[Victims of Court Corruption] Dispute By Authorities Whether Infractions Are a Civil or Criminal Proceeding
Their arguments run the gamete from left to right,
some splitting the difference, taking the middle road.
DMV throws up their hands in frustration.
I, Ron Branson, personally know Ed Brotherton as a Christian Brother. Thanks, Ed. - Ron
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | FW: Phone call earlier today | 
|---|---|
| Date: | Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:57:50 +0000 | 
| From: | Ed Brotherton <edbrotherton@hotmail.com> | 
| To: | undisclosed-recipients:; | 
Ed
818-376-9500
Subject: RE: Phone call earlier today
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:54:49 -0700
From: Steve.Macias@dmv.ca.gov
To: edbrotherton@hotmail.com
Dear Mr. Brotherton,
This email is to inform you that I am not the proper person to contact with any of your questions or concerns. Please refrain from contacting me by email or telephone calls in the future.
You may contact the department’s Legal office at 916-657-6469, and ask to speak with the attorney of the day and discuss any questions, concerns or comments with that attorney.
Steve Macias
Management Services Tech
Legal Affairs Division
916-657-6469                      
                    
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From:                    Ed Brotherton [mailto:edbrotherton@hotmail.com] 
                    Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 9:54 AM
                    To: Macias, Steve@DMV
                    Subject: RE: Phone call earlier today
Hi                    Steve,
                    
                    Following up with you. I sent the below email on                    Friday and still need a response.  Do you know what                    the status is regarding this matter?  More and more                    people are starting to get wind of this problem and                    people are contacting me.  I'm going to need to get                    some answers on this pretty quick.  Please contact me                    by end of day today and let me know what's going on.                     I greatly appreciate it.
                    
                    Ed Brotherton
                    818-376-9500
                    edbrotherton@hotmail.com
From:                      edbrotherton@hotmail.com
                      To: steve.macias@dmv.ca.gov
                      Subject: RE: Phone call earlier today
                      Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 22:56:40 +0000
Hi                        Steve,
                        
                        Just wanted to touch base with you and find out if                        you know when I'm supposed to be contacted by the                        communications department you mentioned?  It                        appears that the issue raised needs to be cleared                        up more now than ever.  A friend of mine was in                        traffic court today for an arraignment and there                        are now even more inconsistencies with the nature                        of court proceedings for infractions.  This time                        the Judge said "it's civil".  
                        
                        When trying to understand the nature of court                        actions for traffic infractions here is what we                        have;
                        
                        Legislative Committee on the Revision on the Penal                        code (the committee that made the argument to the                        legislature on creating the infraction                        classification)
                        - Not criminal
                        
                        California Judicial Council
                        - Not criminal
                        
                        California Supreme Court
                        People v. Battle 
                        People v Oppenhiemer
                        - Not criminal
                        
                        California Appellate Court
                        People v Sava
                        - Not criminal
                        
                        Los Angele Superior Court Van Nuys (all these are                        the same case)
                        Commissioner Omens 
                        - Criminal
                        
                        Judge Jesic (same case)
                        - He said, "I don't know"  When asked whether the                        action was criminal or civil.
                        
                        City Attorney (same case)
                        - Quasi criminal
                        
                        Another City Attorny (same case)
                        - Quasi Administrative
                        
                        Los Angele Superior Court Burbank
                        Judge Applegate
                        - Criminal
                        
                        Judge Oldendorff
                        - Criminal
                        
                        And today in downtown Los Angeles Superior Court,                        a Judge gave us another classification of Civil.
                        
                        The lack of consistency and understanding of the                        nature of an infraction by the judges and lawyers                        in the state poses a very serious due process                        problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
                        
                        People have a right to know the "nature" and cause                        of an action and when the powers that be can't get                        it straight then how does that instill confidence                        in the judiciary and the proper enforcement of our                        vehicle laws?  I hope this provides a better                        understanding of why I'm asking the DMV to clarify                        this issue.
                        
                        I look forward to your timely response.  
                        
