Hi all,

I got a speeding ticket for 83mph in a 50mph up here in the Bay Area, and I went to the traffic court and pleaded not guilty (to one of the clerks - not in the official court room). So they gave me a court date for Sept. 13th (next Monday)....

Just curious on how the process works. What should I expect when I go in on Monday? Do I go straight into the court room and plead guilty or not guilty, and then they give me an official trial date? Do I talk to the DA first to plea bargin? I would rather get some off the side info here, rather than calling up the traffic court and asking... Please advise.

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if you already plead, then this might be your official time in court to defend yourself... i think u need to go prepared with your case...

if not, then you just say "not guilty" and the judge sets an official court date to defend yourself...

many people make the mistake of fighting a case when they have the option to take traffic school... this is the way to go, if you havent gone to traffic school in 18 months... if you can, GO TO TRAFFIC SCHOOL! it ensures that insurance won't get notified of your ticket... fighting a ticket is not always the best thing to do. if you do, then just pray that the cop doesnt show!

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www.ticketassassin.com

---------------------------------------------------------
RIP
1994 accord coupe ex
269whp / 281wtq @ 14psi

now....
a happy driver of a TB 6mt w/ navi

 

i agree, if you can go to traffic school, then just go and don't waste your time in court. it appears that with your case, you really can't get off since you were truly speeding. the only thing you can hope for is for the cop to not show up or to reduce the fine. of course, i could be wrong and you can always hire a lawyer to work something out for you. but honestly, i don't think it's worth the trouble. traffic school is done online now at your own pace. you only have to come in to take the test. i've gone to court before and the cop showed up and brought in giant diagrams to prove his case. in the end, it was his word against mine. so i lost but got the fine reduced slightly.

just remember that if you fight it, you will have to take time off of work and may still lose and be unable to take traffic school.

 

this is what happens....

1 - you go to court....
2 - you look for the courtroom that is handling the cases for the day
3 - they post a list of all the cases being heard for the day
4 - at a specific time, the bailiff opens up the court room and everyone enters, including the police officers
5 - everyone is sworn in
6 - the cases go in the order they are listed
7 - when it is your turn, you get out of your seat and sit in the defendant table
8 - judge lets the cop tell his side of the story
9 - judge lets you tell your side of the story
10 - based on the testimony, he will give his ruling

when you tell your story, you can ask the cop questions and plead for the court's mercy and ask him to reduce the fine and/or give you traffic school. judge will be more lenient if this is your first speeding ticket

good luck....

Golden Gate G35 Club

 

"when you tell your story, you can ask the cop questions and plead for the court's mercy and ask him to reduce the fine and/or give you traffic court."

whats traffic court??

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Thank you to everyone for your advice. Here is some more details:

1) I only talked to the clerk on this speeding ticket when I went to traffic court the first time. She gave me the date to appear in court...

- I tried calling the traffic court about a month ago because I wanted to get information on how to submit a "motion for discovery" and the lady said that I cannot submit that request until I enter a plea at my court appearance (guess that answers the first question)...

- This is complicated because I have another speeding ticket pending... Therefore, I have two that are still open:

Speeding: 83 in a 50 mph
Speeding: 83 in a 65 mph

Since both were in Cali, I am guarenteed to go to traffic school on the second one, and I have requested a 60-day extension so that I can deal with that one after my court date for the first ticket. So, I am hoping that either the cop doesn't show up or they do not send me the materials that I will request in discovery for the first ticket. If this fails, how do I ask the judge to reduce my sentence?

I just need traffic school on one of the tickets.... Thanks for everyone's inputs.

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heres another way to get out of the ticket...

do a "Trial by Declaration" which means that instead of showing up to court, you write them your statement, then the cop writes his/ her statement and then the judge reads both and judges based on the letters... if the judge says youre guilty, then you can decline this and go straight to court and act like the "Trial by Declaration" never even happened. you get a second chance! i did it this way and won because the cop never sent in his/ her statement...

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"plead for the court's mercy and ask him to reduce the fine and/or give you traffic court."

I'd be careful about doing this. If you are fighting on principle then the judge may feel you may not have as much credibility. A person who truly feels they are not guilty is probably not going to ask for leniancy, but rather be intent on having the charges dropped. Its a double edge sword. I may reserve asking for mercy if the case doesn't appear to be going too well for you. Of course, different judges will see this differently. If the judge renders a decision then, you might ask for leniency after he determines if you are guilty of the charges or not. Not sure what the best option might be, but if I were a judge, I'd be looking for clues as to the reason you are fighting the charge. Asking for leniency in the fine may come off like you are just trying to reduce the fine. I'm not sure of your point of argument though so it's tough to say.

 

In California, traffic court is where you go if you want to fight your ticket. Just like a regular court room, except they only deal with traffic related cases...

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but what drsifu1 said, wouldnt you already be in traffic court in steps 1-10?? why would you tell your story, THEN go to traffic court??? you would already be in traffic court telling your story to the judge... im a bit confused...

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I understand the confusion:

Taffic Court - where you present your case and you have a judge

Traffic School - this is like a defensive driving class, whereby in California you are allowed to take this once every 18 months and it erases the ticket from your record (some infractions do not apply... i.e. DWI, more than 25mph over the speed limit, etc)...

Hope that clarifies it.

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i already knew all this, i was just confused by what drsifu1 had said...

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Eclipse AudioVideoNavigation 2454 / side-blinker mod

 

oh people...

sorry for the confusion...i've since edited my post...

Golden Gate G35 Club

 

you cant plea for traffic school after you plead not guilty...

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Eclipse AudioVideoNavigation 2454 / side-blinker mod