california traffic immigration criminal-record
Is not having a valid car insurance a misdemeanor in Orange County, California?
<p>My doubt arises after having received correspondence back from the Superior Court of California
County of Orange. I pleaded guilty on a traffic ticket I had pending since three years ago only  after asking repeatedly if this could constitute a misdemeanor to the OC court phone line operators and ensured that no, that it was just &quot;a traffic ticket&quot;. However in the notice I see references to misdemeanors/felonies. I am not concerned about the penalty amount but the fact that having a misdemeanor in my record could affect my application for permanent residency (I am an immigrant applying for a Green Card). Below, I attach excerpts of the transcript:</p>
<p><em>The Court is in receipt of the correspondence submitted electronically for the above case and the following was determined:</em></p>
<p>...</p>
<ul>
<li><em>To the Original Citation defendant pleads GUILTY to all counts.</em></li>
</ul>
<p>...</p>
<ul>
<li><em><strong>Pay Criminal Conviction Assessment Fee per convicted count of $30.00 per misdemeanor/felony and $35.00 per infraction pursuant to Government Code 70373(a)(1).</strong></em></li>
<li><em>Civil Assessment pursuant to Penal Code 1214.1 imposed on ... to remain</em></li>
</ul>
<p>...</p>
<p>Does this indicate that I have plead guilty to a misdemeanor?</p>

<p>According to <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&amp;division=7.&amp;title=&amp;part=&amp;chapter=1.&amp;article=2" rel="noreferrer">Vehicle Code 19029</a>, this is an infraction and not a misdemeanor. <a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-70373.html" rel="noreferrer">Government Code 70373</a> lumps criminal and traffic offenses together in adding a $35 processing fee, hence the mildly concerning language.</p>
