Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Quesiton about an infraction

You failed to mention what type of infraction we are talking about. An infraction is ordinarily a traffic ticket or something along those lines, and would in fact show up on your DMV report for 7 years. It all depends upon what the infraction is?

Re: Quesiton about an infraction

There is a concept in the law concerning �malum in se crimes' and �malum prohibit um' crimes. The first are general crimes against matters of conscious (serious crimes). The second are matters involving violating a regulation. In the Military this would be like needing a hair cut, or your trouser legs on your pants are not the right lengths. Or I didn't see the red light and I ran it. But I was sober and not under the influence of any drugs. If you were it would certainly be a more serious crime.

They can't put you in jail for an infraction because the matter cannot be tried before a jury. All trials for infractions are before a judge. However, you can be put in jail for failure to pay the $10.00. If you did the crime (hardly a crime) pay the fine. If you didn't get ready to pay something more than $10.00 to a private attorney to defend your case. There are attorneys that specialize in traffic offenses, and you may want to talk to one.

However, you may want to pay the $10.00 and request a trial at the same time. This keeps your options open until you decide what to do before the trial date. Remember that the fine can go above $10.00 if you cause the court to do extra work.