California Highway Patrol v. Superior Court

Lascher & Lascher, Wendy Cole Lascher, Ventura, for Real Party in Interest, Richard J. Quigley.

Vehicle Code section 27803, subdivision (b) (hereafter section 27803(b)) requires motorcycle drivers and their passengers to wear safety helmets when riding. [1] The issue in this case is whether a violation of the statute is a correctable infraction, that is, one for which law enforcement authorities may issue a correction citation or "fix-it" ticket. We conclude that a violation of the statute is potentially a correctable offense.

Real party in interest Richard J. Quigley (Quigley) received nine citations from Watsonville Police officers and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers for operating a motorcycle without a proper safety helmet in violation of 27803(b). The record shows that on each occasion, Quigley was wearing either no helmet or a baseball cap embroidered with the letters DOT. After a hearing on January 24, 2005, the trial court deemed all violations to be correctable offenses. On May 20, 2005, the court ordered the CHP to "sign off on certificates of correction for five of Quigley's citations if and when he presented to CHP a helmet bearing a DOT…