[silverwhaletail]

CHP probably has a written directive ordering them to respond to Trial By Declaration subpoenas. I would bet a paycheck on this.

When "connected" people (relatives of judges, relatives of city/county officials, peripheral law enforcement people who received attitude tickets, etc) receive tickets in socal, they submit a trial by declaration. The judge (commissioner) is advised that the person contesting the ticket is "connected." The judge finds the "connected" offender "not guilty" without having to face the officer who wrote the ticket.

Because of this reality, I don't waste my time responding to Trials By Declaration unless I read my notes and recall that the offender was "special." Many departments don't have policy requiring that officers "answer" Trials By Dec. As a result, many city/county officers don't answer them. Even many motorcycle cops (traffic enforcement officers) don't respond to them.

40 mph in a 35 mph zone is unconscionable enforcement. Even in an area dense with hookers, pimps, drug addicts, drug dealers and transients jaywalking all over the place, NO JUDGE is going to convict you for "unsafe speed."

The Chippy had a hard-on for you, for whatever reason. I suspect that you were driving like an A-hole, lane changing, or most likely, following too closely. But of course, I wasn't there. Depending on the time of the stop, it is possible that you were stopped for investigation of dui (using the speed estimation as probable cause for the stop) and then the contact degenerated due to your bad attitude and he cited you just because he can.

14 mph is generally the number of mph over the posted limit that is "overlooked" by officers using radar or lidar in SoCal. The reason for this is that 15 over, on city streets, is generally indefensible. When I go to traffic court, at least half of the time after the offender sees my smiling face, he/she requests traffic school. Testifying bores me. Therefore, I don't write questionable tickets. Never have.

I get $205 every time that I go to traffic court. There may be departments that require that traffic court overtime be banked as "comp time" to be "taken off later", but I am not aware of any. But given the current budget situation, that wouldn't really surprise me at some smaller or poorer cities/counties.

I hope this answers some questions for you.

In a perfect world, you would go to the same section of roadway where you were cited, at the same time of day, on the same day of the week, take 15 minutes of video, preferably with a properly calibrated radar gun in view of the camera, and take the video to court for the judge to see. 40 in a 35 does not pass the smell test, in and of itself.

But if you were following too closely, your a dead man.