bike light ticket

I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?

"genohm" wrote in message
oups.com...
I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?

All the tickets I have seen or known about, usually have information on the
back about what you are supposed to do about it. Does your's have that info
on it?
Well, it is probably going to cost you something no matter what you do.
One way is to hire a lawyer to go do all the work for you, maybe a traffic
ticket lawyer would work OK. But it could be very expensive.
Another is to simply go on down to the courthouse, see the clerk, and find
out what it'll cost etc. Most cities have an evening night court session
too.
Usually you can get in to see the judge and then explain to him what
happened. The judges are pretty good and they aren't like what you saw in
the movies.
But the court system is run like a business, so at the least you'll probably
have to pay court costs, maybe administrative fees or some such thing.
Sometimes the judge will even dismiss it.

On 1 Feb 2005 02:14:35 -0800, "genohm"
wrote:

I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?

Hi, I would call the city attorney's office and talk to them about
what you can do to get the arrest warrant removed. It is an arrest
warrant, if you show up in person, they may arrest you. Usually, these
kinds of warrants aren't actively pursued. Another words, they won't
assign anyone to track you down and arrest you. But, if stopped for
some other reason, then you will be detained.
More info, on the what is written on the slip given to you, would
help.

Life is Good!
Jeff

genohm wrote:

I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?


(I deleted rec.nascar from the group for this followup - I just don't
see the point)
Genohm - be careful of the clueless bull**** advice you get on this. In
general though, judges don't like it when you ignore citations. A call
to the courthouse telling them you want to make good but not get
arrested would probably get you a satisfactory result - but just in
case, don't go on Friday afternoon or you might be in jail all weekend.

I think your best defense is that you were riding on the sidewalk -
which may be against city ordinances, but out of the jurisdiction of the
Vehicle Code. The problem now though is not the traffic violation, but
the failure to appear. I suggest being polite, contrite and apologetic.

Quoting from Ca Vehicle Code (pay special attention to the first line):
21201(d) Every bicycle operated upon *any highway* during darkness
shall be equipped (1) with a lamp emitting a white light which, while
the bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway in front of the
bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and
from the sides of the bicycle; snipped a bunch of stuff about reflectors

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

"genohm" wrote: (clip) I never received anything until 9 months later when I
got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361 dollars. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My experience was in California, which probably is characteristic of most
states. I got a ticket while driving my, and signed the ticket. My
understanding was that I would get a follow-up bail notice, which never
came. Some months later I got a notice that I was in violation for failure
to post bail or appear, just as you did. In checking the fine print, I
learned that it was my responsibility to take care of the matter, even if
they forgot to send me the follow-up. I ended up paying--what else could I
do?

The bail is usually equal to the fine, which means that forfeiting bail is
the same as paying the fine, which is almost always what happens. As
someone else has pointed out, since you were riding on the sidewalk, the
vehicle code may not apply, and you might be able to beat the ticket by just
appearing. Some judges are annoyed at officers who don't properly apply the
law. The other possibility is that the officer, nine months later, may not
be available to appear. If he fails to show up, I believe you will win.
For $361 it's sure worth a couple of hours of effort.

So why was this crossposted to rec.autos.sport.nascar??

I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A.
I had been riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and
was given a warning and told to get a light- the officer
had me sign a slip and told me to wait to receive something
in the mail. I never received anything until 9 months later
when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

Something very similar happened to me after I was ticketed for a
burned-out taillight in Southern California, and on Friday after
receiving the warrant I went back to find out what to do. I was arrested
in the courthouse, and spent the weekend with some very interesting
characters locked up in Los Angeles County Jail. My advice therefore is
not to do what I did, but rather call them on the telephone to ask what
you need to do.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

On 1 Feb 2005 02:14:35 -0800, "genohm"
wrote:

I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?
and this has to do with nascar how?

in article , Leo
Lichtman at wrote on 2/1/05 11:42 AM:


"genohm" wrote: (clip) I never received anything until 9 months later when I
got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361 dollars. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My experience was in California, which probably is characteristic of most
states. I got a ticket while driving my, and signed the ticket. My
understanding was that I would get a follow-up bail notice, which never
came. Some months later I got a notice that I was in violation for failure
to post bail or appear, just as you did. In checking the fine print, I
learned that it was my responsibility to take care of the matter, even if
they forgot to send me the follow-up. I ended up paying--what else could I
do?

