If you get a traffic ticket in Oakland, an Alameda County judge told KTVU the odds are good you can beat it if you fight the violation in court. As long as the enforcing officer does not show up for your court date.

Judge Taylor Culver has been on the bench in Alameda County Traffic Court for more than a year.  He estimated that Oakland police officers fail to show up in his courtroom about 40 percent of the time.

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said last year the department became aware that it had a problem after it audited police attendance in court for several days.

"We ended up finding about five or six officers that did not show up to court that didn't have legitimate reasons," said Chief Jordan.

Chadae Terry has been in Oakland's traffic court twice.  She was cited for making an illegal left-hand turn.

"Oakland officers will not show up," said Terry.  Both her cases were dismissed.

"Word on the street is, just say 'Not guilty' and nine times out of ten, the officer won't show up," said Terry. "A lot of people know that already."

The two traffic courts in Oakland hear 32,000 cases a year.  Not all of the cases are from Oakland police. Many are from the California Highway Patrol.

"There are a substantial number of officers from the California Highway Patrol that do show up," said Judge Culver. "But my view of that is that's their job."

The CHP told KTVU that the court notifies them when an officer fails to appear and the officer is then disciplined. 

It turned out that the Oakland Police Department didn't even have plans for a similar system until KTVU started asking questions about traffic court attendance.  Now, department officials said such a plan is in the works to be implemented.

The court used to issue the subpoenas via email, but not all of the departments were on board with that plan. So the court reverted to the old system where the subpoenas are put in a mail file and stored at the courthouse.

That means a court liaison from the Oakland Police Department has to walk across the street to pick up the subpoenas. Court officials told KTVU that was not happening on a regular basis.

"Those are things my staff's gonna be working on to make sure that we receive the subpoenas and serve the officers in a more timely fashion," said Chief Jordan. The judge said two-thirds of people who get traffic tickets chose to come to court.

"Either you believe that the person broke the law and you should follow it through. Or they didn't, and you shouldn't write a ticket," said Judge Culver. The judge also believes there is another motive for those who come to court.

"If you lose, you're still charged with the $480 ticket. If you win, you're $480 dollars richer," said Judge Culver.

There is no track record of financial losses due to officers not showing.

"We've asked the county to let us know on a daily basis when officers are not attending, so we can take appropriate action," said Chief Jordan.

The judge said officers from other police departments in Alameda County also sometimes fail to appear.  For Herman Watson, who got his ticket in Berkeley, the officer no-show was good news at a good time. 

"I feel great! That's $500 there at Christmas! I'm a student in the Bay Area, so this is good news," said Watson.