Do I need to still attend the court if I paid off the traffic ticket?
No. By paying the ticket you are admitting guilt and there is no need for court to determine guilt, unless it’s a severe speeding violation (15+ miles in my state) in which you can lose your license over. But usually the police impound your vehicle then and take your license pending the court appearance. If you live in another state you can also pay a stand in lawyer to defend your case. (I can’t remember what they are actually called but basically they show up to court for you as a representative) If you have any doubts, call the department that issued the ticket and ask them?
How long do violations stay on your driving record? Where can I find out?
This is what my driving record looks like and I thought that the violations in 2003 would be off my record in 3 years, but apparently i was wrong. How long will this take? Does anyone know where I can look? I live in GA. 12/17/2003 Speeding 12/19/2003 At Fault Accident 12/19/2003 Failure to Yield 06/18/2004 Speeding 09/13/2004 Speeding 03/20/2006 At Fault Accident
I'm scared. I have to go to court for a traffic violation?
It depends on whether the court is in a big city or a small town. You will want to talk to the prosecutor as soon as you can, and before you see the judge to negotiate a no points fine, explaining that you were proceeding through a yellow when it turned red. The prosecutor will gladly agree to a compromise so that they can dispense with the case and take your money as quickly as possible. They know that you have no way of proving your innocence, so don't try to talk your way out of paying money. It would be your word against a police officer, and he will lie to make his quota. There will be dozens of other people just like you who got ticketed to fill a traffic quota. They are people just like you, so there is nothing to be nervous about. Once you talk to the prosecutor, usually in a room or office, they will do most of the talking in front of the judge. You just stand and look at the judge and answer the judges questions. He will quickly ask "are in pleading guilty because you are in fact guilty..." and a bunch of other questions that he is legally obligated to ask, and you pretty much just have to answer yes to them all. He will ask "how will you be paying" and he does not want to know cash or credit... he is asking if you need a payment plan. You can say "I'd like to pay $50 today and the rest in two weeks. Or whatever is comfortable with you. You may want to pay in full, so you don't have to remember to come back and pay the rest. That is between you and the judge. You can go get the money and come back the same day, before they close and it's okay, just don't say you will pay then not pay that day.
Going to court for a speeding ticket?
I ALWAYS go to court when I get a ticket. Usually I plead guilty with an explanation. In my state, if you go to court the judge will usually give you a fine but reduce or eliminate the points. My son had a ticket because he didn't get the emission inspection on his car. It's a $400 ticket. The judge reduced it to a $23 fine and court costs. $50 out the door. My last ticket the officer didn't show up so the judge threw it out. And I was going to plead guilty.
If a police officer wrote down the wrong information on your traffic ticket, such as writing the wrong birthday, would you still have to pay the fine?
The best approach, in my opinion, would be to go to the court, or call them and ask if they have any record of your citation. The post office doesn't always deliver mail correctly, and the courts dont always send out notices correctly. You still have to appear at the court on or before the date on the citation and you need to be able to prove that you appeared.A problem may occur if the court didn't receive a copy of the citation--even though they are supose to, they might not want to schedule an arraignment date for you, if they refuse you can talk to the DA's office and they may be willing to dismiss the case due to the court not receiving the citation. It is easier for them to do that than to try and find out what happened.If an arraigment date is set, it is often on the same day as you go in, you can tell the judge at the arraignmen that you received a notice made out to someone with your name but with a diffrent birth date, and ask that the ticket be dismissed. Don't lie but try to avoid admitting that the ticket is actually yours.In California there is a procedure for a trial by declaration, where you fill out a form and tell your side of the story on the form. I have never used it, but it gives you the opportunity to note that the ticket was to the "wrong" person because of the birth date error, without the court being able to ask any follow up questions, such as "but did you actually have an encounter with the police person"If the “trial by declaration” goes against you, you can ask for a trial before a judicial officer (judge or commissioner depending on the jurisdiction). There is a relatively short time to request this new trial so do it as soon as you received the notice of an adverse decision at the trial by declaration and either deliver it to the court clerk with a copy for the clerk to receipt and return to you or send it certified mail. A trial date will be set for a hearing, and the police person will have to come in, There is a possibility that the ticket issuer may not appear either order to avoid embarrassment or for some other reason in which case the judicial officer will almost always dismiss the case for want of prosecution.If you go trial and admit that the ticket was in fact handed to you, the birth date wouldn't be enough to get it dismissed. However, an error in citing the offence -- wrong code section -- clearly would, and a wrong location likely would.
If I'm late paying a traffic ticket will there be a warrant out for my arrest?
The worst part is likely you can’t pay the ticket anymore. You are in legal limbo. You are in contempt of court for not paying or contesting. But they aren’t so efficient that there’s a warrant out for your arrest right now, 8 hours after the deadline. Try to pay Monday, when you can. If the website is down, call the court and explain. The clerk will likely be able to suspend proceedings against you, and maybe take a credit card over the phone.Don’t stress. They aren’t efficient enough to issue a warrant for your arrest that quickly. Try again. If you can’t pay by Monday, call the court and talk to them.Some systems put you in the “to arrest” pile when you miss the date, and suspend your ability to pay, as you are no longer compliant with the terms of the citation. If that happens, you’ll have to talk to the court before you can pay. It doesn’t change the answer above, but when the website comes back up, you might still not be able to pay on the webpage.
Citations disposed failure to appear?
When you were issued the ticket, you had the choice of paying the entire fine on the spot, being taken to jail and posting a bond, or signing a solemn oath to pay later or contest the charges in court. When you broke your word of honor and refused to pay the fine or at least contest it in court a new criminal misdemeanor charge was added (failure to appear). Your driver's license was suspended in your home state and the fines were increases to the legal maximum. You may also need to pay extra court costs, interest and penalties.