From: John Grimes on March 4, 1999
State: California
Story: I have no ticket story to tell but only an arcane section of the California Vehicle Code to inform residents of the ticket-happy State of California of.
VC 40502(b) says that when you're pulled over in an outlying area of a county and you live or work closer to the county seat (the "capitol" of the county), you can demand that a case be heard in the courthouse at the county seat.
Most cops don't know about this law and will not abide by it. In that case, you'll want to document on the ticket when the officer gives it to you to sign, COUNTY SEAT REQUESTED AND REFUSED. Though the book by Nolo makes no reference to a motion for dismissal in that case, I imagine that you could move at arraignment to have the charges dismissed and demur to the charges if that motion is denied.
At the least you might be able to get a change of venue. If the Comissioner won't even change the venue, then you'll have an issue to bring up at appeal. If that happens you'll might want to consider refusing to sign the next ticket until the cop gets the court right. That will expose you to the possibility of going to jail but that's the last thing the cop will want to do for a traffic ticket (lots of paperwork and downtime) and you'll likely be given every opportunity to sign the ticket.
If the venue is changed to the county seat or if you're "luckly" enough to get a cop who knows and follows the law, the cop will have to travel a considerable distance (depending on where he stops you) and is far less likely to show up for trial. Even if he does show up he will be facing a Comissioner that he doesn't know and has no rapport with... You might just win.
They have sworn to serve you