The bail is usually equal to the fine, which means that forfeiting bail is
the same as paying the fine, which is almost always what happens. As
someone else has pointed out, since you were riding on the sidewalk, the
vehicle code may not apply, and you might be able to beat the ticket by just
appearing. Some judges are annoyed at officers who don't properly apply the
law. The other possibility is that the officer, nine months later, may not
be available to appear. If he fails to show up, I believe you will win.
For $361 it's sure worth a couple of hours of effort.

These are both California infractions. 40508a is the failure to
appear, and the reason why they can threaten you with arrest. Back
in my younger days I racked up a couple of these. The solution is
to just go down to the court and request a court date. At the
hearing (which is an arraignment) simply be very nice and cordial
to the judge, always refer to him or her as "Your Honor", only talk
when he or she asks you a question, and explain what happened *when
asked*. Nothing will **** off a judge faster than just blabbing in
court. If you are nice about it, and have some proof that the bike
light thing has been fixed, then the judge will probably dismiss the
failure-to-appear and the bike light both. Being nice in a room
full of jerks goes a long way.

Now, if you miss the court date, then the dung hits the fan. They
will issue a bench warrant, which is *much* worse here. This means
they will actually keep an eye out for you, and if caught they will
take you downtown and hold you for a few days. GO TO THAT HEARING
EVEN IF YOU ARE SICK!.

"genohm" wrote in message
oups.com...
I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?


The arrest warrant is not for lack of a light. It's a greater crime to not
respond to a summons, it's called failure to appear. It's your
responsibility to do so. You've received good advice from other posts.
Call, (don't go in person, you have a warrant for your arrest out), set up a
court date, don't be late and don't miss that date! Check out the sidewalk
versus roadway lighting requirement. Have printouts of the appropriate
vehicle codes in your hand when you go to court. Then tell the judge you
are sincerely sorry for your misunderstanding about your failure to appear,
and that you now know it is your responsibility to make arrangements for a
court appearance regardless of whether you receive notice or not. Also, buy
a light for your bike, take a picture of it on your bike. Bring the picture
along with your printouts of the pertaining vehicle code. Tell the judge
that even though the law specifies the lighting requirement for bicycles
operated on a roadway not the sidewalk, you took to heart the spirit of the
law and the officers good intentions and equipped your bike with lighting.
OR, the rich persons version: bring a ton of money, plead guilty for
everything and pay the fines. If there's any question of time served just
tell the judge your livelyhood would be in jeopardy and you're prepared to
pay all fines immediately.

On 1 Feb 2005 02:14:35 -0800, "genohm"
wrote:

I received an arrest warrant for VC 21201D and VC 40508A. I had been
riding on the sidewalk without a bike light and was given a warning and
told to get a light- the officer had me sign a slip and told me to wait
to receive something in the mail. I never received anything until 9
months later when I got this arrest warrant. It says my bail is 361
dollars.

I have a copy of the slip that I signed, I didn't have my driver's
license on me, so the information that was written down on the slip is
my name, my hair color and eye color (which is wrong), my birthdate and
my bike registration.
Does anyone know how I can fight this, and can I actually go to prison
for not following up on a bike light?

Have you considered running the Judge over with a car (or better, an
SUV)?

"I didn't see him!"

You aren't too likely to get arrested for that.

--
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its
victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under
robber-barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber-
baron's cruelty may at some point be satiated; but those who
torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they
do so with the approval of their own conscience."

- C.S. Lewis