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Quote:
"From reading that notice, what I would do now is just contest the original charges for which you were cited, and set a court date within the 15 days that your received that notice. Then, you can go into court and tell the judge what happened. Even if you pay the original fine for the infraction, you still save the extra $300 fine that way, no?"
Posted by Boxtaboy.
I tend to agree with that. Without reading Penal Code section 1214.1, it's hard to know for sure if you're still going to be liable for the $300 'civil assessment' talked about in the first paragraph of the notice should you decide to follow Boxtaboy's advice to 'set a court date no later than 15 days from the date of this notice.' But you've really got nothing to lose:
For one thing, sometimes the law enforcement officer doesn't show, and you move to dismiss the charges, paying nothing. Or, you can always plead 'no contest' at that point and pay the $191 (or is it $161?), hopefully without the $300 tacked on. Obviously, if you go that route and the $300 comes up, you need to make sure they're aware of the fact that you had in fact sent in the check originally in a timely fashion. (Though I'm not sure there's really anyway to prove that if the check hasn't cleared. At least mention names of clerks, etc that you have talked to in an attempt to clear this up.)
If you call to set up a court date, make sure your license suspension action will be put on hold until things are resolved. (You don't want to be driving around illegally.)
I've never done this, but (after hearing your story) I'd be inclined in the future to pay any fines either: (1) in person (where you'll get a receipt); or (2) by certified mail/return receipt requested, so you can prove it was sent; or (3) by credit card on-line, as suggested in the notice, though I'd be curious to know how much the 'convenience fee' was.
Rots of ruck.
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