Dismissal Tip

This one is short and sweet. Vehicle Code section 41500 provides for dismissal of most nonfelony offenses arising from the operation of a motor vehicle that are pending when a defendant is sentenced to state prison or committed to the Division of Juvenile Justice or to county jail under Penal Code §1170(h). The section does not apply if the Department of Motor Vehicles is required to revoke or suspend a person’s driving privilege upon receipt of an abstract of judgment certifying the conviction resulting in suspension or revocation (Veh. Code § 41500(d)).

That’s it. This usually means that most traffic tickets, and even some misdemeanors, end up getting dismissed when a person is sent to the slammer. Charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving are expressly excluded under the statute.

Story time.

I did a trial a few years back with a client who was serving a state prison sentence and who had an unresolved suspended license case. He made a 1381 demand (think of it like, a speedy trial demand that you make while incarcerated for more than 180 days (I want to say that’s the rule). Refer to Penal Code section 1381 if you’re curious. So client has this unresolved 14601 arising out of this county and we make the motion under Vehicle Code section 41500 for a dismissal which was denied by the judge. The DA opposed the dismissal because there had been a restitution issue related to the case. How can there be an order of restitution in a 14601? That’s an interesting question that I still don’t know the answer to. I’ll write about that and about criminal restitution more generally in future blog posts. I usually say that the answer to any restitution question in a criminal case is this: the defendant loses.

We proceed with the jury trial in front of this visiting judge in what is probably one of a handful of single count 14601 jury trials that have occurred in the state’s history. The jury convicts after spending a surprising amount of time deliberating. It may have taken them a day or two to finally arrive at a verdict. Credit to them for obviously taking their job seriously. Right after the verdict is read and prior to sentencing, the DA informs everyone that they were mistaken about the restitution issue. There was no restitution being sought. And restitution is the only reason we did the trial. The visiting judge was definitely pleased with how things shook out. And that’s the story of my single count 14601 jury trial. Shoulda followed the law with the 41500 dismissal! Fun stuff.