Legal Question in Traffic Law in California

In CA, if a pedestrian traffic citation by a sheriff was issued manually on the ticket as a misdemeanor, but when scheduled an arraignment, the judge mentioned it's an infraction, can the ticket can be dismissed at trial if the indication of a misdemeanor is on the ticket if it's actually an infraction... or did the judge saying that it was an infraction casually allowed if that happened to be just a verbal slip of the tongue made on the bench?

Thanks!


Asked on 8/26/13, 4:49 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Steven Mandell Law Offices of Steven R. Mandell

It wasn't a slip of the tongue. A pedestrian citation IS an infraction. If the cop said on the ticket that it was a misdemeanor, the cop was wrong. The judge was merely telling you that it was an infraction (a true statement), and one which favors you. It's not enough to get the infraction dismissed, but be happy that it's not a misdemeanor. If you've set it for trial, you have about a 40% chance that the ticket will be dismissed on the date set for trial if the cop doesn't show up. Good luck. Steve Mandell

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Answered on 8/26/13, 4:57 pm
Zadik Shapiro Law Offices of C. Zadik Shapiro

You did not say what the ticket is for. But assuming that it is for an offense that can be charged as an infraction and the judge told you it is an infraction, then an infraction it is.

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Answered on 8/26/13, 5:00 pm


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