only received two warnings in 22 years of driving (and about 12 tickets), and one of the warnings was in addition to ticket that was written anyway. I almost always get a ticket, regardless of how contrite, polite, etc. I doesn't matter if I didn't know I was in the wrong, and it doesn't matter if I did and I admit it and apologize - ticket gets written. Perhaps I'm just unlucky.

That being said, I have a policy not to speak with disrespect to anyone with a gun on them. It just seems like a good policy to live by. That and the fact that the officer that pulled me over would have been helping me had he come across me in distress instead of speeding. I try to think of that every time I get pulled over and it calms me down and helps me keep a good attitude.

 

[az_max]

In Texas I have only received two warnings in 22 years of driving (and about 12 tickets), and one of the warnings was in addition to ticket that was written anyway. I almost always get a ticket, regardless of how contrite, polite, etc. I doesn't matter if I didn't know I was in the wrong, and it doesn't matter if I did and I admit it and apologize - ticket gets written. Perhaps I'm just unlucky.

That being said, I have a policy not to speak with disrespect to anyone with a gun on them. It just seems like a good policy to live by. That and the fact that the officer that pulled me over would have been helping me had he come across me in distress instead of speeding. I try to think of that every time I get pulled over and it calms me down and helps me keep a good attitude.

It's always "yes sir", "no sir", "here's my ccw, sir", "it's loaded in a holster on my belt, sir".. you get the idea

I got a ticket once, which according to the law was only supposed to be a secondary offense. I was driving to work one fine morning in rush hour traffic in my chevy truck. a motorcycle cop on the crowded freeway was parked going along with traffic, but looking 90 degrees to his left. as I cruised by him at 30mph, he got in behind me and lit me up. When he pulled me over, he walked up and had me roll my window part way up. He asked "do you know what the window tint law is in az?" I said "no sir, I don't". He says "it's 30%". Proceeds to pull a light meter out of his pocket and put it over the window. "Yours are 2.9%". :ack: I appeared in court for it and pointed out it was a secondary offense and I had not been pulled over for anything else. Judge said too bad, but pull the tint off and show us, and I'll drop the $250 fine. I said "yes sir, by tonight sir!"

Went to the shop that did it, had them peel it off, took it to the court, then back to the window tint place the next week. :bigok:

 

[ChrismonDA]

Look at your phone bill, those are IMPLIED taxes. The gov is going to get their money somehow. It is all bullshit we all know it but who is going to say anything about it? No one. Because they realize that people are not going to stop driving or using cell phones its a racket just like insurance.

 

[D90DC]

Be HONESt you were in a hurry and got cought illegally using the HOV lanes. Traffic was backed up you said F^&K it... Now your acting like the typical Kalifornia puss trying to get out of the ticket... Ill bet you also park in Handicap spots... Officer I did not see a time limit on the picture.... LOL

Damn even the illegals know to stay out of the HOV lanes....

Now your being shitty because all you want is some freebie legal advice on how to help you game the system and were calling you out...


Ill bet your the type that would sue a Good Sam for cracking a rib while giving you CPR



.

 

[montanablur]

Did you get your drivers license yesterday?

We all know cops aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer but they are knives non-the-less and have the power to make your life a serious pain in the ass. Isnt the ticket for that normally around $400? Looks like he's already reaming nicely without a reach around for mouthing off.

Like Rupp said.

 

[sean]

breaking the law and getting a ticket $1100
making a fool of your self on a public forum posting your idiotic comments- priceless

now suck it up and pay the fine you deserved it.

 

[DiscoveryXD]

:rofl: