Wrongly issued VC4000(a)(1) Ticket

[MS11]

This is the first time I'm posting here on this public forum so please redirect my question if it doesn't belong here.

Last summer in 2016 in Mission Viejo, California, I was pulled over for not having a registration sticker on the cars license plate but I had the up to date registration papers that I showed to the officer. The reason for not having the sticker was the DMV couldn't provide it until the car passed smog. I told the officer this but he still gave me a fix it ticket VC4000(a)(1). Being a beginning driver this the first ticket I've ever gotten so my relative who was with me at the time kept the ticket but lost it. And to be honest we both forgot about it.

Until a few months later I get a letter from the state saying I owe them $350 for not showing up in a prior court date that I didn't even know. I show up to court, show them the registration papers but I'm still paying for the $350 fee of not showing up to the first designated court date. Until recently, my relative finally found the original issued ticket and in it's description it said "VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY UNREGISTERED". That is a lie, due to what I previously stated about the cars registration papers I had with me at the time I was pulled over which should make the ticket void and from what I believe illegal. From the information I provided, is there any way to petition this ticket and not pay it since the officer lied on it and the vehicle was registered?

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[FlyingRon]

First off, just because something is incorrect doesn't make it a lie. Please moderate your tone. It will get you nowhere.

You were guilty of 4000(a)(1) VC. Your car was NOT registered. If you required smog and didn't have the stickers you didn't have a current registration.

Your options at the time were to get it smogged and registered and bring proof to the court prior to your appearance data and pay the $25.
You blew that off, and hence are liable for the full fine: $285.
Your chances to protest the ticket (not that you had a defense) ended when you failed to appear.

You also promised to appear in court (or otherwise dispose of the violation), and you blew that off, so you have the Failure to Appear penalties (another
$300).

You have little option but to pay the tickets. Note that if you continue to dally, you'll likely have your driver's license also suspended. If that has happened, then you need, in addition to paying the fine, to have an "abstract" sent to the DMV (this will cost you another ten bucks or so) .

 

[not2cleverRed]

This is the first time I'm posting here on this public forum so please redirect my question if it doesn't belong here.

Last summer in 2016 in Mission Viejo, California, I was pulled over for not having a registration sticker on the cars license plate but I had the up to date registration papers that I showed to the officer. The reason for not having the sticker was the DMV couldn't provide it until the car passed smog. I told the officer this but he still gave me a fix it ticket VC4000(a)(1). Being a beginning driver this the first ticket I've ever gotten so my relative who was with me at the time kept the ticket but lost it. And to be honest we both forgot about it.

Until a few months later I get a letter from the state saying I owe them $350 for not showing up in a prior court date that I didn't even know. I show up to court, show them the registration papers but I'm still paying for the $350 fee of not showing up to the first designated court date. Until recently, my relative finally found the original issued ticket and in it's description it said "VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY UNREGISTERED". That is a lie, due to what I previously stated about the cars registration papers I had with me at the time I was pulled over which should make the ticket void and from what I believe illegal. From the information I provided, is there any way to petition this ticket and not pay it since the officer lied on it and the vehicle was registered?

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

What an odd reaction to being pulled over and ticketed. At your age I would have freaked out with anxiety.

You were given a "fix it ticket" because yes, you were driving without a registration sticker on your car.

That means you fix it, and follow the directions about how to show that you fixed it. If you're really nice and polite when doing this, you might even catch a break when you show up. Like, get it dismissed and just pay court fees.

Instead you're all, "What-ever! This is so bogus! That officer is such an insignificant idiot." And you ignore the ticket. So you got what is called the "default" consequences... essentially the arrogant irresponsible person tax, in your case.

Is there a good reason why your car hadn't been smogged? If your car is capable of passing the smog test, it's rather quick and easy to get done.

 

[MS11]

First off, just because something is incorrect doesn't make it a lie. Please moderate your tone. It will get you nowhere.

You were guilty of 4000(a)(1) VC. Your car was NOT registered. If you required smog and didn't have the stickers you didn't have a current registration.

Your options at the time were to get it smogged and registered and bring proof to the court prior to your appearance data and pay the $25.
You blew that off, and hence are liable for the full fine: $285.
Your chances to protest the ticket (not that you had a defense) ended when you failed to appear.

You also promised to appear in court (or otherwise dispose of the violation), and you blew that off, so you have the Failure to Appear penalties (another
$300).

You have little option but to pay the tickets. Note that if you continue to dally, you'll likely have your driver's license also suspended. If that has happened, then you need, in addition to paying the fine, to have an "abstract" sent to the DMV (this will cost you another ten bucks or so) .

Hello Flying Ron,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I don't believe anyone's tune would be very happy when they get their first driving ticket. I have been paying the ticket since.

