Receiving a citation isn’t fun. Maybe you’re used to slowly rolling past the corner stop sign near home, and an officer happens to be nearby watching. 
BOOM! Citation. What if you find a great parking spot and misread the parking sign? You parked from 3 pm – 5 pm when those are the restricted hours? It doesn’t matter if the mistake was an honest one BOOM, there’s a citation on the windshield.
Most citations are pretty straight-forward, you break the law, you pay a price. Some folks may want to appeal a fine in small claims court. Maybe they hope that the officer doesn’t show up which would dismiss a ticket right then and there. Either way, it’s pretty clear how the process works. When it comes to appealing a Bureau of Automotive Repair citation, things are a bit messier. BAR representatives may want to schedule a “citation conference” with your SMOG shop technician before going to court. Consider this the equivalent of a “bad date.” They don’t care about your wellbeing. It’s their job to be persuasive and gain an advantage.
BAD INTENTIONS: A BUREAU OF AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR CITATION MEETING IS NOT ABOUT YOU
It’s important to know, a “citation conference” Is a one-sided meeting. The BAR is in the business of shutting down SMOG shops. Your STAR certification is on the line. If they can influence you to drop a court appeal, they’ve gained an advantage. So please ignore the “helpful advice” and fake concern for your business. This isn’t a simple traffic ticket. A Bureau of Automotive Repair representative could say the citation won’t affect a STAR certification, but that can change in court.
As auto defense lawyers, we can’t count how many times we’ve heard the regrets of auto techs who believed in what a BAR representative told them. They didn’t appeal, and they ended up losing their STAR certification. There are several steps technicians and auto shop owners must pay attention to before arriving in court. To learn more about the real process feel free to review the Bureau of Automotive Repair Citation video. Attorney William Ferreira breaks down the truth about what you hear in a citation conference, and the real process designed to strip SMOG shops from their STAR certifications. Get the facts and don’t let the Bureau of Automotive Repair break your heart.