Aliso Viejo Municipal Code Art. I General Penalty

A. Any person violating any of the provisions of this code or any other ordinance of the city or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency, under authority duly vested in such officer or agency by the city, shall, unless otherwise specified, be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided, that where the city attorney or other prosecutor determines that such action would be in the interests of justice, the city attorney or other prosecutor may prosecute any such offense as an infraction. In the event a notice to appear is prepared as a misdemeanor pursuant to AVMC 1.06.030, the city attorney or other prosecutor may nonetheless prosecute any such offense as an infraction.

B. Any person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation of any of the provisions of this code or any other ordinance of the city or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency, under authority duly vested in such officer or agency by the city, shall, unless otherwise specified, be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for a period of not more than six months or by both such fine and imprisonment, and shall be ordered to correct such violation.

C. Any person convicted of an infraction for a violation of any of the provisions of this code or any other ordinance of the city or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency, under authority duly vested in such officer or agency by the city, shall, unless otherwise specified, be punishable by:

1. A fine not exceeding $100.00 for a first violation;

2. A fine not exceeding $200.00 for a second violation of the same code provision, ordinance, rule, regulation, or order within a period of one year;

3. A fine not exceeding $500.00 for each additional violation of the same code provision, ordinance, rule, regulation, or order within one year.

D. An infraction is not punishable by imprisonment. A person charged with an infraction shall not be entitled to a trial by jury. A person charged with an infraction shall not be entitled to have the public defender or other counsel appointed at public expense to represent him or her unless he or she is arrested and not released on his or her written promise to appear, his or her own recognizance, or a deposit of bail.

E. Except as otherwise provided by law, all provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply to infractions including, but not limited to, powers of peace officers, jurisdiction of courts, periods for commencing action and for bringing a case to trial and burden of proof.

F. Penalties imposed pursuant to this chapter shall not be deemed exclusive. When applicable, the city shall have the right to enforce the provisions of this code by civil process, including injunction, issuance of administrative citations, and all other civil remedies.

G. Whenever in this code or any other ordinance of the city or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the city under authority duly vested in such officer or agency, any act or omission is made unlawful, it shall include causing, permitting, aiding or abetting such act or omission.

H. It is a separate violation of this code for any responsible party to advertise an activity or use that is itself a violation of this code and that is advertised to take place within the city. For purposes of this subsection (H), a “responsible party” includes the property owner, business owner, operator, manager, lessor, lessee, and any other person that conducts or offers to conduct the illegal activity or use, but it does not include a person who publishes the advertisement, such as a newspaper publisher or online booking service. [Ord. 2019-210 § 3; Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].

For purposes of this chapter, each person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this code or any other ordinance of the city or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the city under authority duly vested in such officer or agency is committed, continued or permitted by such person and shall be punishable accordingly. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].

A. If any person is arrested for a violation of any provision of this code or any other ordinance of the city, and such person is not immediately taken before a magistrate, as more fully set forth in the California Penal Code, the arresting officer shall prepare, in duplicate, a written notice to appear in court, containing the name and address of such person, the offense charged, and the time and place where and when such person shall appear in court.

B. The time specified in the notice to appear must be at least 10 days after the arrest.

C. The place specified in the notice to appear shall be a court within the county of Orange which has jurisdiction of the offense and which is nearest and most accessible with reference to the place where the arrest is made.

D. The officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to the arrested person and the arrested person, in order to secure release, must give his written promise to appear in court by signing the duplicate notice which shall be retained by the officer. Thereupon the arresting officer shall forthwith release the person arrested from custody.

E. The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate notice with the court specified therein. The defendant may, prior to the date upon which he promised to appear in court, deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail set by the magistrate. Thereafter, at the time when the case is called for arraignment before the magistrate, if the defendant shall not appear, either in person or by counsel, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited, and may in his discretion order that no further proceedings shall be had in such case. Upon the making of such order that no further proceedings be had, all sums deposited as bail shall forthwith be paid into the county treasury for distribution pursuant to California Penal Code Section 1463.

F. No warrant shall issue on such charge for the arrest of a person who has given such written promise to appear in court, unless and until he has violated such promise or has failed to deposit bail, to appear for arraignment, trial or judgment, or to comply with the terms and provisions of the judgment as required by law.

G. When a person signs a written promise to appear at the time and place specified thereon and has not posted bail as provided in AVMC 1.06.030(E), the magistrate shall issue and have delivered for execution a warrant for his arrest within 20 days after his failure to appear as promised, or if such person promises to appear before an officer authorized to accept bail other than the magistrate and fails to do so on or before the date which he promised to appear, then, within 20 days after the delivery of such written promise to appear by the officer to the magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense.

H. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed or construed to require any arresting officer to issue a notice to appear instead of taking the person arrested before a magistrate as otherwise provided by law. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].