Update: Ticketed for 124...

[Warpkor]

This is in reference to: zer...age=2

I appeared in court on Wednesday for the arraignment hearing with my attorney. This is not a trial and simply an opportunity to plead "no contest", "not guilty", etc. The pro tem judge, however, can assign penalties depending on how you plead without moving to a trial. I learned a few things during this experience.

If you appear with an attorney, you are placed in the first position to be heard by the judge. This saved a tremendous amount of time. My attorney spoke on my behalf and pleaded "no contest" for me as a way to "feel out" how the judge would react to my situation.

It was no surprise that the judge found the type of traffic infraction "incongruous" with the noted speed but moved quickly nevertheless to post a fine and suspend my license for 30 days. My attorney then requested to speak to the judge by approaching the bench in an attempt to negotiate the license suspension and was granted permission to do so. It was the intent of my attorney to speak to the judge in muted tones to allow the judge to change his position on my license suspension without revealing anything to the other traffic violators in the court room. It was difficult to hear the entire conversation but I heard the judge repeat the noted speed with the term "egregious" in the same sentence therefore he would not back down from the 30 day license suspension.

Since the judge did not change his position, my attorney then took the opportunity to change the plea from "no contest" to "not guilty" so that we may challenge this situation during a trial. I had no idea that you could change your plea during the arraignment and I was grateful to have the attorney present.

Trial is set for December 4th at 1:30pm in Yuba County. I'm hoping against hope that the CHP officer fails to show at the trial. I'll be sure to post the results of my trial in December.


Modified by Warpkor at 1:04 PM 10/19/2007

[1unar3clipse]

chit man,

Well at least you went with an attorney, my brother got caught up here near Moorpark booking 145 in his Xr on the 23, they pretty much raped him in court because he chose to defend himself.

[k@osx71]

Wow, learned something new here! Good Luck at your trial!

[zozoka1212]

Good Luck brother.

zozo

[soul_hfk]

ill keep them crossed for u

[SVTCOBRA]

smart to get an attorney!

Good Luck!

[BigWill]

Ditto here. I hope that you are able to keep your licence, and that the lawyer doesn't rape you too hard! lol Has he said anything about what kind of points you might be looking at on your record if you are convicted?

With the recent deaths due to street racing, road rage and speeding here in So Cal, I would imagine that judges are looking to crack down wherever they can.