For Some Tickets, It’s Trial by Mail : City Smart / How to thrive in the urban environment of Southern California

You can have your day in court without having to go there.

Under a little-known law, motorists can fight a traffic ticket by mail.

But use good penmanship, judges advise.

Relatively few motorists try to write their way out of tickets. Probably because many are unaware of the “trial by declaration” provision.

Of those who opt for a trial by mail, some send long letters drafted on home computers. (One judge received a 12-page, single-spaced typewritten letter. The judge insisted that he read every word.) Others send hand-scribbled notes--sometimes written on the back of picture postcards.

And sometimes, they are illegible.

“Those are usually the guilty ones,” cracked Long Beach Municipal Court Commissioner Jeffery P. Castner. People who write hard-to-read letters are asked to rewrite them--printed or typed, please--or fight the ticket the old-fashioned way: in court.

Under the law, drivers can opt for a trial by mail for infractions such as speeding or running a red light. They must first post the bail, which is refunded if they win.

Officers can write up their side of the story but rarely do.

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The law was passed years ago as a way for out-of-town motorists to fight a ticket received far from their home. It was extended a year ago to include all motorists.

If a defendant loses, he or she can still fight the ticket in court. (Don’t expect the judge to write back explaining his or her ruling. Usually, the court sends back a form letter with a box checked “guilty” or “not guilty.”)

If a defendant loses in court, he or she can go to traffic school without leaving home. Some judges allow motorists to take home-study courses in traffic rules rather than pay a fine.

Some drivers who choose trial by mail send in photographs, drawings, testimonials from eyewitnesses and even letters of reference attesting to their fine driving record.

Some also send videotapes.

John T. Rafferty, presiding commissioner at the Robertson branch of the Los Angeles Municipal Court, recalled receiving a video from a driver ticketed for making an illegal turn on a red light.

The video showed that the “ ‘No Right Turn on Red Light’ sign was obliterated by the foliage,” Rafferty said. He acquitted the driver.

The arguments presented in the letters aren’t much different from those made in court.

One man who received a ticket for driving 52 m.p.h. through a 40 m.p.h. zone wrote that he was “only” going 50. The judge found him guilty.

A man who received a ticket for rolling through a stop sign wrote: “I did run the stop sign, though I did not see it. . . . I am new in this area, and I didn’t know there’s a stop sign on that corner.” Guilty! the judge ruled.

“In the 28 years that I’ve been driving, I’ve never contested a traffic ticket,” wrote another man who received a citation for running a red light. “I’ve always paid them because I always deserved them.” But this time, he wrote, he didn’t deserve a ticket because he was caught in the middle of an intersection when another driver stopped in front of him.

“I couldn’t back up. I couldn’t go forward,” he pleaded.

Guilty, the judge ruled.

But the judge acquitted another man who received a $230 ticket for driving solo on a freeway on-ramp reserved for car pools. The man explained in a “Dear Judge” letter that a car was broken down in the other lane.

“Sometimes, people just send in terse, condescending remarks,” said Rafferty.

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Officials say trial by mail reduces court congestion while keeping officers on the street rather than sitting in court.

“Perhaps we have to do more to alert people to this,” Rafferty said. But the low number of people who use the procedure also may result from the fact that “people like to confront the police officer” in court and display their demeanor to the judicial officer, said Rafferty.

Alex Carroll, author of “Beat the Cops: The Guide to Fighting Your Traffic Ticket and Winning,” advised against trials by mail unless the driver receives a ticket on an out-of-town trip.

“You don’t get to cross-examine the officer,” he said. “You don’t get the chance that he’s not going to show up in court.”

But, Castner said, “You really don’t have anything to lose except the time to write the letter. It’s a good remedy. I can tell you it’s not unusual for me to acquit people based on trials by declaration.”

Besides, if you lose, you can pay your traffic ticket at some courts with a credit card.

What’s next--trial by e-mail?