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Is a citation invalid if the document is missing an itemized list of fines and surcharges?
Anonymous6 views4 answers
The speeding ticket has the following information in regards to the fine and surcharges; $X.XX DNA surcharge, $Y.YY total surcharges, and $Z.ZZ total fine and surcharges. It does not state what the fine amount is, nor where the other surcharges came from. It would be like receiving a bill from a restaurant that said you owe $50 with $4 of it being tax and $1.50 of the tax is local sales tax without telling you what you actually ordered. How can we check that the officer's math was correct? Is there any precedence that requires that a person is properly informed of the criminal penalty before they accept guilt (i.e. before they pay the ticket)? Thanks!
What you are trying to do is to make an argument that you did not receive "adequate notice" to trigger a Constitutional Due Process violation. But under the facts that you are presenting, it will not work. There is a balancing test that is done in these types of situations to determinate what notice is required. For a charge such as a strict liability speeding offense, you are barking up the wrong tree trying to attack inadequate notice of possible fines on a traffic citation. Prior to pleading guilty, you have the right and ability to find out what the fee schedule is and the right to contest your case by pleading not guilty. If you try to make your argument, the court will likely find you are not prejudiced in any way by the lack of fine schedules being on the citation. Good Luck!