                        Thank you
                        
                        Ed Brotherton
                        818-376-9500
                      
                    
From:                          edbrotherton@hotmail.com
                          To: steve.macias@dmv.ca.gov
                          Subject: RE: Phone call earlier today
                          Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:38:45 +0000
Hi Steve,
                            
                            It's been a little while and I went ahead and                            read those code sections you referred to.                             Unfortunately it didn't really address the                            questions raised.  Nowhere between section                            4000.1 and 40903 does it state what the nature                            of a court action is for infractions.  There                            doesn't appear to be any consistency in                            understanding by the courts or the city                            attorney's or the public as to the nature of a                            court proceeding for an infraction.  In one                            case alone two judges claimed that 4000(a)(1)                            is a criminal action.  In the same case the                            prosecution said it's a quasi-criminal action                            while at trial another judge said he didn't                            know what kind of action it was and turned to                            the prosecution who said "it's quasi                            administrative".   In another case in Burbank                            the Judge siad it's a criminal action while                            the trial court judge said it's an infraction                            and when asked "so it's not criminal" she                            reiterated that it's an infraction.  The                            california supreme court says infractions                            aren't crimes, People v Battle.  The                            California Appellate court says infractions                            aren't crimes, People v Sava.  The Judicial                            council in their own annual reports say that                            infractions aren't crimes.  The Legislative                            committee on the revision of the penal code                            say that infractions aren't crimes.  From what                            I can tell.  If you take for example section                            4000(a)(1).  This is the law that requires                            registration. it appears to have all the                            qualities of a civil action.  
Code of Civil Procedure §24                                        “Action are of two kind:                        1. Civil; and,
2. Criminal
                         Code of Civil Procedure §25                                       “A civil action arises out of:                        1. An obligation;
2. An injury
                         Code of Civil Procedure §26                        “An obligation is a legal duty, by which one person is bound to do or not to do a certain thing, and arises from:
   One--Contract; or,                        Two--Operation of law”. In this particular it would appear that the requirement to register a vehicle is an obligation to not drive a motor vehicle unless the the vehicle has been registered and appropriate fees have been paid and this obligation come from an operation of law called california vehicle code section 4000(a)(1). This would certainly make this a civil action. Does the DMV have the same understanding and can you tell me if my analysis is correct? This issue really needs to get cleared up as many more people are running into similar problems with this uncertainty of the law. Thanks Ed Brotherton 818-376-9500
Subject: RE:                              Phone call earlier today
                              Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 14:06:25 -0700
                              From: Steve.Macias@dmv.ca.gov
                              To: edbrotherton@hotmail.com
Hello, I talked to an attorney here and he said for me to tell you to look in vehicle code book and sections 4000.1 thru 40903 should help you.
Steve Macias
Management Services Tech
Legal Affairs Division
916-657-6469
**************************************************************************************************************************
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
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From:                                    Ed Brotherton [mailto:edbrotherton@hotmail.com]                                    
                                    Sent: Tuesday, November 01,                                    2011 4:05 PM
                                    To: Macias, Steve@DMV
                                    Subject: Phone call earlier                                    today
Hi                                        Steve,
                                      
                                      Thanks for letting me email you                                        with some questions regarding the                                        nature of an infraction as it                                        relates to prosecutions.
                                      
                                      The reason this has become an                                        issue is because there is a huge                                        misunderstanding as to what kind                                        of action a traffic infraction                                        is.   California Code of Civil                                        Procedure Section 24 require                                        actions to be of two kind Criminal                                        and Civil. 
                                      
                                      I had a case where I had a                                        commissioner saying the infraction                                        I was being charged with was a                                        criminal action.  The judicial                                        councils owns literature such as                                        the Judicial Councils Annual                                        Report, The Legislative Council on                                        the Revision of the Penal Code and                                        case law such as People v. Sava                                        have all concluded that                                        infractions are not crimes, which                                        is what justifies the denial of a                                        trial by jury and court appointed                                        Counsel.  
                                        
                                        In that very same case a City                                        Attorney informed me that it was                                        Quasi-criminal but there is no law                                        to support that, that I know of.                                         An actual judge in the exact same                                        case admitted to not knowing at                                        all what kind of action it was.                                         When he turned to the City                                        Attorney's they said it was                                        Quasi-administrative.  Then when I                                        brought up the fact that according                                        to Los Angeles own city charter                                        the city attorney is only                                        authorized to prosecute for                                        misdemeanors.  The Judge at this                                        point said and I quote "Well,                                        they're not really prosecuting                                        this case.  The court will                                        sometimes call upon the city                                        attorney's office to assist in                                        certain cases".  How can the same                                        case be three different kinds of                                        actions?
                                        
                                        The other problem myself and many                                        others are running into is that                                        when one gets a notice to appear                                        there is nothing indicating who to                                        serve any motions on.  No                                        indication who the plaintiff is                                        and no indication who's                                        prosecuting the case etc.  So if                                        someone wants to file a Demur or                                        other type of motion, notice is                                        required but how can one give                                        notice when you you don't know who                                        to give notice to.  Can you please                                        provide some information that can                                        help me understand this better                                        because it really is making no                                        sense. 
                                        
                                        Thanks 
                                      
                                      Ed Brotherton
                                        818-376-9500


