Can I Fill Out The Trial By Declaration Form On My Own?
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Have you exceeded the speed limit for merely 10 minutes and found yourself getting a speeding ticket? Have you accidentally missed a stop sign? Want to save yourself from any risks associated with traffic tickets such as large fines, or worse, unemployment and license revocation? All the resulting consequences can be avoided by preparing a defense package that includes a trial by declaration form properly completed and including properly developed written defense and sending it to the court to get the traffic ticket dismissed. If your traffic ticket is dismissed, it means no point, no fine and no court. So let’s learn more about trial by declaration form.
What is Trial by Written Declaration?
According to California Court Law – Section 40902, an individual can challenge their traffic ticket through writing instead of going to court. Trial by written declaration is accessible in situations that involve moving violations such as speeding, stop signs, carpool lanes, red lights and others. If you receive a ticket for a moving violation, a trial by declaration can come in handy provided your case does not involve a misdemeanor such as alcohol or a drug that requires an in-person trial.
What Happens If Traffic Ticket Is Dismissed by Written Declaration
When the dismissal of a case happens, it is because the prosecutor has to drop the case against the defendant. This happens when there is no way left through which the case can be justified against the defendant resulting in the termination of the case in the court. As a result, your ticket does not end up on your record.
Trial by Written Declaration vs In-Person Trial
No matter how careful of a driver you are, you might unknowingly breach a vehicle law. Any negligence in the judgement or concentration from your side might get you in trouble with dire consequences. However, to save yourself from paying a huge fine and higher insurance premiums, a trial by declaration can help you fight and dismiss your traffic ticket. There are big advantages to choosing trial by written declaration over an in-person trial.
- First and foremost, trial by declaration is the easiest and fastest way to dismiss a traffic ticket. Unlike in the in-person trial where you have to take time off of work, trial by written declaration can be done in the comfort of your home and you do not have to wait for your court date.
- Trial by declaration saves drivers money. If you choose to hire an attorney to represent you in court, there is NO guarantee that your ticket will be dismissed or reduced. Therefore, you may have to pay not only the traffic ticket and higher insurance but also hefty lawyer fees.
- California drivers have a better chance of dismissing their infraction violation through the use of a trial by written declaration. Courthouses are busy which means you may not be permitted to present your complete defense and case. Furthermore, judges may be irritated from other cases and end up making an example of you in front of everyone. But with trial by written declaration judges view your complete written defense in privacy without the influence of the courtroom.
- In an in-person trial, you cannot apply for the retrial once you have failed for the first time. However, this is possible if you do it through a written declaration. That ultimately increases your probability of success especially since it will be a new judge on your case. Or if you haven’t attended traffic school in the past 18 months, you are still eligible for traffic school.
- Last but not least, a police officer is incentivized to appear in court. On the other hand, an officer is NOT incentivized for doing written paperwork on your case. If an officer does not fill out the paperwork required for written declaration cases then your ticket will be dismissed.
Can I Fill Out The Trial By Declaration Form On My Own?
Yes, you can fill out the trial by declaration form on your own. But it truly matters how you compose it – if you don’t use the right words or suitable narratives for defending your case, then you may miss out on getting your ticket dismissed. Worse, you might incriminate yourself because you don’t fully understand driving laws or use poor choice of words or phrases. So, to avoid any risk, you should take help from professional companies that have extensive knowledge in these procedures, California driving laws and come with the right experience to help you get out of such situations that might go messy otherwise.
Think about this: a pipe bursts in your house. Yes, you could try to fix it yourself. But if you don’t have the right tools and equipment or know what you are doing, you could make the problem worse. Ultimately, costing more in order to fix the original problem and any other additional issues that come up from not fixing it quickly or correctly. That is why sometimes going with a professional plumber right of the bat is the best way. It saves you lots of time and money. Same with fighting a traffic ticket, use a professional.
GetDismissed Services
GetDismissed service helps you build the right written defense for your case. To get your written defense, all you have to do is photograph your license and ticket, tell us about the circumstance, print the documents and send documents to court. So, whenever you find yourself in such a situation, don’t get stressed and simply go to https://getdismissed.com or download our app GetDismissed for free.
Steve has been leading the fight against traffic tickets for over 22 years and is the CEO/President of GetDismissed, a service that empowers California drivers with traffic tickets to fight back without going to court. As a thought leader and business entrepreneur, Steve has also been featured on TV, Radio, Print, and Online as a traffic ticket expert talking about such subjects as distracted driving, contesting traffic tickets, traffic ticket myths, traffic ticket tips, traffic law, and more. Steve is a published author, releasing his first book in 2011, and now has four books regarding fighting traffic tickets which can be found on Amazon. Read More…
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Photograph your ticket & license.
*If you don’t have your ticket handy, it’s okay — you can still start the process and just add it later!
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Provide info through guided questions.
*Be sure to quickly add as many notes about the stop as you can so you don’t leave out any important details!
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Sign & send your defense to court.
*We will send you a completed packet for the court that just needs your signature and a stamp!
What Types of Tickets Do We Help With?
GetDismissed produces results in fighting all kinds of tickets. Unfortunately, this list does not include exhibition of speed citations. Your best bet in fighting one of these infractions, is to contact an attorney. An attorney can negotiate on your behalf to try and reduce fines, or even to reduce the charges to a lesser infraction which could possibly qualify for traffic school.
We do however, contest infractions revolving around speeding, red lights, red light cameras, cell phones, signs (primarily stop signs), carpool violations, U-turns, out of lane violations, and commercial violations. If you receive a citation and have questions, contact us today.
