Traffic Court – Santa Clara County

Update. My ticket finally came in the mail a few weeks ago. Now I can find it by searching the county website, and it is payable and all that. I would like to complain about paying nearly $ 600 for a red light on my bicycle though. That seems excessive!
What an impressive backlog. I’m glad it all worked out.

Place is busy and understaffed, those deputy sheriffs sipping soda should be made to work at the closed counters inside, I had fix it ticket but still was in line for 1 hour. U can also get the fix it ticket signed by a cop before u come here, regardless be ready to wait in a long line and the line starts from hallway behind u and then there are more lines once u get inside the actual counters. Gud luck

Santa Clara county is notoriously famous for its racism even though is a county filled with illegal immigrants… any non white citizen are treated like second class citizens I’m shock …

I was given a Ticket for Driving on the Shoulder on June 04, 2015 by a CHP Officer Ryan Fifield. I contested the Ticket and today was the court date. The officer lied in court today saying that I passed 4 to 5 cars on the shoulder doing about 20 miles. The Truth is there was bumper to bumper traffic near the Zanker Road Exit on 237West Towards Mountain view where I was pulled over and I didn’t pass 4 – 5 Cars on the Shoulder. I did move right to avoid an accident when someone on my left cut me off in Traffic. The Judgement was that I was Guilty. Actually the Fact is Officer Ryan Fifield Is a Big Liar. He Didn’t have the Speed Recorded on the Ticket at which he said I passed 4 to 5 cars on the right. It seems like the State Doesn’t care about about Hard Working Tax Payers and they hires border line White Trash Losers who barely made it through High School and Train them to be Cops with a Uniform and Gun. These Officers are not saying anyone’s lives but their own. These Officers don’t treat people on the road with Respect and are Targeting People of Color. I hope one day everyone get to buy a Self Driving Car and when that day comes We can Shut Down the Highway Patrol and the Traffic Court as the Patrol Jobs and Judges in Traffic Courts will no longer be Needed and Obsolete. I’d love to See How these Losers will Survive that Day Since They don’t have any Skills that benefit the Society. CHP and the SANTA CLARA TRAFFIC COURT Sucks!

I got a speeding ticket and wanted to know how to go about it. I had the pleasure of speaking to Gina at the clerk’s off. She gave me concise information and how to request traffic school without getting a point on my driving record. She was very patient, informative, and pleasant to speak to. For all your ticket question or concerns she’s the one to speak to.

I called the phone system (408−556−3000) per the instructions of the citation officer who gave me a ticket on the Caltrain for forgetting my GoPass. I sat through the machine recorded options — none of which applies to me, so I navigated and found an option that lets me to speak to a human. Then it says that option is currently unavailable because the office hours is 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, and just kicked me back out to the phone system. It was 2pm on a Thursday, not a court holiday!

This courthouse is the money-​grabbing arm of Santa Clara County. Don’t come here expecting fair treatment.
I had to waste 5+ hours of my time, and $ 500 due to a lying officer trying to fulfill his quota. I went to court for a traffic ticket, and there was insufficient evidence to prosecute me (no footage, no evidence other than the officer’s statement, which he lied through his teeth declaring…)
For the average person visiting this location, expect to wait in line for two hours to see a clerk. I had to do this to schedule an arraignment date prior to my court trial. Guess what? If you want to pay your full fine upfront you are able to bypass showing up in person both to schedule and attend your arraignment date, and skip straight to the trial! Tell me how that is not a money grab… they literally allow the process to be more convenient for you if you pay them money upfront.
Also, it seems like they only have 1 judge that presides over everything. This judge had the gall to brag about not having had a track ticket in «40 years». Hey, guess what buddy? I don’t suppose that could have anything to do with the fact that you are a traffic court judge? Nah. Those officers couldn’t possibly give you preferential treatment, because that would be unethical!
Government at it’s worst.

In and out in 45 minutes during lunch. If you have your fix it ticket signed off, it’s pretty quick to show proof of correction and pay the fines. They take cash, money order or credit card.

Phone system (408−556−3000) is a fucking joke. Gives you options to speak to a human, and then lets you know that option is currently unavailable and just kicks you back out to the phone system. Time of day is 1:15 pm on a Monday. Checked the office hours, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Checked the holiday schedule. May 11 isn’t a court holiday. So WHAT THE FUCK? Textbook government operation.

