A little known fact of the California vehicle code is that if you get a ticket and choose to contest it, you don’t have to go to court.

You can instead request a ‘Trial by Written Declaration’ – which means that you can plead not guilty through the mail! You can then choose to attend your trial in a courtroom – or through the mail! You can mail in a copy of your testimony and any evidence that you may have to the court!

WHAT!

The officer who issued you the ticket is then obligated to mail in his or her own version of the events that happened – and what do you think are the chances of that happening? Unlike an actual court appearance, the officer won’t receive overtime pay for mailing in his or her testimony.

But wait! It gets better. If you wind up losing the case, you have a right to request a new trial! This ‘second chance’ option is only given to people who have elected to perform a Trial by Written Declaration.

Man that’s awesome! Ticket Assassin is a site that gives you all the info and DMV/court forms that you’ll need to mount a mail-based defense against a ticket! I’m considering making an illegal u-turn today just to stick it to the man!