Q: GA law: If the citing officer does not sign the traffic ticket, is the ticket valid?
GA law: Is a traffic ticket automatically dismissed if the citing officer does not appear in court?
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A:
Even if it is not-the prosecutor can cure such a problem very quickly by simply filing their own accusation in court, which of course would be signed and valid.
As far as the officer appearing-officers are not usually subpoenaed to be in court for your initial appearance. On that day, you tell the court how you are pleading, and if you plead "not guilty," the court will then reset the case for a trial date where the officer will then be called in for trial. If the officer does not appear on trial date, you can make a motion for the case to be dismissed, but the court has the discretion to deny the motion and continue the case to a future date to give the officer another chance to appear. So, no-it is not "automatic." Whether or not that the court will dismiss often depends on the reason why the officer was not present. For example, if the court learns that the officer is involved in training or in the hospital with a medical issue, most courts would likely not hesitate to reset the case under such circumstances.
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