What if I’m found guilty or unsatisfied with the court’s decision on my Trial by Written Declaration?
Many of our clients have their tickets dismissed or reduced after using our service, but not every ticket is dismissed, so we offer options for those that are not. If you have been found guilty on your recent traffic ticket, you still have some options to try and WIN your case.
You Can fight your Traffic Ticket Again with a New Trial
The New Trial (Trial De Novo) is your second chance to try and your ticket dismissed:
- The law allows you to have a New Trial (fight your ticket again) if you are not satisfied with how the court ruled on your Trial by Written Declaration
- Your case can be automatically dismissed if the officer doesn’t show up (same applies for Red Light Camera Tickets)
- Even if the officer does appear so much time has passed since he/she wrote your ticket. The odds of him/her remembering all the details of your particular case are very slim, especially considering the hundreds of tickets they have issued in the meantime
- You get to present your case to a different judge in court who can overturn the guilty verdict (even if it is the same judge the odds of judge remembering your Trial by Written Declaration case are slim to none considering the heavy caseload each judge handles)
- The court information we provide you tells you what to expect so you will be better prepared for your court appearance
- You can bring witnesses, photos, and present any information you want to the judge in court
- If your ticket is dismissed at the New Trial, the court refunds your bail money and no points go on record
- If you are found guilty, you can always ask the judge for a fine or point count reduction or traffic school
staging-vadusuxe.kinsta.cloud will provide you with a Request for New Trial (Trial De Novo) package for you to file with the court at no additional cost to you:
Just send TicketBust a copy of your court decision notice within 10 days of the date you were found guilty on your Trial by Written Declaration or the postmarked date on the court decision notice (whichever is later). Once processed, you will log into your staging-vadusuxe.kinsta.cloud account to securely access your Request for New Trial Package – this has everything you need to file your request for new trial with the court. You must file your new trial request (form TR-220) with the court within 20 days of the postmarked date on the court decision notice finding you guilty on your Trial by Written Declaration. Once the court has processed your Trial De Novo request, you will receive a notice from the court in the mail in approximately 30-45 days notifying you of the date, time, and location you will need to appear for the New Trial.
Request a 3 Month Extension
Based on feedback from our clients, the chances of the ticket being dismissed due to the officer not appearing in court are increased when the court date is pushed back at least 3 months!
Contact us if you’d like to request the court to grant you a 3 month extension on the court date. We will provide you a letter template to do this. You should mail this letter requesting the extension via certified mail to ensure the court receives it.
Remember your appearance is required for the New Trial, so you must comply with the deadlines given to you by the court.
Get Prepared for your Court Appearance
We recommend you prepare yourself for court so you know what to expect. In order to help you prepare yourself for court, we provide you helpful resources (court information material and a copy of your Trial by Written Declaration) about going to court, what to expect, and tips to help you win.
You will need to be in court on your court date to present your case to the court in your own words. You will need to formulate your own presentation for your court appearance. We are not a law firm and do not provide any legal advice so we cannot tell you what to say in court.
FAQs about the New Trial:
What is a Trial De Novo (TR-220)?
Trial De Novo means “all things are new” (Judge, Venue and Evidence) and is in court, in person.
Where do I obtain a TR-220 form?
A Trial De Novo (TR-220) fill-able PDF form can be accessed at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/tr220.pdf. staging-vadusuxe.kinsta.cloud can also provide you with the Request for New Trial form at no additional cost to you.
If the court accepts my TR-220, will I have to go to court?
Yes, a Trial De Novo is always in person, in court.
Do I need legal representation in court for a TR-220?
Once you process the request with the court for a new trial, you will have to make the personal appearance in court yourself. Law firms are available for legal representation in court, but are not mandatory. We are not a law firm, so we do not offer representation for you in court.
If I’m found guilty in court will I still qualify for traffic school?
As long as you have not been to traffic school in the last 18 months and the court honors traffic school for the type of violation you committed, you will generally get traffic school upon requesting it from the judge. See CVC section 4200, People vs. Wozniak.
If I choose not to fight my traffic ticket again what are my options?
If you live too far from the court or can’t take off work to appear in court for a New Trial you might consider Traffic School as an option.
Requesting Traffic School
If you are eligible for Traffic School you can request the court to allow you to take traffic school to keep the point from tarnishing your driving record and increasing your auto insurance rates. If you choose to request traffic school, you must pay your court’s traffic school fee and then complete a court approved traffic school by the deadline the court gives you.
staging-vadusuxe.kinsta.cloud can provide you with a Traffic School request letter to mail to the court at no additional cost to you.
If you wish to stop here and not pursue a New Trial or take Traffic School, don’t be too hard on yourself, with the help of our services, you gave it a valiant attempt.
If you would like to have your case reviewed to see if you qualify for a refund of the Service Fee you paid, please log in to your TicketBust account and select manage tickets and then documents for the ticket you would like to request a refund for. Then select the link for Form RR-1 and complete the form.
Please remember that in order to be considered for a refund, staging-vadusuxe.kinsta.cloud must receive your Refund Request along with a copy of the court decision notice within 60 days of the court finding you guilty on your Trial by Written Declaration or the post marked date on the court decision notice (whichever is later). Please note that refund eligibility is subject to the staging-vadusuxe.kinsta.cloud Terms and Conditions so customer must not be in violation of any of the terms and conditions to be eligible for a refund.