Red Light Camera

[S_Gibbs]

I was served a red light camera ticket.

The problems:

I was out of town on military orders when the summons was served. (wednesday, july 14, approx 10PM to a person of legal age cohabitating but not related)
I did not return to town until a later date (Friday, July 16)
By the time I recieved word of being served (after buisness hours on Friday July 16), I could not call to verify the date.
According to the summons, I will need to appear in court at 8AM on July 19.
I will also be elsewhere, again on military orders, at this date and time.

Also, after a little bit of research, it seems to me that a federal statute(spelling?) requires a court seal to be on presented summons for it to be valid. I cannot find any seal, or even a signature, on the papers recieved.

So my questions are as follows:

Is the summons, in fact, valid?
What are my options, if any, do I have?

 

[CdwJava]

This summons is for a summons issued under STATE law, not federal. Whatever federal statute you might have looked up is almost certainly not relevant. If you want to try and play games with the service, hire an attorney because that could land you in jail.

If you cannot make the court date, contact the court and see about an extension. You might also be able to plead guilty and pay the fine before you are deployed (assuming you want to take care of it ahead of time). You might also consider contacting base legal and asking whether they can be of assistance to you (I know this was an option for USMC and Navy personnel at Camp Pendleton). The other option is that you stay behind until after court because being deployed is not likely to get you out of a pending court date if you failed to take action to get a continuance or resolve it early.

 

[S_Gibbs]

I am not deploying, but i am required to be somewhere on orders.
The problem is that I was not informed/served with anyway to mnake arrangements. I did not recieve word until ~6PM friday for a court date/time of 8AM monday.

 

[S_Gibbs]

Rule 4(a). Summons; Issuance
When the complaint or any other pleading which requires service of a summons is filed, the clerk shall endorse thereon the day and hour on which it was filed and the number of the action, and shall forthwith issue a summons. The party filing the pleading may present a summons to the clerk for signature and seal. If in proper form, the clerk shall sign and seal the summons and issue it to the party for service or for delivery to a person authorized by Rule 4(d) to serve it. A summons, or a copy of the summons if addressed to multiple persons, shall be issued for each person to be served.


Also, if I am reading that correctly, it sys that the clerk shall sign and stamp... my papers are niether. I cannot link so I copy/pasted the realevent

 

[CdwJava]

So, do you intend to ignore it? Bring it up to your command? What?

Understand that even if you are correct and that the summons was improperly issued, you might still face repercussions for failing to appear and then have to engage in an uphill fight.

Since I am not from your state, I cannot say what the specifics are with regards to a summons, but the original or first copy of the summons may very well have all the things required. The copy that YOU are served may not be required to have those things.

It comes down to what you intend to do about this. The options may be ugly, but they are yours. I do not know what the answer might be, but it might be in your interest to call your command and let them know of the issue. You might also call the court on Monday morning and advise them of the date of service and your issue and see if they can grant a continuance over the phone.

 

[mightymoose]

Believe it or not, the service was done legally and you will be expected to be in court. Considering your military status it will be best to make the court appearance so that a warrant is not issued for your arrest over such a petty offense.
Contact your command and tell them you have been ordered to court. They will most likely give you the time you need to take care of business. It will get messy if you don't show up.