Traffic Court

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SUPERIOR COURT CLERK’S OFFICE HOURS
Marina Division
3180 Del Monte Boulevard
Marina, CA 93933
Hours 8:00a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday, closed weekends and court holidays

General Information About Traffic Citations

The Marina Division has been designated as the County Seat for Traffic Citations.

Traffic citations issued in Carmel (includes Carmel-by-the-Sea), Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, Sand City, Seaside, California State University – Monterey Bay, Presidio of Monterey, areas of Big Sur, Carmel Valley and west of Arroyo Seco, North Monterey County including the areas of Castroville, Aromas, Moss Landing, Prunedale, Pajaro, Spreckles, Highway 101 north of the Soledad bridge, Greenfield, Soledad, Gonzales, Lockwood, Highway 101 south of the Soledad bridge, areas south of King City to the San Luis Obispo County Line including Bradley, San Ardo, San Lucas are filed with the Marina Division.

The Traffic Court handles traffic citations and other infractions. If you have received a traffic citation, local ordinance or animal control violation, you may receive a courtesy notice in the mail approximately 2 weeks prior to the due date on the bottom of your citation. The courtesy notice will be mailed to the address shown on the citation. This notice will contain the bail amount due, the scheduled court appearance date, information regarding traffic school eligibility and any proof of correction requirements needed to clear the citation. Remember this notice is just a courtesy; you are responsible for the citation regardless of whether you receive a notice or not from the court.

You have been given a date on your citation to appear and, by signing the citation, you have given your promise to appear. Most citations can be taken care of without appearing simply by paying the amount due before the appearance date on the citation. If you do not receive a courtesy notice, it is your responsibility to contact the court shown on the bottom of your citation. Failure to comply by the due date on the bottom of your citation will result in increased bail, a civil assessment added pursuant to Penal Code 1214.1, a hold placed on your driver’s license and/or a warrant issued for your arrest and referred to a collection agency.

The court cannot quote bail or give you information regarding your citation until the citation has been received from the police agency. It can take from two to three weeks to receive the citation from the agency. If you have not received your courtesy notice one week prior to the court date, please call the traffic phone number listed for the Marina Court during normal business hours.

Parking Citations

The courts do not handle parking violations and cannot answer questions regarding parking matters. If you have received a parking citation contact the number indicated on the notice of the parking citation.

Payments

You may handle most transactions through the mail. To pay your bail by mail, send your check or money order made payable to MONTEREY COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT any time prior to your appearance due date. The court will only accept a first party check, cashier’s check or money order in United States funds. Write the citation number or case number and the person’s name that received the citation on the check to ensure proper credit. Please be sure that the court has your current mailing address so that the court can respond to you in a timely manner if necessary. PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH The mailing and street address for each court location is on the Court Locations page. You may pay the citation by credit card (Visa or American Express only) over the phone, in person or through the mail. Be advised that for this service, your credit card will be charged a transaction fee from Vital Check Network, Inc. You may pay your bail at the Marina and King City court location. A drop box for payments is available at the Salinas and Monterey court locations, and the payments will be processed on the following court business day.

Proof Of Corrections

Mechanical or fix-it violations you must have the problem corrected. You may go to any police agency after you have corrected the problem and they will sign-off on the back of your citation. A processing fee may apply at the police agency.

No registration or lack of current tags. You must go the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) to pay your fees, once paid DMV staff will sign-off on the back of your citation and will provide you a print out of your current registration. This proof of current registration or your signed off citation must be shown to the court clerk and you must pay a court fee which is indicated on the courtesy notice. You may be required to appear in court if you are unable to provide proof of current registration to the court clerk.

Once you have your citation for a mechanical/fix-it violations or registration/current tags signed off, you must return to the court the signed off citation and pay the appropriate court fees indicated on your courtesy notice.

For Insurance violation (**excluding Vehicle Code 16028(c)) you must provide the following:

Proof of insurance that was valid one day before the issuance of your citation. The proof of insurance must specify the vehicle cited in addition to the effective dates (which must cover the date of the violation). When this proof is shown to the court clerk you must also pay the appropriate court fees indicated on your courtesy notice.

Proof of insurance that was obtained after the issuance of your citation. The Court is required to assess a minimum fine pursuant to Vehicle Code 16029. The court clerk is authorized to set up a payment plan of $75.00 per month until the fine is paid in full. A $35.00 installment fee will be assessed. Please be aware that this is the minimum amount the Court can charge, the amount can not be reduced further, even if you were to appear in court. To set up a payment plan you must submit your proof of insurance along with your first payment of $75.00. The proof of insurance must specify the name of the person cited and the vehicle cited in addition to the effective dates.

Failure to pay installments in a timely manner will result in increased fine, a civil assessment added pursuant to Penal Code 1214.1, a hold placed on your driver’s license and/or a warrant issued for your arrest and referred to a collection agency.

An accident occurs and you are driving without insurance pursuant to Vehicle Code 16028(c). This is a mandatory court appearance and you must appear in court, if you show proof of insurance 2 days prior to your court appearance date the case will be taken off calendar and the appropriate court fees must be paid.

If you no longer own the vehicle or can not show proof it is still your responsibility to clear the citation by either paying the bail or appearing in court. If you have junked the car a receipt from the wrecking yard may be acceptable to clear this citation.

