Missouri Traffic Citation "not found"

[Allen_C]

Some of you read that I received a performance award, undeservedly, when Cav and I were returning from our Arkansas ramble last month. Instead of fighting the ticket, I decided to save my time and energy for better things and logged onto MO's website: www.mofcc.com, as instructed two weeks after the citation to pay my fine. Well, I've tried to do this the past three days and my citation number cannot be found in their system. So, I called the toll-free number provided on the website and guess what? Their system still cannot find my citation.

So my question is this...have any of you have had this experience before or know an MO officer to ask about this; what should I do? I don't want to connect to a representative, provide my name and details then they "suddenly find" my citation and require me to pay them. Have I gotten lucky and the ticket never got transmitted into the main system? Thoughts?

 

[Fred W]

Give it a month and check again. You don't want to be running around with a bench warrant on your ass.

 

[puppychow]

I have had to deal with this once. A local county here tries it's best to scuttle your chances at mounting a good legal defense when it comes to traffic citations. The ticket I received didn't even show up on their systems until the week of my appearance date. Thwarting my plans to file motions that could be heard at my "arraignment" for a traffic citation - the clerk wouldn't accept my filings because the ticket didn't show up on their system. At the least I had him sign a prepared statement documenting my attempts...etc etc. but I am digressing.

Long story short. Check again and check often. The system is stacked against you, it is not considered their responsibility that the citation appear on their system two weeks after you were cited (as long as it appears on their system before your "appearance" date). As long as you pay the fine by the due date you are fine, otherwise you are risking a bench warrant for failure to appear and/or post bail.

 

[Allen_C]

The ticket is supposed to be paid within 30 days so I guess I will keep checking every couple of days until then. It has already been 17 days so I have two weeks to go!

 

[Hudson]

In many states like WA, a ticket has to be filed with the court within a short timeframe. I've had tickets dismissed automatically (though I needed to contest them) due to failing to meet this deadline. You should check this out.

 

[hppants]

Allen, you are approaching this the right way, IMO. Keep checking and keep your mouth shut. If 30 days passes with no development, call it good luck. Maybe on the off chance something stupid comes down the pike months/years later, save a screen shot of each time you check, with the date/time shown on the screen. At least you can show them your effort in good faith.

I'm keeping good thoughts for ya. It was kind of a bummer to read about this after the great weekend we had. Hope it works out in your favor.

 

[AlleyCat]

Traffic citations have a 1 year statute of limitations in the province of Quebec (an example)... The authorities have up to 1 year to file charges against you for a traffic violation.... that delay is actually longer than the 6 months for a summary offense (criminal code). So don't brush the 30 days off too fast.... Check your state law on traffic statutes.

You have been served a copy of the offense ? The fact that a copy isn't in the system could only be an administrative delay.... the actual ticket exists and just hasn't been feed into the system. If you were not given a copy, maybe the officer changed his mind and there is no ticket.

Locally, most of the police forces have e-ticketing so the ticket is created in the court database in real-time. Good for them, not good for the 'customers'.

 

[Allen_C]

Yes, I have a hard copy of the ticket. The officer actually had me sit in his car while he entered the information into the computer then printed a copy of the citation. The first copy was not very legible do he reprinted then sent me in my way. Kinda hard to believe after 17 days the information is not uploaded yet...

 

[HotRodZilla]

I would call the agency that issued the citation. It should be on the top left of your citation. The officer's name and ID number should be near the bottom. Maks sure they have record of it.

It may just be a data entry delay, or maybe something funky happened and it didn't get tuned in. IF you think they "suddenly" found it, make them give you the info from the citation: Vehicle info, plate, DL number, time, road etc...

 

[Pterodactyl]

The last time I saw John Ryan he had just gotten a ticket for doing 83 in a 55 MPH zone in Wisconsin. He passed an unmarked car. The first thing he did was check a website that provided info on every state's traffic laws. Very quickly John knew the statute of limitations for the criminal charges, the time limits of the administrative actions and the states that WI has reciprocity agreements with. Wish I knew the site, but I do not. This would all be good info for you to know.

 

[Allen_C]

Well, today the citation finally showed up. TWO DAYS BEFORE THE 30 day deadline. This is a fucking racket! Since they take so long to enter the information into their system, there is no way to fight the ticket. Looks like any slab or slab-like riding will have to remain at a max of 5 mph over the limit, even when trying to make good time from point A to B. I now have two tickets in two years, and cannot get another one for at least a couple more years.

