Hero

my friend had my car for a few days back in May. cop pulled him over for no front license plate.

the ticket that was given had an old address on it since i wasn't there to correct what the officer put down. and under signature it says "owner's responsibility" instead of him signing for it.

the due date was 6/17/10, and he had the ticket signed off on 5/18/10. i just never knew about this since nothing came to my address.

something tells me the courts aren't going to be very sympathetic though.

what kind of costs am i looking at here?

chairmnofthboard

That's an odd one. If you never signed the ticket how can you acknowledge it. Then again, it's your responsibility to give the DMV a current address.

I would just go to the judge and tell him your friend got the ticket and had it fixed. Tell the judge your friend was going to take care of it without you knowing but forgot. You knew nothing about it until now. Which is the truth.

05TurboS2k

Owners responsibility? That's questionable for sure. Say the plate was temp off for any reason and thus you'd not have driven it. Then it's not your fault and only his own. Or say it came off WHILE he was driving it, still your fault?

Perhaps.

As for the circumstances, I think a judge might cut some slack on this one. Extend+write+wait.

From there we'll see where to go. with X on this one though for now.

herrjr

something similar happened to me, and what they say is that it's your responsibility to immediately update DMW with your current address

anyway, whatever that fine is, is up to particular court - it's the wild west as far as fines are concerned in CA

Hero

yeah, well had it been me driving, i would have given the officer my new address. this was about the time i had just moved, i did update my address with the dmv though. but like i said i wasn't driving.

something tells me the courts are going to want $300+ for this.

herrjr

yeah, in this budget crisis, they could really care less

CA law sets fine limits on all infractions, but courts just bypass that limit by adding court processing fees on everything - it's outrageous and ridiculous

05TurboS2k

FTA is $300 alone. good times.

s2k_dreams

I had this exact experience. I got a no front plate ticket, got it signed off before the due date but forgot to turn it in. Months later I received a letter saying I owe $800 for not showing up to court for my ticket. I went into court and told the judge that I had it corrected but it slipped my mind and I never turned the corrected ticket in. He dismissed it and told me to go buy an agenda.

As long as you're polite I'm sure you'll be excused.

Hero

well that's the game plan. that's good to hear cuz it was signed off before the due date.

fingers crossed.

s2k_dreams

Yeah, just show up to court decently dressed and with a polite attitude. You won't believe how many people show up to court looking like crap. haha