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We have established a Muni Fare Strike Legal Team, which will be working in conjunction with the National Lawyers Guild, to provide legal support during the fare strike. The team will provide volunteer legal representation for people who might get fare evasion tickets or have other legal consequences during the course of the strike. The team includes both lawyers and legal workers experienced in providing legal support. If you call the legal team and get voicemail, please leave a message that includes your name and your telephone number. The legal team will call you back. Some people may get tickets for fare evasion during the strike. Fare evasion is an "infraction," similar to parking tickets. In San Francisco, an individual charged with fare evasion is fined $35 for the first conviction, $55 for the second conviction, and $75 for the third or additional offenses. Community service in lieu of fines is an option. A person can not go to jail for simple fare evasion. The San Francisco fare evasion law is San Francisco Traffic Code Section 127(d). Of course, you have to be convicted of fare evasion before any fine can be imposed. Our legal team will do everything they can to get fare evasion tickets dismissed, using the same legal techniques that lawyers use both when fighting traffic tickets, and when defending people who engage in civil disobedience actions. If you get a ticket, call the legal team as soon as possible. They will explain to you how to give them the information they need to prepare your defense. People who get tickets can, of course, handle their own defense if they wish. However, you stand a much better chance of getting the ticket dismissed if you let the legal team handle it. Whether or not you choose to be represented by the legal team, we recommend that anyone who gets a ticket plead not guilty and fight the ticket. It is possible that some people may have legal issues, as a result of the fare strike, which go beyond fare evasion tickets. Anybody in this situation should call the legal team. The legal team is committed to helping everyone who has legal problems as a result of the fare strike. Hopefully, additional legal problems will be avoided or minimized if you don't create a scene. If you want to read more about your legal rights, a good place to start is at www.midnightspecial.net/materials/basiclegalinfo.html. Remember, the legal team will do everything it can to make fare evasion tickets go away. If you get a ticket, call the legal team as soon as possible... [Please note: The Muni Fare Strike Legal Team is no longer in operation.] | ||
