Inquiry: I was given 2 tickets for expired registration & license, the cop gave me a court date that the court was closed. I took the badge # of the cop on duty that day who said he would vouch that the court was closed. This was on a Thur, Dec 30th, 2010. On Monday, Jan 3rd, I called the court & they had no record of me or my case. On March 25, 11, I received a letter from dept of motor vehicles that my license is suspended, and that i have to pay $145 to re-instate+ court fees and fines. They had rescheduled my court date for 2/11/11 & sent the notice to an address that no longer existed. However they seemed to have the right address when they sent the notice of suspension of license. After visiting the court, explaining my side they said that I would have to get an attorney and reopen the case. the court fines are up to over $300 from what would have only been about $70. How can I file a petition to reopen the case? where can I go to download this form so that I can file it? Thanks please advise. Even the police officers say that I should reopen the case as the judge will drop both, due to the officer’s original mistake of giving me a ticket with a bad court date! The officer also persuaded me in the beginning NOT to just pay the fees, as I had a perfect driving record, and to go to court, and the judge would dismiss it. However now I have a suspended license and excessive court fines and fees. Please advise if there is some place that I can go to download reopen cases in my county.
Response: Your inquiry did not state where you specifically live, so I will give you some general information that may be of assistance. You will likely have a limited time within which to file a reopening, the documents to file can be obtained at the courthouse or can be prepared by a legal representative on your behalf. The problem with the original court appearance may not necessarily be grounds to have the charges dropped. The issue with the addressing will be that the Court will be operating on the address information from your original documents, if you did not update your addressing with the Court, they would not have the new address if you only updated your driver’s licencing information. If you would like to discuss the details of your matter further, we may be reached via our toll-free number 1-866-801-8299.
Sincerely,
Greg Currie
Office Manager, London