Citation - Red Light Ticket

M

marissa07

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys,

I have a quick question regarding Section D #16 on the application:

"Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer (including USCIS or former INS and military officers) for any reason?"

A couple years ago, I ran organge/red light and got a ticket in the mail with a picture (one of those red light cameras captured me).

In this case, should I say "yes" to the question, and if so, where can I find this record (apparently, I will need to provide date and place and how much I paid for the fine)?

Thank you in advance!
 
marissa07 said:
Hi guys,

I have a quick question regarding Section D #16 on the application:

"Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer (including USCIS or former INS and military officers) for any reason?"

A couple years ago, I ran organge/red light and got a ticket in the mail with a picture (one of those red light cameras captured me).

In this case, should I say "yes" to the question, and if so, where can I find this record (apparently, I will need to provide date and place and how much I paid for the fine)?

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

You should answer NO because such a ticket is not issued to a named person so it is not cited. It is like a parking ticket. So as long as you took good care of that ticket, you do not have to disclose it.
 
Thanks WBH for your quick reply!

So, during interview, if I was asked whether or not I had received any traffic ticket, should I say "no" to that? (I'm not even sure the officer will ask such kind of question, but just wondering...)

Thanks again.
 
marissa07 said:
Thanks WBH for your quick reply!

So, during interview, if I was asked whether or not I had received any traffic ticket, should I say "no" to that? (I'm not even sure the officer will ask such kind of question, but just wondering...)

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I believe so. But if you are not sure you can take the ticket and receipt and
consult with the IO during the interview.
 
Thanks again!
One more quick follow-up question: Unfortunately, I did not keep the ticket and the receipt -- where can I go get a copy of those documents? Local DMV?

Thanks.
 
Bobsmyth said:
It's not a citation if you weren't ordered to court.
Click to expand...

Now everyone get paranoid: What if the IO somehow know this if I do not disclose? What if the IO make a big deal out of this if I disclose? It may be
useless to argue with the IO what is the defnition of citation etc.
 
Hi Bob, thanks for chipping in!

Forgive my ignorance, but I like to clarify something.....
When you get one of those red light tickets "in the mail" (not like you were pulled off by a cop), aren't you usually given 2 options, either (1) pay the fine, or (2) show up at court to dispute.
In that case (given an option to show up at court to dispute), is that considered as "being ordered to court"?

It's been 2 years since I got that red light ticket and I do not remember whether or not I was given an option to show up at court to dispute the ticket (I just paid right away, cause I knew what I did and it was wrong).

Thanks!
 
thanks again WBH!

You have a point though... it's useless to argue with an officer over anything.
Probably it's a good idea to bring any documents with me just in case.

Again, sorry for my ignorance, but where can I get those documents (a copy of ticket, receipt showing that I paid...etc)?

Thanks
 
marissa07 said:
Hi Bob, thanks for chipping in!

Forgive my ignorance, but I like to clarify something.....
When you get one of those red light tickets "in the mail" (not like you were pulled off by a cop), aren't you usually given 2 options, either (1) pay the fine, or (2) show up at court to dispute.
In that case (given an option to show up at court to dispute), is that considered as "being ordered to court"?

It's been 2 years since I got that red light ticket and I do not remember whether or not I was given an option to show up at court to dispute the ticket (I just paid right away, cause I knew what I did and it was wrong).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

There are two arguments on red light tickets or other such photo tickets:

a) Don't disclose since they can't prove it was you driving car (although in some jurisdictions the owner is ultimately responsible for such tickets).

b) Disclose only if the ticket specifies that you must appear in court (not that you can appear in court if you want to contest it).

I've had about 4-5 speeding tickets in the last 12 years..all of which I paid (below $500) on time and some of which ordered me to go to court to enter plea. I choose not to disclose them (and IO never asked) as they were all taken care of and based on the information I had read, it's a non issue. Now that's my personnel choice..I don't advocate for anyone not to disclose based on my experience. Does it mean I have bad moral character for not disclosing them? Not anymore than speeding in the first place.
 
Go to the clerk of courts and ask for a receipt copy of the ticket, or something showing that you paid, anything showing your name and the amount of the ticket and that you don't owe them anything, have them stamp their official stamp just because, so it looks official. Sometimes you can go online to the clerk of courts and research for records/traffic tickets etc, try that and print it, that works too even if it doesn't have their stamp.
 
marissa07 said:
Forgive my ignorance, but I like to clarify something.....
When you get one of those red light tickets "in the mail" (not like you were pulled off by a cop), aren't you usually given 2 options, either (1) pay the fine, or (2) show up at court to dispute.
In that case (given an option to show up at court to dispute), is that considered as "being ordered to court"?
Click to expand...

Usually such a ticket is given to teh owner of the car. The camera
can catch your license number but does not really know who is
driving. So the ticket is sent to you but not really charge you
as a defendant.
 
Bobsmyth said:
But the owner can be responsible to appear in court for non payment of said tickets since the ticket is tied to the vehicle's registration.
Click to expand...

That is why as long as the owner paid the fine, then he should be OK.

Parking ticket sometimes can be scary. If you think about scenario that
you may get a parking ticket but did not notice it and when you drive and
turn on the wiper some paper flew away. You may think that piece of paper
is some commercial flyer but now may be you miss a parking ticket and there is actually an arrest warrent outthere for you and you just do not know.

Even a camara issued ticket can have this effect. You may move but did not notify the DMV your new address so you didi not get that ticket and an arrest warant is also issued for you but you still do not know about it.

Or you borrowed a book from libaray and returned it but it is lost
by the libaray and the library also notify the police who issued an arrest warrant.

So prepared to get surprised.
 
no.
marissa07 said:
hi guys,

i have a quick question regarding section d #16 on the application:

"have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer (including uscis or former ins and military officers) for any reason?"

a couple years ago, i ran organge/red light and got a ticket in the mail with a picture (one of those red light cameras captured me).

In this case, should i say "yes" to the question, and if so, where can i find this record (apparently, i will need to provide date and place and how much i paid for the fine)?

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
 
marissa07 said:
Again, sorry for my ignorance, but where can I get those documents
Click to expand...

Hi Marrissa,
See if your State website has access to the Supreme Court. It is public record and you can usually do a search and and print out the ticket information.

Take that to the court and get a certified disposition and take that with you to the interview. The court clerk can also look it up, but it is quicker and easier if you know the docket number.
 
marissa07 said:
thanks again WBH!

You have a point though... it's useless to argue with an officer over anything.
Probably it's a good idea to bring any documents with me just in case.

Again, sorry for my ignorance, but where can I get those documents (a copy of ticket, receipt showing that I paid...etc)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Did you pay for it? If you did and since it was only 2 years ago, you
may have an idea what checking acount you use to pay for it. So you
can contact your bank to get a copy of that canceled check
 
Last edited by a moderator:
WBH said:
You should answer NO because such a ticket is not issued to a named person so it is not cited. It is like a parking ticket. So as long as you took good care of that ticket, you do not have to disclose it.
Click to expand...

The ticket is issued to the registered owner of the vehicle. If you were driving that car at the time, you should report it because it is a citation and has the same legal value as one issued by a cop. It is definitely not like a parking ticket.
 
My cousin was driving my vehicle one time (last year) and he was caught on camera making a turn at a traffic signal when he was not supposed to. So, I got the fine in the mail with the photo. My cousin called them back admitting he was the one in the vehicle but they won't change the fine on his name but they told us not to worry about it because it was not exactly a ticket and it gets reported nowhere. So I didn't worry about it during my application.
 
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