Do not rush to pay your traffic ticket

So you got a traffic ticket. What do you do now? There are two choices: plead guilty and pay the fine or plead not guilty.

Don’t rush to pay the fine and accept the consequences. Always plead not guilty and ask for an arraignment. Even if you ran the stop sign or were actually speeding you should initially plead not guilty at the arraignment hearing. Odds are that sometime during the process moving from arraignment to trial, the matter will be dismissed or you will pay less than the full fine.

Contact the Court and ask for the arraignment by the date written on your ticket. If you ignore the ticket, the next thing you may get in the mail is a warrant for your arrest. You can enter your plea by going to the clerk’s office. You will pay nothing and will be assigned an arraignment date at which you will plead not guilty.

At the arraignment, you will be told what laws you violated and given the opportunity to plead not guilty. You will not be able present facts to show your innocence, because the officer will not be there to present his or her side of the story. One of the judge's goals at the arraignment is to close cases; thus, he or she will likely offer to significantly reduce your fine in exchange for a guilty plea. If you are happy with the reduced fine--go ahead and plead guilty at this time.

If you plead not guilty, a court date will be set. A couple of week before the date, use registered mail to request a continuance to move the trial date to a later day. Courts routinely grant continuances for work conflicts, school schedules, health problems, vacations and the need for more preparation time. A continuance makes it more likely that the officer will have a conflict with the new date and won’t be able to appear in court. In many states 25%-35% of the traffic cases are dismissed because the officer is not present at the hearing.

If you go to your hearing and the officer is present, be prepared to fight your ticket. Review the statute and the relevant portion of drivers’ manual. You and the officer will each tell your sides of the story, and the judge will decide whether or not you are guilty However, before your case is called, ask the prosecutor for a reduced fine or a reduction in the charges. Many times your request will be granted and you’ll have achieved your goal.

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Do not rush to pay your traffic ticket

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