A. Issuance Of Citation:
1. Police officers are hereby authorized to give notice to persons violating provisions of this title by delivering citations to violators or, in cases where vehicles without drivers are parked or stopped in violation of this title, by affixing such citations to the vehicles by means of which the violation occurred. Such citations, among other things, shall bear briefly the charge, shall bear the registration number of the vehicle, and shall direct the violator to present the citation at the police station or other designated place within five (5) days or such other reasonable time as may be specified thereon.
2. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to abridge the power of a police officer to arrest any violator and take him into custody.
3. The city manager may require that the police officers use citations furnished by the finance department and that such citations are serially numbered, and may regulate the use and handling of the citations. (1985 Code § 15-220; amd. 2003 Code)
B. Failure To Obey Citation: It is unlawful and an offense for any person to violate his written promise to appear, given to an officer upon the issuance of a traffic citation, regardless of the disposition of the charge for which citation was originally issued. (1985 Code § 15-221)
C. Failure To Comply With Parking Citation: If a violator of the restrictions on stopping, standing, or parking under the traffic laws or ordinances does not appear in response to a traffic citation affixed to such motor vehicle within a period of five (5) days, the clerk of the municipal court may send to the owner of the motor vehicle to which the traffic citation was affixed a letter informing him of the violation and warning him that in the event such letter is disregarded for a period of five (5) days, a warrant of arrest may be issued. On any occasion where two (2) or more such traffic citations have been affixed on the same motor vehicle and the traffic citations have been disregarded, a warrant of arrest may be issued without sending the letter provided in this subsection. (1985 Code § 15-222)
D. Presumption In Reference To Illegal Parking:
1. In any prosecution charging a violation of any law or regulation governing the standing or parking of a vehicle, proof that the particular vehicle described in the complaint was parked in violation of any law or regulation, together with proof that the defendant named in the complaint was at the time of the parking the registered owner of the vehicle, shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person who parked or placed the vehicle at the point where, and for the time during which, the violation occurred.
2. The presumption in subsection D1 of this section shall apply only when the procedure as prescribed in this section has been followed. (1985 Code § 15-223)
E. Illegal Cancellation Of Traffic Citations: It is unlawful for any person to cancel or solicit the cancellation of any traffic citation in any manner other than is provided by this section. (1985 Code § 15-224)
F. Disposition And Records Of Citations, Warrants, Complaints:
1. Every police officer, upon issuing a traffic citation to an alleged violator of any provision of the motor vehicle laws of this state or any traffic law of the city, shall deposit the original and a duplicate copy of the citation with his immediate superior officer, who shall cause the original to be delivered to the municipal court.
2. Upon the filing of the original citation in the municipal court, the citation may be disposed of only by trial in the court or by other official action by a judge of the court, including forfeiture of bail or by payment of a fine.
3. The chief of police shall maintain a record of all warrants issued by the municipal court which are delivered to the police department for service, and of the final disposition of the warrants.
4. No member of the police department or other officer or public employee shall dispose of, alter, or deface a traffic citation or any copy thereof, or the record of, the issuance or disposition of any traffic citation, complaint, or warrant, in a manner other than as required in this section. (1985 Code § 15-225)
G. Court Records; Abstract Sent To State:
1. The municipal judge shall keep a record of every traffic citation deposited with or presented to the court and shall keep a record of every official action by the court in reference thereto, including, but not limited to, a record of every conviction, forfeiture of bail, judgment of acquittal, and the amount of fine or forfeiture. (1985 Code § 15-226; amd. 2003 Code)
2. Within ten (10) days after the conviction or forfeiture of bail of a person upon a charge of violating any provision of this title or other law regulating the operation of vehicles on highways, the municipal judge or clerk of the court in which the conviction was had or bail was forfeited shall prepare and immediately forward to the state department of public safety a certified abstract of the court's record of the case. An abstract need not be made of any conviction involving the illegal parking or standing of a vehicle.
3. The abstract must be made upon a form furnished by the state department of public safety and shall include the name and address of the party charged, the number of his operator's or chauffeur's license, the registration number of the vehicle involved, the nature of the offense, the date of hearing, the plea, the judgment, whether bail was forfeited, and the amount of the fine or forfeiture. (1985 Code § 15-226)