Traffic School

If you decide not to attend Traffic School and are eligible your automobile insurance may be adversely affected. You are not eligible for Traffic School if you attended Traffic School within the last 18 months.

Pursuant to California Rule of Court 4.104, a court clerk is not authorized to grant a request to attend traffic school for a misdemeanor or any of the following infractions:

A. A violation that carries a negligent operator point count of more than one point under Vehicle Code §12810 or one and one-half points or more under Vehicle Code §12810.5(b)(2);
B. A violation that occurs with 18 months after the date of a previous violation and the defendant either attended or elected to attend a traffic violator school for the previous violation (Vehicle Code §1808.7)
C. A violation of Vehicle Code section 22406.5 (tank vehicles);
D. A violation related to alcohol use or possession or drug use or possession;
E. A violation on which the defendant failed to appear under Vehicle Code §40508(a) unless the failure to appear charge has been adjudicated and any fine imposed has been paid;
F. A violation on which the defendant has failed to appear under Penal Code §1214.1 unless the civil monetary assessment has been paid;
G. A speeding violation in which the speed alleged is more than 25 miles over a speed limit as set stated in Chapter 7(commencing with §22348) of Division 11 of the Vehicle Code;
H. A violation that occurs in a commercial vehicle as defined in Vehicle Code §15210 (b); and
I. A violation by a defendant having a Class A, Class B or a Commercial Class C driver’s license.

Upon receipt of the bail amount indicated, and the court processing fee, the court will review your case for eligibility. If you qualify, you will be mailed a traffic school referral with the completion due date, and a list of traffic school providers. If you do not qualify, or if an appearance in court is required to request traffic school, you will be notified by mail. You cannot attend traffic school unless approved by the court. Upon attendance of the class, you must file with the court, the original certificate of completion by the due date assigned by the court.

If you reside outside of California and have an out of state license, the traffic school option will not appear on the courtesy notice. Upon receipt of the signed waiver which is included in your courtesy notice, the bail, and the court processing fee and a copy of your valid driver’s license, the Court will mail you a traffic school referral with a completion due date for traffic school.

If the alleged citation has correctable violations, you must file the proof of corrections with the court with your request for traffic school.

The court must receive your payment (bail and processing fee) by the due date on the bottom of your courtesy notice. You must pay additional fee to the Traffic School program and no extensions will be given for the Traffic School completion due date that will be listed on the traffic school referral.

Trial By Written Declaration

If you are charged with a Vehicle Code infraction and you want to dispute your citation, you may request a Trial by Declaration (by submission of written statement). If your citation is not eligible for a trial by declaration, the court will notify you of this when a request for a trial by declaration is received. This informal method of trial can benefit persons who wish to plead not guilty but who have difficulty taking time off from work or for persons who have transportation problems or live a long distance away.

If you elect this option you must submit your request and the full amount of bail along with your current address and phone number on or before the appearance date shown on your citation. The trial by declaration forms will be mailed to you upon receipt of the full amount of bail.

You will be notified by mail of the judge’s or commissioner’s decision. If you are found not guilty, your money will be refunded to you by mail. If you are found guilty, the court will impose sentence. If the sentence is for a fine, the fine amount will be taken from the money you paid. If the fine is less than the amount of money you paid, the balance will be refunded to you. If the fine is more than the amount you paid, you will be notified of the additional amount of money you must pay and the date by which you may pay.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the trial by declaration you must file a Request for Trial De Novo (request for a new trial) within 20 calendar days after the date the court mails you the Decision and Notice of Decision. The clerk is required to set a trial date that will be within 45 calendar days of the receipt of your request for a trial de novo. (Vehicle Code 40902(d))

If your request for trial de novo is not timely received, no trial de novo will be held and the case will be closed. (California Rules of Court 4.210(b)(7)).

Court Appearances

"Walk-in" arraignment hearings are held in the Marina and King City Divisions. You may, without previously posting the amount due and having a date for appearance scheduled, walk-in and appear in court. There are some restrictions however.

You must be at the court and in line by 8:00 am on any day that court is in session. You will ask to be placed on calendar and you must complete and sign the Advisement/Court Appearance form prior to going into Court.

See below for locations and days.

The Marina Court has court sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; excluding all court holidays (See Court Holidays on our public website).

The King City Court has court sessions for traffic matters on Thursday’s, excluding all court holidays. (See Court Holidays on our public website).

Not Guilty by Mail

If you intend to plead not guilty on a current citation and wish to avoid multiple court appearances, you may request a court trial through the mail or in person at the Clerk’s Office during normal business hours. Your request must be received prior to the appearance or due date indicated on the citation. YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO POST THE FULL BAIL AMOUNT DUE pursuant to Vehicle Code 40519 (a), (b), (c). Once the court has received both your request and the bail amount, court trial forms will be mailed to you with a future Arraignment/Court Trial date. Please remember to include your address and phone number on all correspondence. All witnesses and documentation to support your case must be available on the day of trial. The officer who issued the citation will be present in court.

If you are found not guilty, or the case is dismissed, your posted bail will be refunded by mail. If you do not appear for your Court Trial your bail will be forfeited and the citation will be deemed paid, and the resulting conviction will be reported on your driving record.