Is it worth it to go to court for a traffic ticket? It’s not a speeding ticket.?
I asked a similar question yesterday, but now have followups:
I got a ticket for turning right on red with a posted no turn on red sign in Illinois. I've never gotten a ticket before, and I honestly didn't even see the sign. I have two options:
1. Plead guilty, pay a higher fine and go to traffic school (supposedly it will not go on my record)
2. Go to court
The officer was telling me if I went to court, chances are they would throw out the ticket entirely. I can afford the fine, and I don't really mind having to sit through traffic school. But, would it be better for my record to try to get it thrown out entirely? What would I have to do in court? Would I have to say anything? Would I have to argue my case? If I go to court and the judge does find me guilty, will I then get the option to pay the fine and go to traffic school and not get the ticket on my record?
When will I get my license back? I need it soon because I rent cars for work travel.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
Seems your charged with disregarding a fixed traffic signal. You can go to court, if the officer doesn’t show, then the case will be dismissed. If the officer is there, then its your word against the officer and you loose. If you choose driving school, or a deferral program, then you pay the ticket with an additional charge. The benefit is that the infraction is not reported to your insurance and usually after a period of 1 year it is erased from your record. This being you don’t have another moving violation.
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
Just go to traffic school.
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
in that you know you’re guilty, bite the bullet and got to
traffic school — pleading a case that you know to be
against you is putting your chips on the wrong hand.
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
They confiscated your license for making an illegal right hand turn!!?
There has to be more to this. When is the sequel going to be posted?
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
I had a ticket once where I had the choice of going to an office and just paying a fine, or going before the judge.
I chose to go before the judge because I felt I had extenuating circumstances.
I believe I was fortunate in being after a long line of dozens of other motorists who ALL had extenuating circumstances, many of which I thought were much more reasonable than mine.
The judge was not accepting any of the excuses or explanations … everyone was charged as guilty, and it seemed to me that the more of the judge’s time they took, the higher the fines. So I pleaded no contest.
I was not admitting guilt, I was not fighting it any more.
I got the minimum fine.
The only case the judge threw out was where a person was ticketed for doing SLOWER than the TOP speed limit. The judge asked if the officer was in court to explain this (either it was a slow driver & the ticket did not say that, or the officer had made an error filling out the ticket) but the officer was not in court, so the ticket got thrown out.
Seems to me there were very few police officers in the court. In the vast majority of cases, the police officer was not there, the ticket written by the officer was taken by the judge to be gospel truth. It was only when there was something strange on the ticket that the judge wanted to ask the officer involved anything about it.
It was pretty obvious to me that the judge had a humongous number of traffic ticket cases & wanted to move us all along as rapidly as practical.
That’s one traffic court. My experience is limited to two times in court … the other time was not a traffic incident but a charge of improperly crossing union picket line.
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
If you go to court then you will end up not only paying for the fine but also paying court costs. Court costs may be MORE than your fine.
Just pay it and go on
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
They took your driver’s license for a traffic violation? I’m glad I don’t live in your State.
If you go to court, it’s a crap-shoot. You’ve already stated that you violated the law. Unless there’s a fatal flaw in how the traffic citation was made out (and you probably need an attorney to properly address the fact to a judge), the charge will stand and "maybe" you’d get a reduction of the fine since you have no prior tickets. The charge might be dismissed if the judge has a looney day, but don’t count on it.
Traffic school will expunge the citation from your record. Chances are, going to court will create a permanent record.
I’d opt for the Traffic School, or retain an attorney who is reputable and has a good track record of winning traffic cases for his clients – even then it’s not a guarantee.
September 5th, 2009 - 10:42
No, it is better to plead guilty . It is very unlike;y that you will win in court.