I fought the law...

...and I won! I just received a “Decision and Notice of Decision” for the “Trial by Written Declaration.” I was found NOT GUILTY of failing to stop and NOT GUILTY of having a broken stop lamp.

The bail I posted, $156, will be refunded to me within 60 days.

The form doesn’t provide any clues as to what argument, or what evidence, helped win the case. But who cares? I won.

Still, I wonder.

I filed for a “Trial by Written Declaration” on Tuesday, April 11. Based on everything I’ve read, the deputy making the allegation would then be notified that the ticket is being contested and would have an opportunity to submit his arguments. But only two weeks passed between the when I filed my case and when the judge decided the matter (Tuesday, April 25.) I can’t imagine they give an officer less than two weeks to respond.

There’s a strong possibility is that the Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Exclude Evidence, which I filed last week, resulted in my case being expedited. I was placed at the top of the stack and the judge decided to just quickly resolve the case and get it over with.

Sometimes being obsessive compulsive pays off, along with the legal training I received from watching “Law & Order.”