I live in California and got a red light camera ticket last October. I did a trial by written declaration and lost. I then set up a trial de novo, extended it out as long as possible, and eventually decided not to show up for my court date because the court is 200 miles away and I had no real argument as to how I was not guilty.
Anyways….
I got a letter in the mail today that says the defendant (me) did not show up and the prosecution did show up. Despite that the decision rendered was case dismissed in the interest of justice.
Does this decision essentially mean I will not be charged with this violation and my insurance rates won’t go up? I wasn’t eligible for traffic school because I had a speeding ticket about a year prior to this incident. Furthermore, how could the case be dismissed if I didn’t even show up? Finally, since the case is dismissed am I entitled to a refund of the cost of the ticket?
Judge did a good thing. Since there was no prosecution there was no evidence. Since there was no evidence to consider either a not guilty or dismissal was the only proper decision for the Judge. However, could have easily gone the other way, since you did not appear, which I have seen that many of time by an array of Judges.
As a dismissal, it is as if the citation never occurred. It will not show up on your DMV record once the dismissal is sent to DMV, assuming the court submitted the guilty to the DMV at the TBD stage. In any event it will eventually not be on your record.
The refund will come between 45-60 days from the court. Check the your address on the citation and on page 2 of the declaration (should be the same), That is the address the refund will be sent.
