How Do I Contest my Traffic Citation?

To contest a traffic citation, the accused must appear for arraignment or schedule a future traffic court trial date. California courts require bail to be posted to schedule a future court trial date. At the arraignment, if the accused pleads "Not Guilty," the case will be continued or scheduled for a court trial date.

If the traffic violation is an Infraction, the accused may contest the traffic citation without appearing in court simply by using a process called trial by written declaration on or before the citation due date on the courtesy notice. Bail must be posted for a trial by written declaration.

Contesting a traffic Citation

Arraignment and Court Trial without Posting Bail

Pursuant to California Rule of Court 4.105 the accused person may request a court trial without having to deposit the bail amount. Normally, two court appearances are required if the accused wants to contest the traffic violation(s) without posting the bail amount. The accused person must first appear in Walk-in court for arraignment and enter a plea of "Not Guilty" on or before the due date on the courtesy notice. A future court date will be scheduled at that time.

Arraignment and Court Trial with Posting Bail

Pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 40519 (a) and (b) the accused may choose to have the arraignment and the court trial in the same hearing by submitting a signed request and posting the total bail amount to the court on or before the due date on the courtesy notice. The full bail amount must be posted in person or by mail. The court will mail the scheduled court date to the accused upon receipt of the trial request.

Traffic Court Trial

The examination of facts and law will be presided over by a judge (or other magistrate such as a commissioner or judge pro tem). The officer(s) will be subpoenaed to present any factual evidence. At this time, the accused must be prepared to produce all evidence, documents, or witnesses to support the case. The accused person has the right to bring witnesses or have an attorney present. The traffic court will not provide a lawyer.

Trial by Written Declaration

Pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 40902 a person may decide to request a trial by mail which does not require a court appearance. The Trial by written Declaration procedure allows the person to plead not guilty by submitting a signed request or complete a TR-205 form and post the total bail amount to the traffic court on or before the due date on your courtesy notice. For trial by written declarations the bail amount must be posted in person or by mail in full.

Trial by written declaration is not available for misdemeanors, accidents, mandatory court appearances, or non-traffic local ordinance violations.

If a trail by written declaration is selected, a written statement on a Trial by Written Declaration form must be mailed to the court explaining and outlining the facts and events of the case. Documentary evidence may be included to help the case. The court will subpoena a written report from the citing officer. The commissioner will review all submitted statements and documentation and the issue the verdict which id then mailed to the defendant. If the judgment is not acceptable, a new trial (trial de novo) may be requested within 20 days of the mailing of the notice of judgment.

The following conditions must be met in order to qualify for a Trial by Written Declaration:

1. Full bail must be paid
2. Violation(s) must be vehicle code infractions only
3. No accident involved
4. No failure to appear or failure to pay fine on the case
5. No prior failure to appear on the case
6. Enter a "not guilty" plea in writing

A Trial by Written Declaration sample letter is available for review. 

If you have a traffic ticket and if you would like to fight your traffic ticket without going to court using a trial by written declaration, we can help. Signup for our service and take advantage of our 100% money back guarantee. See information for the most common traffic ticket violations 22349 a vc, 22349 b vc, 22350 vc, 22356 b vc, 21453 a vc, 21453 b vc, 21453 c vc, etc. We have had a great success rate for trial by written declaration in California, so give us a chance to help you with your traffic ticket. Traffic ticket fines and points in California are very costly. If you decide to go to traffic school in California, you still are required to pay the fine for the traffic ticket.