[quote=flu] 1) Do a trial by declaration, plead not guilty, make the argument that you did stopped short in the intersection and moved forward after stopping short. Ask if your are still found guilty, if you could request a reduction in fine and remanded to traffic school. You should be able to do this all via mail, so you don’t need to waste time in court.[/quote]

Flu: At what point do I ask whether I can still go to traffic school in case I’m found guilty? By phone, or in the same correspondence where I plead non guilty?

[quote=flu] If your trial by declaration turns out to be guilty and you didn’t get a fine reduction, you can then choose to appear in court and ask the judge in person.[/quote]

I got a ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign. This was in east Ventura county a couple of weeks ago. More than 5 years ago I went to court in Orange County, and the cop didn’t show up, so I won! I will probably try the trial by declaration this time, but my main concern is that the school option may not be available to me in case I’m found guilty.

I don’t have any accidents, and I’ve been ticket-free since 2003 (no points then: I went to traffic school). I wonder if I should just pay the $206 fine, don’t go to school, and hope that my insurance won’t go up since my record is pretty good.