Here is why you might sue the City to equal the issues

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Our comments come from our experience which has been never-ending thus far.

ALERT! The new federal opinion below in "Jamgotchian" permits someone attacked by the City to go directly to federal court. So rather than wasting your money on their "fines in advance" nonsense - you sue them in federal court or state court (but we think federal judges play by the law). (only if you have a valid claim of course) Go to a federal pro se clinic at the federal courthouse.

Note that there are different ways to sue. This is not legal advice and you might consult an attorney. Suing in small claims would do you no good as there is no discovery. You could file a cross complaint, or a 1983 complaint. You could file in state court or federal court for various issues including civil rights. Just because you can sue does not mean you should sue. Don't file meaningless lawsuits.

Our cases were assigned to a commissioner with 7 weeks total judicial experience. Riverside County, CA. Yes, 7 weeks. Of course he never disclosed all that and he never disclosed he was a county prosecutor immediately before his new employment. He never read the lodged case file or he would have been informed as to the complex issues of our case. He had absolutely no training in any issue that affected decisions in our case. It was frightening.

Cities have designed their municipal code so there are no defenses. No discovery, no depositions, nothing until you attend a hearing where they bring up things you were never aware of and they ambush you. Normally you will have zero chance of winning in an administrative hearing. The "racket" is run by www.dataticket.com - who supplies cities with their code software, keeps the city data in the cloud (so they can never change or fire them), supplied the hearing officers, and COLLECTS the fines. Some big law firm should sue the pants off of them for a RICO conspiracy.

The 53069.4 code states "(3) The conduct of the appeal under this section is a subordinate judicial duty that may be performed by traffic trial commissioners and other subordinate judicial officials at the direction of the presiding judge of the court."

Do not read into codes. The plain text natural reading of this code does not state a subordinate judicial officer may "hear and determine" your case. The code simply states the SJO may "conduct" the hearing[s]. Nothing in the code states the SJO may "render judgment" or any judicial language to act as a judge. The problem we now find is that, at least in our case, we have to fight this all the way to federal court. As stated in another post the Appellate Division are just the paddle ball buddies and canasta partners of all judges in their region ~ are you going to bad mouth the fellow judge that holds the Christmas party, or super bowl pot luck? The Court of Appeal is a completely different un-associated judicial entity.

LIMITED CIVIL 1983 ACTION AGAINST THE CITY AND OR CODE OFFICER

If your issues are important, and for some reason your court system believes these issues automatically go before an SJO you might divert this by suing the City before you even pay the fine. You are not mandated to exhaust your judicial remedies before filing a 1983 action. But, if you do the first thing, such as paying fine, you might be required by law, to complete the administrative process.

There is a case that should be ruled on soon that has some relevance. Ok, the Opinion is good news 2/26/24. This seems to mean that if you are damaged by the City you may file in federal court without going through their bullshit administrative hearing procedures. If they have violated your rights by issuing an administrative citation, you may file in federal court. BOOM! (check with your lawyer)

"For a state administrative agency decision to have the same preclusive effect as a state court judgment, the administrative proceeding must be conducted with sufficient safeguards and satisfy the requirements of fairness outlined in United States v. Utah Construction and Mining Co., 384
U.S. 394 (1966)."

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/50103959/Jerry_Jamgotchian,_et_al_v_Gregory_Ferraro,_et_al

We are not certain this can be done yet, but at first glance, it appears it would be legal. Further research shows this can be done. So, look into this further. Can a party file a 1983 action against the City's acts or officer's acts such as first amendment (signs) or excessive fines, or equal protection (when they treat you different than your neighbor) or due process when they did not follow their own code procedures.

In our cases the code officer violated every law known to man, every city ordinance, every city procedure and it mattered to no one. Not the hearing officer for sure, he did not blink an eye, not the commissioner, he didn't flinch. What we are saying is that they can violated every law and procedure known to mankind, and if you have a candy wrapper on your 5 acre property you are now arch enemy #1.

Clearly, no commissioner will care about these issues as a defense. When you have that citation in your hand and you can force discovery and a deposition you will have a fighting chance.

If you file an action you will be ENTITLED to discovery, a deposition, motions, and all the defensive stuff the City and many courts do not believe you are entitled to. The City, rather than spending the money, may just go away. We will be looking into this more. Stay tuned.

Note - don't jam your filings with a bunch of nonsense and 100 claims like the person below.

Riaz v. County of Tulare, No. F085100 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 25, 2024).

See the download section on homepage for discovery rulings.