When does the cop have to show up to court?

Question

I got a speeding ticket in California; it says to appear on or before a date written. So how does it work? You show up to court and if the cop isn't there you get your case dismissed or you show up to court and say you want to fight it and you get a new scheduled court date where they notify the cop?

Answer 1

Well I live in Ky and when I got a speeding ticked the cop didn't have to show up.  I went to my pretrial and pled not guilty and then I went to my preliminary hearing and I got a fine and court costs.  I don't know if the cop has to show up in CA.

Answer 2

whenever the officer gets subpoenaed to go into court.  if you filed an appeal, that officer would get a subpoena to go into court.

Answer 3

Officers need to show up to court when they receive a subpoena to do so.  Officers do NOT need to go to traffic court.  99% of the time the comments they wrote on their part of the citation, including direction of travel, weather, what happened by who, etc, is more than enough to convince the judge.

It is the responsibilty of the person who received the citation to convince the judge otherwise.

Answer 4

We only have to show up in court if you want to contest the citation.

In my Department, if we don't go to court, we get in serious trouble.  Its a real subpoena, from a real judge.  We can't blow them off, just like regular folks can't blow them off.

Answer 5

If you plead guilty on or before your court date, the officer does not have to be present.   If you plead not guilty, then a trial date for your ticket will be set, and the officer will be subpoenaed to appear.

Answer 6

the first date is simply to enter your plea and the cop is not needed for that.  If you plead guilty, the judge will impose the sentence.  If you plead not guilty, the court will schedule a trial for a later date.  At that trial, the prosecutor will present his evidence.  Usually that is the testimony of the cop.  If the prosecutor is not ready to try the case (due to no cop) he can ask for a continuance -- to reschedule the trial.  The judge can either grant that request or deny it.  If it is denied, then you should be found not guilty for lack of evidence.

Answer 7

The Officer should be there at the time on your citation. This may also be a time for you to set a hearing date. Most of the time it is the hearing however.