Jonathan Frieman contested his citation in Marin County Traffic Court on January 7th, 2013, stating that, because California's Vehicle Code §470 defines a "person" to not only mean "natural persons" but also "corporations," he was legally qualified to drive in the HOV lane with the incorporation papers of his family foundation, a nonprofit corpoartion organized under California state law. The incorporation papers in the seat next to him qualified as a person under that code section.

This was all a part of Frieman's plan--he had been purposefully driving in the carpool lane with a corporation as a passenger for 10 years. He'd never been caught because enforcement is so lax. 

Nevertheless, Frieman was still handed a "guilty" verdict and instructed to pay his $478 fine. Instead, he chose to appeal the Traffic Court's decision to Marin's Superior Court. Frieman and his attorney Ford Greene appealed the verdict to the Marin County Superior Court. In August of 2013, Judge Verna Adams denied the appeal. That decision will be posted as soon as Frieman figures out how to do that on this web site. 

He appealed Adams' decision to the next level, the California Court of Appeals. The Court also denied the appeal, with no reason given. Without funds, the case was dropped. To this day Frieman still drives in the carpool lane during restricted hours with incorporation papers on his cell phone.