860.40 CITATIONS AND PARKING TAGS
Refer:
- Circuit Court Void Request Forms (Traffic)
PROCEDURE (860.40)
Void Request of Uniform Traffic Citation by the Member
Three general conditions may exist when a member wishes to request that a citation be voided by the court.
a. Members who discover that a mistake was made while filling out a citation, before the summons copy is given to the defendant, may issue a new one and request that the incorrect citation be voided. A new citation is preferable to erasures, crossing out or altering (a changed condition is subject to legitimate objections by defense counsel).
b. The citation to be voided will not have the word VOID written across the face. Voiding a citation is a prerogative of the court. The Uniform Traffic Citation Void Request Form will be completed explaining the error and include the number of the citation issued in lieu of the original citation. Members will staple all copies of the original citation to the void form, obtain the approval of the RU manager and forward the materials to the Circuit Court.
c. If while writing a citation (or after its completion) the member decides that the summons should not be issued, the procedure to request cancellation is the same as described in section a above.
d. The third condition would be after a citation has been issued and the summons copy cannot be recovered. In this case, the Uniform Traffic Citation Void Request Form should not be used. A memo explaining the circumstances should be directed through channels to the RU manager for approval. A memo is preferable to the form because it will be noticed and receive immediate attention from the court. Mistakes on the citation, such as incorrect charge or location of offense, etc., can only be amended in open court by a motion of the member or DA.
Void Request of Parking Citations (860.40)
If a member has cause to seek cancellation of a parking citation, the member should fill out the Parking Tag Void Request Card.
Members who discover that a written mistake has been made while filling out a parking citation before the violator copy is issued, may issue a new parking citation. To void the original parking citation, the member will prepare a Circuit Court Void Form, explain the error and include the number of the new parking citation. The word void must not be written on the parking citation. Both copies of the parking citation must be attached to the void form and forwarded to the Circuit Court.
Members who start to fill out a parking citation for issuance, but decide not to issue a parking citation, shall fill out a Circuit Court Void Form, explaining why the parking citation was not issued, following the same procedure as set out above.
Members discovering a written mistake after the violator copy has been issued will forward the parking citation to the Circuit Court in the usual manner. The issuing member will note on the Circuit Court Void Form that the defendant has a copy of the citation.
Void Request of Parking Citations (Police Vehicles) (860.40)
A request that the court dismiss a parking tag issued to a police vehicle by another party must be made by letter rather than the Void Request Form.
a. It is the policy of the Bureau that members will be subject to parking regulations the same as any citizen. However, the emergency nature of law enforcement will occasionally require that Bureau vehicles will be parked in violation. If a parking citation results, it may be turned in with a letter addressed to the Court Administrator requesting dismissal.
b. Requests for dismissal of these parking citations must be on letterhead stationery, have an adequate explanation of the official business being conducted, and be approved by the individual’s RU manager.
Cancellation of parking citations for members’ private vehicles will not be considered except for those reasons established by the court as applicable to the general public. The Bureau will not approve a letter requesting dismissal of parking tags issued to a member’s private vehicle because he or she had to work overtime.
An exception where the Bureau might consider approving a request to void a parking tag on an employee’s vehicle would be when documentation can be provided that the car had prior approval to be used on city business.