By Nicole D. Ledesma
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed two six-year-old citations Wednesday, Oct. 21, after determining that the accused had been wrongly identified and criticizing law enforcement for failing to acknowledge a judicial clearance previously issued by the court.
Judge Scott R. Herin dismissed the citations after verifying the accused’s identity through a valid government-issued ID. Herin explained that the accused should not have been required to return to court because law enforcement had disregarded the judicial clearance he possessed at the time of a subsequent traffic stop.
The accused had received two citations in 2020 for trespassing and remaining in a park after hours. He explained that he was unaware of the citations until he was ordered to appear in court to address them. During those proceedings, he received a judicial clearance document for the first trespassing citation.
The accused explained that after being stopped for a minor traffic violation, a law enforcement officer issued a summons requiring him to appear in court for the citations associated with his name. The accused presented the judicial clearance document previously issued by the court, but the officer disregarded it, telling him he was required to appear in court for both citations.
Herin requested the accused’s driver’s license and the citations issued under his name to verify his identity. After the accused handed his identification to the bailiff, Herin compared the signatures and confirmed that they did not match. Based on the discrepancies between the signatures and the age of the six-year-old citations, Herin dismissed both citations.
Herin explained to the accused that law enforcement was at fault for failing to acknowledge the judicial clearance, forcing him to take time away from work to appear in court for violations he had not committed.
The accused asked Herin how the situation had occurred in the first place. Herin explained that the accused’s name was not uncommon and that individuals could easily provide false identifying information when receiving citations, which he determined had occurred in this case. The court issued minute orders documenting both dismissals.
“We issued the judicial clearance six years ago, the injustice occurred outside,” Herin commented after concluding the hearing.
Herin described the incident as “an abuse of power,” referring to law enforcement’s refusal to acknowledge the judicial clearance presented by an individual who had not committed the violations listed in the citations.
To comment please go to one of these social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisVanguard
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peoples-vanguard-of-davis-inc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davisvanguard/
X: https://x.com/davisvanguard
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vanguardnewsgroup.bsky.social
Subscribe to the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
