What is a Trial De Novo?
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If you have received an unfavorable judgment in a traffic case and your points count and finances are in danger, don’t give up yet. If your situation meets certain legal requirements, then you may be able to continue your fight against your traffic tickets with a trial de novo.
What is a trial de novo? It is essentially a new trial. However, it is not something granted automatically. In California, there are certain requirements that must be met in order for you to take advantage of this procedure.
What is a Trial de Novo?
From the Latin, trial de novo means a new trial. It can be an effective way for defendants to continue fighting their case after an unfavorable ruling. It is often used in traffic and small claims courts, but can be used in more formal proceedings. However, in traffic matters, it is only granted under certain circumstances.
First and foremost, as a defendant, you must initially chose a trial by written declaration as your first method of fighting the case against you. Do not chose the option of making a court appearance if this is available. If you do, you will be barred from a trial de novo in the future.
A trial by written declaration is a process where you defend your case in writing. This means you do not have to show up for the proceedings because everything is written.
If the trial by written declaration goes against you, then you will be allowed to file for a trial de novo.
If you are granted a trail de novo, you will need to start preparing your case. As stated previously, it is an in-person hearing. This means both you and the officer involved will be there and it is your chance to confront your accuser and deal with the evidence against you.
For the most part, in California, officers who are called into court most often have their cases well prepared. They are also considered expert witnesses and are familiar with members of the court. This means you need to have strong and concise arguments in order to win your case and protect your license.
Important Details About Trial De Novo
The trial de novo will cancel every decision handed down by the judge from the trial by written declaration. All of the good and bad parts of the ruling will be null and void once you get a trial de novo. So it is wise to make sure you truly want to discard the rulings from the first trial, lest the second ruling be even more unfavorable.
There is a time limit for requesting a trial de novo, which will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Make sure you file your request for a trial de novo in a timely manner after receiving a negative ruling from the trial by written declaration. If not, you will be barred from a trial de novo.
If your life is difficult to manage or something comes up at the time of your proceedings, you may request more time, which is called a continuance. Simply put, you are asking that the trial de novo be continued at a later date.
As with filing for a trial de novo, requesting a continuance must also be done in a timely manner. The specific rules for this will also vary between jurisdictions. Keep in mind, though, that judges will want to hear a legitimate reason for the continuance, and won’t just accept any thought up answer.
When communicating anything with the court in writing, you must make sure it is done as formally as possible. This is why you should send all of your mail correspondence via certified mail. Doing so will help protect you from any problems that may arise with the use of regular postal service.
If you use regular mail services, your important documents and communications could get lost or delivered later than they need to be. If this happens, the courts are not going to offer any leniency. “Lost in the mail” is not a legal defense to anything, even if the court itself loses the mail, unless it is certified. If the mail arrives certified, and it can demonstrated that the court took possession of the mail, then you are off the hook for the delivery of that mail.
getdismissed.com only cares about one thing: getting your case dismissed and traffic tickets thrown out. If you are dealing with any sort of traffic issues, then contact GetDismissed before talking with a traffic ticket lawyer. Why pay high lawyer fees when there’s a competent and reliable ticket dismissal service that can help you for a fraction of the price? GetDismissed has successfully handled numerous traffic cases covering all manner of issues.
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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.
