Court Notices Defendants About DMV Hold Reinstatements

287a5c3c4c6a70a7681b87db7150a9bfc91073a3

California Superior Local Rules

August 13, 2020 Court Notices Defendants About DMV Hold Reinstatements Santa Ana, CA – The Orange County Superior Court has started processing pending traffic matters, as it continues efforts to re-establish court services, which were interrupted by the pandemic. Thus, the Court has started notifying defendants with outstanding traffic citations where the holds had been previously released. These notices advise defendants they will now have 20 days from the date on their notice to resolve their traffic matter.

In May, as a result of the Court closure due to COVID-19, Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Kirk Nakamura temporarily suspended the reporting of Failure to Appear (FTA) notifications to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and temporarily released holds that were placed with the DMV in the 120 days prior to the Court’s closure. At that time, defendants were advised that upon the Court’s reopening, they would be contacted by the Court with information on how to address their citation.

As the Court is continuing the phased reopening, it is now implementing measures to address the voluminous amount of open, unadjudicated traffic matters. In July, a review of the traffic citations where the holds had been previously released was conducted. It was determined defendants with citations in which the balance on fines/fees remained outstanding on their citation would receive a notice titled DMV Hold Notice.

If a defendant fails to contact the Court to resolve their citation, a Failure to Appear Hold will be reinstated, and a possible suspension of their driving privileges may be imposed by the DMV pursuant to CVC 40509.5. The Court may also refer the case to an outside collection agency to pursue wage garnishment and bank levies, including referral to the Franchise Tax Board for collection and/or interception of their income tax refund. Defendants can consult with Collections Representatives by calling (657) 622-8459, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding Holidays.

For in-person Superior Court of California County of Orange News Release Public Information Office Contact: Kostas Kalaitzidis, (657) 622-7097 PIO@occourts.org scheduled appointments, please visit the Court’s Counter Service Self-Scheduling application at https://www.occourts.org/media-relations/CollectionAppointments.html to reserve a Collections appointment at one of the Orange County Superior Court locations. The Court is continually working on providing Safe Access to Justice and would like to remind everyone that the use of facemasks or face coverings is mandatory for anyone entering a courthouse.

Exemptions issued by anyone other than the Court will not be honored. For Court ADA accommodations and exclusions, please email Adainformation@occourts.org or visit this web page http://www.occourts.org/directory/ada/. Social distancing rules will also be strictly enforced in all facilities; thus, the number of individuals entering public courtrooms and elevators will be subject to space limitations. Persons displaying possible coronavirus symptoms will not be allowed in Court facilities.

The Court recommends all persons consult the Court’s coronavirus website (https://www.occourts.org/mediarelations/CoronaVirusUpdate.html) for more details and the most up-to-date information regarding their case type. The public is encouraged to visit the OC Health Care Agency website for up-to-date information about COVID-19 symptoms: http://www.ochealthinfo.com/phs/about/epidasmt/epi/dip/prevention/novel_coronavirus ###

Document details

Collection	California Superior Local Rules
Citation	287a5c3c4c6a70a7681b87db7150a9bfc91073a3
Type	court_rule
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_LOCAL
Identifier	287a5c3c4c6a70a7681b87db7150a9bfc91073a3

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).