Traffic court question (help?)\

[Krugger]

This isn't a help me get out of a ticket thread, just a procedural question.
I have to go to court tomorrow b/c i got pulled over for a headlight out, and then the cop found my licensed had expired. i had no idea of course, not that its any excuse. but she told me since i had a clean record i could go and try to plead it down to a failure to show documents. my question is how does one do that? do i go beforehand and talk to the DA or do i have to plead not guilty first and then talk to someone? (i was told the latter by a friend...)
Update:
Never was supposed to appear, should've just been able to pay by mail, there wasn't even anything to knock it down too like the cop told me. cost me the court costs and missed halfday's work. :|

 

[Lady In Red]

It really depends on where you live.

In my little part of the world (NC) you can go before the DA before court and speak with him. They usually have the ones that has received a ticket to line up before the other cases are heard. (Before the judge comes out.)

Make sure you have those license renew, and they may just drop it since it's your first offense.

 

[lozina]

In my area I would discuss this matter with the court Clerk

 

[Krugger]

thanks

 

[eLiTeGoodGuy]

yeah, here we don't have a DA that you would speak to for traffic court. You and a cop go into a court room and speak to a judge. He give 3 Options, Guilty, Not Guilty, Guilty with explanation.

If your is similar to ours what I would do is have your head light fixed (save your receipt), and renew your license. Then plead Guilty with explanation, generally when its a matter of simple oversight like that he usually dismisses it as long as your all caught up and everything has been corrected. You just pay court fees

 

[yellowvespa]

C'mon .. she was giving you a hint >>> Get the license renewed before you go to court. Tell them the truth, that it was an oversight on your part and you have since corrected it (and the headlamp). They will usually drop it all (unless you look like Manson) and let you walk with a slap on the wrist.

 

[Krugger]

yes. i'm aware she was telling me to get the license renewed. that i did the next day, along with replacing the headlight, which she didn't ticket me for. the problem was, she didn't know what she was talking about. there is nothing to knock it down to, as expired license is expired license. in fact, i wasn't even supposed to appear, i should've been able to mail in my payment and be done with it, but either the officer or the secretary screwed up, and put that i was never licensed rather than expired, so i had to take off a half a day of work, and pay an extra $40 in court costs to get it straightened out. and when i said DA i meant Prosecutor. The P came out before court and talked to the people with common things like speeding/uninsured/suspended license etc. but anyways, thanks for the thoughts.

 

[QTPie]

For that kind of ticket, you just go to a regular casual traffic court, like a hearing rather than the type of court that you see on TV.

The judge there, sometimes they're not even judge (that you call him/her by "Honorable" , not "Judge"). S/He will process each case in less than 10 min. Basically, s/he will pick ur document from the pile, call you up (normally you'll stand in front of a table, not the one u see on TV) and read the violations to you. You'll either say "Guilty, not guilty, no contest, or traffic school". That's it.

If you're pleading NOT GUILTY. You'll be appointed another court date where the police officer who gave you the ticket will show up and both of you will explain the whole thing to the judge.

Other than that, you're done. Just pay the fine and leave.

I got ticket for a busted head light b4. I placed it. The day I went to the court, I showed my fixed headlight to another police officer that I saw in the parking lot, and he signed it ON THE BACK OF THE TICKET proving that I fixed it. I showed that to the judge, paid $10 and left. You should do the same thing and don't forget to show him that you already renewed your license as well.

It's very simple and easy. Don't be nervous. Good luck!

BTW, I'm from Calif.

 

[OrByte]

Originally posted by: QTPie
For that kind of ticket, you just go to a regular casual traffic court, like a hearing rather than the type of court that you see on TV.

The judge there, sometimes they're not even judge (that you call him/her by "Honorable" , not "Judge"). S/He will process each case in less than 10 min. Basically, s/he will pick ur document from the pile, call you up (normally you'll stand in front of a table, not the one u see on TV) and read the violations to you. You'll either say "Guilty, not guilty, no contest, or traffic school". That's it.

If you're pleading NOT GUILTY. You'll be appointed another court date where the police officer who gave you the ticket will show up and both of you will explain the whole thing to the judge.

Other than that, you're done. Just pay the fine and leave.

I got ticket for a busted head light b4. I placed it. The day I went to the court, I showed my fixed headlight to another police officer that I saw in the parking lot, and he signed it ON THE BACK OF THE TICKET proving that I fixed it. I showed that to the judge, paid $10 and left. You should do the same thing and don't forget to show him that you already renewed your license as well.

It's very simple and easy. Don't be nervous. Good luck!

BTW, I'm from Calif.

hey thanks ! I gotta do this soon for expired tags. So it isnt a judge in a court, its more like a service desk?

so I don't have to call him/her 'your honor' ?