I haven't received my bail letter for a traffic infraction! What now?

[choviohoya]

I'm a California resident and I got a ticket for speeding AND rolling a stop sign. BUT I still haven't received my bail letter in the mail and I know that this is a necessary procedure in the court of law. My court date is on 7/7/11 but how do I post bail if I don't even know it. My dad says I'm okay but I wanna be sure. So what now? Am I free? Plus my dad says that they usually mail you the letter 3 weeks before the scheduled court date on the ticket. Its like a week before my court date.

[warton26]

A "bail letter" is most certainly NOT a "necessary procedure." It is called a "courtesy notice," and it is sent as a courtesy--it is not legally compelled. What IS legally compelled is that you appear in court on or before the date you promised to appear. However, you should be able to take care of this online (unless you are a juvenile in a county with a juvenile traffic court, in which case you will have to appear with a parent and probably will not get a courtesy notice). Go to your court's web site, and then follow the "traffic" links.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/find-my-court.htm