Last year, I got a ticket from the police for violating a pedestrian redlight signal. They issued the ticket to me but spelled my name wrong. I emailed them to fight it in court, and now they have just sent it to my address for a hearing date. Should I go? Since the ticket is not issued in my name, I feel that it is not applicable to me.
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Whatever crime or infraction you are charged with, it applies to you personally however they spell your name and however you spell your name. Whether or not you should go depends on the alternative that you face (large fine or jail time for failure to appear?). An argument that you didn't commit the offence because they misspelled your name would hold zero water.
user6726
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If your sole defense to the charge is that they spelled your name wrong, then pay the fine and move on. They have at least two pieces of identifying information: your name, and your address. If it is a gross misspelling, such as "zzyx" instead of "John," you might have an argument. But if it's "Jon" instead of "John," it's close enough. Unless there happens to be someone else living at your address whose name matches the misspelling, then "close enough" will be good enough. How could you reasonably deny it's not you?
Mohair
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