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No,Alex didn't get another ticket.[
]
But my co-worker did.He went to the court ,the cop didn't show up and the judge just scheduled another hearing ,said that if the cop doesn't show up again then he would dismiss the case.
My co-worker is upset , he already lost half a day pay.
Should the case have been dismissed right away? The cop didn't request to reschedule,just didn't come.
May be Bob Orts will explain.
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quote:
Originally posted by Alex
No,Alex didn't get another ticket.[]
But my co-worker did.He went to the court ,the cop didn't show up and the judge just scheduled another hearing ,said that if the cop doesn't show up again then he would dismiss the case.
My co-worker is upset , he already lost half a day pay.
Should the case have been dismissed right away? The cop didn't request to reschedule,just didn't come.
May be Bob Orts will explain.
Contact a qualified and competent Hawaii attorney familiar with traffic regulations and court proceedings.
But I will ask these:
1. What was the violation for? (criminal traffic, civil traffic, equipment, other)
2. Was it a State violation or County violation?
3. Which Court was involved?
4. When the ticket was issued, what process did your friend follow to get that court date to show up on? (Was it the date on the citation? Was it a mailed in "not guilty" and date assigned?)
5. How did the case open up in court? (Was he asked for a plea? Did the Judge not seeing the officer reschedule the case?)
6. Did your friend make a motion to dismiss?
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Thanks,Bob!
It was a civil case,regular ticket.He wrote the letter to the judge and he ruled in favor of the cop or state(or whatever it's called).It happened on 130 (don't know where,may be by HPP).In the letter it said that he could request a trial date.So he did.The hearing was in Hilo.
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Missed very important question.
It was no opening of the case.The judge didn't see the cop and rescheduled the case.It was plenty of time since there was another case before .
The judge said also that he didn't know if he was going to increase the ticket amount or not.
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I bet if the cop had shown up and you had blown the appearance off, the judge wouldn't have postponed the case...
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Typically, Judge Freitas will allow each side one continuance on traffic cases. If your friend wanted more time to prepare their defense, the judge would normally allow them an opportunity to do so. He is true to his word . . . next time, if the State is not ready, he will dismiss it.
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quote:
Originally posted by crbridge
Typically, Judge Freitas will allow each side one continuance on traffic cases. If your friend wanted more time to prepare their defense, the judge would normally allow them an opportunity to do so. He is true to his word . . . next time, if the State is not ready, he will dismiss it.
I don't know which judge handled my co-worker's case.I am pretty sure any judge would go by the book.
Crbridge,you seem like knowing the system.My co-worker gave up and willing to pay the ticket because the chances of the cop not showing up twice are not so good and the judge already said something about the possibility of increasing the ticket.
I am asking for myself .To get this continuance should someone ask for it or it will be automatically granted?
Because I am getting old and forgetful.So if I forget to show up in court in a case like that ,it's all good?
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Hey Alex ,found this on the other forum (
http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/traf...court.html).
"You needed to make a motion to dismiss the case in court due to a lack of a prosecution witness. No witness = no case....all the judge was trying to do was set another chance up for the officer to show up before you realize that you had already won. I'm not quite sure if you can still have it thrown out even though it was rescheduled".
And if you don't show up buddy you are in big trouble.I mean BIG.Ever heard of a bench order or something like that?
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As I noted before, the Puna judge will generally give each side one continuance before dismissing the case. One would need to show up to request the continuance. However, you could ask for one in advance by written motion, which if granted would save you a trip to court. Traffic tickets are civil infractions, a non-appearance would result in a default judgment against you (you lose and must pay the ticket). Only failure to appear for a criminal case or a traffic crime (e.g. DUI, No License, etc.) would result in a bench warrant for contempt of court.