I came at 2 PM to pay traffic ticket and saw at least 200 people in line. There was also a post that says that the clerk windows hours have been reduced to 8AM-​3 PM.
Interestingly, there were atleast 8 cops idling and gossiping at the security check point. Shouldn’t they be patrolling the streets and solving/​preventing crime. Try calling 911 and the cops will take between 30 mins– 2 hours to show up.
I paid a whooping $ 540 in fines. 80% of the fine is used to pay for the court cops, admins and judges salary.
Total number of California drivers: 22.5 millions approx
Total number of traffic tickets issues: 16 millions approx
Total number of tickets contested: 1% approx (City loses money when ticket is contested)
Total revenue collected in California: $ 5 billion approx
Not a single dime is used to improve highway security.
Number of cases that I saw winning against the cop’s statement: 0 (Most people come unprepared to the court)

2 hour wait time!!! This is ridiculous! There is so much wrong this this place. I can’t believe our tax dollars and traffic violation dollars are going to this place. From the rude «rent a pigs» to the lack of competent staff, our tax dollars are being shitted on… (Yes I said «shitted»)

Been here for over an hour and standing in line as we speak.
They recently reduced their hours to 830 – 300, which is ridiculous because I came here yesterday off hours and found a closed shop. Post your hours online!
They had 4 officers manning the security checkpoint — not sure if that is necessary. You’d figure maybe you could reduce the hours of those officers instead of reducing operating hours.

Wow, I am so impressed w/​how easy my whole process was! My fix-​it ticket was due today (I know, hella last minute) to show proof of my tail light & registration.
I arrived and the Sheriffs were so great! It’s an extra $ 15 to have one of them sign off for you, but well worth it since I was already there. (You can go to 201 W Mission St SJ for free sign off). He informed me that since I was paying w/​check, I can just do the drop off system.
We came back in, he signed off on the ticket, I wrote the check, and dropped it in the box. That was it! They made what I had dreaded a wonderful experience! No waiting in line, nothing.

This heavy set woman must had her coffee today because she was crankin out these people. For every 1 person someone would see she would see 5! Its people like this who value their job make my life better. Depending on the type of work, it can be hard to find.
This was not like the DMV, the lady was fast, efficient, and courteous! She even took care of a ticket that was in a different city!!! Awesome service! Of course this was all for a family member and not to me but still awesome to know this place is fairly quick. 15 to 20 mins wait with a ton of ppl ahead, not too bad.
A few motorcycle officers where there so if you wanted to challenge a ticket I’m not sure if you would be able to deny it maybe get it reduced. Sh3r! ffs are the same everywhere. Empty your pockets out. Check you if yo still fail the metal detector. eh

Longgggg line! The upside is there is now a drop off window just for ppl paying tickets by check so no need to wait in line.
There’s not much to really say about this place. Just gotta have everyone stop getting tickets! Lol.
Came here to pay my fix it ticket during lunch and got it done in time. Not toooo busy during this hour but the line is still quite long. There are less service reps during lunch because they need lunch as well.

A crooked cop is why I was here. Showed up to fight a ticket and request a trial, which I got. Day of trial… Cop showed up, lied through his teeth, judge wouldnt look at my evidence and weeks and weeks of video footage and pictures I took of similar situations. Asked for the cop to show dash cam footage, judge asked as well but nope, copper didnt have it. Long story short, I was still found guilty, but got my pretty hefty fine reduced but it was still over $ 500. All because of a lying, rookie cop that needed to get his quota in for the month.
Because I didnt have over $ 500 to just fork over and I needed to make payments on this ticket, they charged me an additional like $ 25 or something, which is BS.
THEN… after about 5 months of making $ 50 payments on time, every month I get a «CIVIL ASSESSMENT and FAILURE TO PAY» notice in the mail. WTF! The letter said that I missed a payment and now not only do I owe the balance of my fine ($ 325) I now owe a civil assessment fee of $ 300 and all the money was due 15 days from the day they mailed the letter or they will suspend my licence. So they want $ 625 because THEY LOST MY CHECK?
I ended up filing a petition regarding the assessment fee and it was granted. Now I just have to only pay my fine. Jerks.
On a side note: The night I got the «CIVIL ASSESSMENT» letter in the mail I just couldnt help but wonder how crooked cops can sleep at night? Can I afford to buy my kids school clothes now that I have to pay this RIDICULOUS fine? How will my kids get to school if my licence gets suspended? Ugh… all because of a LIE! Its like the Mafia. All about money… money, money, money.
I am giving this place 2 stars because 1. the cops at the entrance are always so super nice, and 2. because the commissioner granted my petition. It really only deserves one star though.
I had a perfect driving record. PERFECT. I know the laws and follow them. Now because of one cop, I am petrified when I drive in Santa Clara and my insurance went up too.
PS… I refrained from using the word pig 7 times in this review. 2 stars!