So what you're saying is even though I had the updated registration papers with me at the time I was pulled over, shown them to the officer, not having the little sticker on the license plate because of not passing smog, that's exactly the same as having no registration papers physically there at all under the eyes of the law in CA? Forgive me if still misunderstanding this.

 

[MS11]

What an odd reaction to being pulled over and ticketed. At your age I would have freaked out with anxiety.

You were given a "fix it ticket" because yes, you were driving without a registration sticker on your car.

That means you fix it, and follow the directions about how to show that you fixed it. If you're really nice and polite when doing this, you might even catch a break when you show up. Like, get it dismissed and just pay court fees.

Instead you're all, "What-ever! This is so bogus! That officer is such an insignificant idiot." And you ignore the ticket. So you got what is called the "default" consequences... essentially the arrogant irresponsible person tax, in your case.

Is there a good reason why your car hadn't been smogged? If your car is capable of passing the smog test, it's rather quick and easy to get done.

Hello not2cleverRed,

Thank you for answering my question as well. I wasn't scared at the time this happened since the officer made the ticket out to be no big deal, more like a citation then a ticket and I foolishly thought I had nothing to worry about. I did think the officer made a mistake when I found the ticket and it stated VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY UNREGISTERED. I thought it was a lie since I shown him the up to date registration papers when I was pulled over. So even with that in mind, not having the sticker nor the smog papers make it those up to date registration papers at the time useless under CA law?

 

[CdwJava]

What you had would not have been REGISTRATION, but a report of the deposit of fees. The registration would not be complete until the vehicle had passed smog. It should even state on the document you posses that it was NOT a valid registration.

Sorry, but the VC 4000(a) is valid if issued when your vehicle was even one day from it's date of expiration - even IF you had deposited fees.

 

[FlyingRon]

Hello Flying Ron,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I don't believe anyone's tune would be very happy when they get their first driving ticket. I have been paying the ticket since.

So what you're saying is even though I had the updated registration papers with me at the time I was pulled over, shown them to the officer, not having the little sticker on the license plate because of not passing smog, that's exactly the same as having no registration papers physically there at all under the eyes of the law in CA? Forgive me if still misunderstanding this.

You didn't have a current registration. Unless you had the smog and gotten the sticker, as I said earlier, yoiu don't have a current registraiton. Further, the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the California Vehicle Code you are cited with not only requires "papers" but also that you display the stickers which you didn't do, either.

Furhter, since you intentionally refused to appear as promised, even if the ticket was 100% unjustified, you blew the opportunity to protest that.

 

[not2cleverRed]

The officer did not make a mistake.

Your car was not registered. It did not have a registration sticker. It had not been smogged. Yes, that matters.

Blowing off a court date means it wasn't dismissed.

STOP IT WITH YOU "EVEN IFS" AND "BUT... I DON'T UNDERSTAND".
The answers aren't going to change.
No one is agreeing with you because YOU ARE WRONG.

 

[MS11]

What you had would not have been REGISTRATION, but a report of the deposit of fees.

Thank you very much for clarifying that. That makes much more sense to me as it was very confusing before.

You didn't have a current registration. Unless you had the smog and gotten the sticker, as I said earlier, yoiu don't have a current registraiton. Further, the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the California Vehicle Code you are cited with not only requires "papers" but also that you display the stickers which you didn't do, either.

Furhter, since you intentionally refused to appear as promised, even if the ticket was 100% unjustified, you blew the opportunity to protest that.

Thank you for replying back again FlyingRon. To be honest, I unintentionally refused to first appear since I didn't get the notice. But from what you have said, it doesn't matter at all, not in the eyes of the written CA law and not by the law makers who originally wrote it who wanted to make money off the people any chance they got.

The officer did not make a mistake.

Your car was not registered. It did not have a registration sticker. It had not been smogged. Yes, that matters.

Blowing off a court date means it wasn't dismissed.

STOP IT WITH YOU "EVEN IFS" AND "BUT... I DON'T UNDERSTAND".
The answers aren't going to change.
No one is agreeing with you because YOU ARE WRONG.

Thank you for replying back not2cleverRed. I'm still a beginning driver and I'm not a lawyer. But there is a lot I still need to understand and learn, particularly in relation to CA driving laws.

 

[FlyingRon]

Thank you for replying back again FlyingRon. To be honest, I unintentionally refused to first appear since I didn't get the notice.

The TICKET is the notice. It even says NOTICE TO APPEAR at the top.

But from what you have said, it doesn't matter at all, not in the eyes of the written CA law and not by the law makers who originally wrote it who wanted to make money off the people any chance they got.

No, they assume when you promise to appear in lieu of being arrested and posting bail, you will honor your word.

If you had appeared you could have gotten off with $25. As it is, you have no recourse other than perhaps to set up a payment plan.