 

[Ignacio]

Well, today the citation finally showed up. TWO DAYS BEFORE THE 30 day deadline. ....there is no way to fight the ticket.

Why do you say that?

The website says you can "enter a written plea of not guilty to the FCC within 30 days of the ticket date. The FCC quickly returns not guilty pleas to the prosecuting attorney in the county where the offense occurred."?

And there appears to be a fax option as well!

Fight it if you don't think you did it AND/OR you think you'd prevail. And if it has expired still protest and note the little amount of time you were given to respond camping out on their website. While I'm not an expert in Missouri the notion that they're near tardy in their filing to the ticket could be used to help your defense...especially if there's a rule about cases having to be heard by a certain number of days.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I always fight my infractions. Haven't lost one yet. I still have a clean record for over 25 years.

 

[Allen_C]

Based on what another posted, they tried to contact the court and obtain additional information or plead not guilty in a similar situation and the court did not have an ability to pull up the citation information. If they say "x" will be provided within a certain time, but they do not follow through, we really have no recourse. We are just stuck.

I had no plans to fight the ticket since the fee is less that my opportunity cost. When you are told to wait 2 weeks for the citation to appear but it takes 4 weeks to actually appear, it's a psychological game they play. As for the timeliness required to hear a case, it seems as long as they provide the ability to plead within the 30 day window, they have completed their part. If they did not have the information available within 30 days, then that could be used to fight the ticket.

Oh well, another life lesson...

 

[puppychow]

Allen, my case was in California. I do not know what the laws are in Missouri, you might want to check and act accordingly. Yes, in my case in California the documented tardiness of the court was a burden, which it is in your case as well, but it could be turned to your advantage, if you still have a way to fight. Always fight it - don't give them a free meal - make them earn every penny of it!

 

[Ignacio]

it's a psychological game they play.

Whatever dude..

Based on what another posted

And jumping to a conclusion from what one other person posted on this forum IN ANOTHER STATE? Wow dude.

50 states have 50 different ways of doing speeding tickets. Having personal experience in half a dozen they're each VERY different. It's one of the reasons we have a few states well covered individually here.

I get the "opportunity cost" thing, but I also know that you can still contest, not pay a dime yet, and have another chance for them to miss something. You still might not have to go anywhere.

But, playing the contesting game takes some homework, time, understanding the system, and usually not adopting a defeatist 'they' approach. If you're willing to do it like myself and 08FJR4ME have been successfully for years (I'm 5 for 5 on the tickets I've contested within 8 hours of me and 1 that was a 24 hour round trip)...you can probably prevail too. It's your choice whether to do something about it or not.

Good luck!

 

[puppychow]

Based on what another posted

And jumping to a conclusion from what one other person posted on this forum IN ANOTHER STATE? Wow dude.

In Allen's defense, he may not have known that I am from California. I didn't explicitly state that I was and my user profile doesn't mention it either, it used to at one point, and then I decided to get 'clever'. If he was confused by that - then I should be faulted for that.

I agree with you however on fighting instead of submitting. There is still time, esp. if there is a FAX option. Even if there isn't - it's still the beginning of the week. What's the ticket worth to you, as compared to delivery confirmed next day air perhaps?

 

[hppants]

Allen - I agree with Iggy. Due process is due process.

You are entitled, all you have to lose is time, and as I see it, you have a lot more to gain.

Time for Pants to get a radar detector.

 

[exskibum]

I'm a lot more cynical about the system than Iggy. Maybe I just expect more. Having said that, he has a point about it being worth the effort.

There is a reason the insurance megalopoly funds RADAR and LIDAR purchases for LE. They want us to be cited because it's good for their bottom line. So figure the increased premium costs into your opportunity cost analysis.

In 2005, I checked with my auto insurer to discover that one speeding conviction on my record would take away my "good driver" discount for 3 years. And how much more would that cost me annually on my then ~$1,100/yr premium? Almost $400! For 3 years!

I'm 2 for 2 in the citations I've contested since then. Miscalendared one in 2008 and missed the opportunity. Should I lose, I'll do traffic school, though I like to save that, since you can't do it more than once in 18 months here. Traffic school is a PITA, but it beats sending more money to the insurance industry.