Should I fight my ticket?
1 out of 50 people contest their tickets.
Some things that you may want to consider before deciding if you want to fight your ticket:
-Will my insurance rate increase?
-Will I increase the chance of losing my license?
– Can I get my case dismissed by attending traffic school?
-Do I really want to spend the time and effort to fight for my ticket effectively?
Take into account some of these tips:
– One way to beat traffic tickets is to request a trial with the police officer present. You will then be able to get the ticket dismissed if the officer does not show on the day of court.
(This doesn’t always work)
– It is important to know that even if the officer does not show “guilt” and “innocence” is a matter of interpretation.
(This all depends on the violation)
– It is possible that you might not be guilty of a particular violation even if you think you are.
(It can very well be possible that you didn’t do all the things that the prosecution is accusing you of he/she must prove this in order to convict you of a violation)
The time and effort to fight a ticket all depends on (a) the kind of violation you are charged with, (b) the extent to which you want to fight it, and (c) the distance between the court and your home.
Parking Violations: Parking violations are a unique procedure many times you handle the steps by mail. Since parking tickets do not go on your driving record then you may not want to fight a parking violation.
Infractions: For infractions one has multiple ways of fighting:
a) You can fight your ticket to the hilt
b) Bypass Arraignment and go to trial
c) Trial by written declaration
d) An informal hearing
e) Traffic school
f) Pay the fine
Equipment Violations: For equipment violations you have no choice, but to have the defect corrected. You must show certification by a specific time to the court. If you feel that the equipment wasn’t defective from the beginning you will still need to show certification.
Misdemeanors: For a misdemeanor you must appear at arraignment even if you simply want to plead guilty. If you want to fight a misdemeanor you will have the choice of either a jury trial or a trial before the judge. (If you are charged with a misdemeanor you should consider hiring a lawyer)