So I came back here today because yesterday I was like 2 minutes late, and they close at 4… Didn’t know that, wasn’t expecting that (4:30 at least, right?)
Ok so when you walk in there are these extremely jovial sheriffs who are obviously (high on weed) practicing to compete for a chance to host their own daytime game show!!! They’re all like, «hey there!!! Yeah you!!! :-D COME ON DOWN, aaaaand empty out all metal into this here tub!!!» :-D :D :-D «oh what’s that an I-​phone? Wowee, I didn’t get one of those until I was 49!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!»
It was soo cool!!! Anyways,
There was no line (I repeat; no line) at 3pm on a Friday, so I walked to the window and the lady asks for my paperwork, which I didn’t realize to bring… Asks for ID, which I left in my car (along with my keys because I was trippin about driving to a govt building with no license so I parked like a MILE away)
I was literally so nervous I was shaking, and I almost started crying because honestly police and county workers FREAK-​ME-​OUT (probably because I’m from Stockton)
So she starts telling me to relax and everything will be ok, she asked me if I needed water… I was really not expecting to be dealing with a human and I was so touched by her subtle show of compassion that I broke and started bawling like a baby and thanking her for being so nice…
Lets just say from there she went out of her way to help me and get me the best desirable outcome, which may include not even seeing a judge thanks to all the printouts she gave me and instructions for getting them taken care of… Love her and hope god blesses her and her family…

As an adolescent, I stumbled onto numerous situations where I didn’t handle myself as I should have. Deservedly, I spent weeks, and sometimes months, in county and city jail. For a span of two years, I was in and out of court and I remember how long things took, how silenced I felt and how powerless I was.
As a young adult, I have been diligent in being an ethical and law-​abiding citizen. So when I got pulled over five months ago and was given a traffic citation I felt I did not deserve, I remained agreeable to the police officer and decided to save my words for court.
This particular traffic court in Santa Clara, I had to attend three times: to get a date for an arraignment, for the arraignment itself, and today, for the trial.
All three times, I was in and out in less than an hour.
The police officers who are unfortunately assigned to watch the entrance and metal detectors are in good spirits.
The clerks who deal with the logistics and paperwork are efficient and friendly.
All three Commissioners (or Judges) I dealt with were realistic and down-​to-​earth.
And although not everyone will be lucky enough to win their trial as I did, you will at least be in a court where things will move quickly, and in a building where cops don’t stare you down like thugs as you roam the hallways.
****TIP****
Try to bring the least amount of metallic items as possible: watches, belts, rings, etc. It all has to be taken off before you enter!

Wouldn’t you know the one day I didn’t buy a lightrail ticket is the day they are checking. Murphy’s Law. So, I have to pay the ticket and I go to Traffic Court and was blown away by the Police there, in particular Officer Bill Tate. They were very nice and friendly and they were jovial and having fun and treated me with lots of respect. So, I get through the metal detectors and breeze through the line in ten minutes where I am met by a friendly cute brunette (shoulder length hair, white, 30s) at Window # 10. I tell her my story and she empathizes and we share a couple of jokes. I pay my ticket ($ 281 OUCH!!!) and I’m out the door in about 10 — 15 minutes flat.
If it is possible to have a good experience paying a ticket it will be here. Wish all public servants and police were so nice.
thanks guys, hopefully, I will never see you again :)

Don’t chew gum, smile, and be nice.
Be assertive, don’t bring your loud mouth, and tuck in your shirt.
Bring a book, be prepared to wait, and channel your inner PATIENCE.
Do you have a lead food or a need for speed?
Ahem, I kinda DID.
$ 476 dollars, you will pay that or more if you get caught. Do I have your attention?
If you are one of the «lucky ones» who gets a ticket in the area of Santa Clara, you can expect to show up at this traffic court.
Truth be told, I had never been to a court or faced a judge. My ticket required that I «come in person.»
It was a humbling experience, and I saw people plead for reductions and almost SHIT their pants. Reminder people, always ask for a reduction! It never hurts and you never know, lady luck maybe on your side.
This is an awkward review right? Who is going to give a court house 4 stars?
Overall, my experience was as pleasant as possible, so there.