Court Date Next Week

[ShitOnWheels]

If you remember, I got a ticket last month for an illegal left turn that I didn't realize was illegal until I had pretty much completed the turn. I was originally going to pay it and do defensive driving course, but I was talked out of paying it (I will still do the online course though). So, my court date is next week.

I considered hiring a lawyer, but didn't. So I think I"m going to attempt this on my own. But, having never done this, I haven't a clue what to do.

My ticket says my court time is at 6:30pm. I assume I'll show up before 6, attempt to talk to the prosecutor, and hope to goodness they see my clean driving record of 9 years and drop it to a seat belt ticket or something. Is there anything specific I should say? Anything I shouldn't say? Do I need to get there earlier than 45 minutes before the time on my ticket? Do I need to bring the ticket in with me? Do I need my docs (insurance/registration)? If I do, do they need to be the current ones or the ones from the time of the stop (changed insurance companies since then)? I'm clueless!

I know to dress well (I do for work anyway). I know to be respectful and all. I'm just clueless as to what I need to do once I'm there. I'm not a big fan of going places I've never been, especially with a lot of things riding on this.

[NJSPEEDER]

Just talk to the prosecuter and tell him about your good driving record and yer finishing college and your a super swell person and blah blah blah. It was an honest mistake and since you just moved into a new home you can't really afford your insurance going up, you understand you did wrong, but you just can't afford to get points on your license for a moving violation. Then bat your eyes and look all sweet and stuff.
999 out of 1000 times you will get a non-moving non-points violation and just pay a fine.

[sweetbmxrider]

your traffic ticket or the court date paper? say that you have a clean driving record and you would like the ticket brought down some. they should do unsafe operation for $400 plus court fees no points. you won't have to/be able to do the defensive driving course because you won't have points. might lower your insurance though.

you don't have to bring anything, but bring the ticket for your comfort and maybe some tears! you really just go with the flow. they don't expect you to know anything, they will explain it all. plead not guilty if asked and make a plea bargain with the prosecutor.

there should be a court calender hanging up somewhere, check that you are on it. if not, find the court clerk and talk to her.

make sure you have a new court date though, not the one on the traffic ticket! you have to call up and plead not guilty to be put on the court calender. they will send your new date/time in the mail. depending on the court, 45 minutes should be plenty, i usually shoot for 10 minutes late :lol: they rarely start on time around here! if you are having trouble, ask questions. you will find most everyone else is clueless too!

[GP99GT]

what he said, you have to call up and tell them you want to plead not guilty - theyll send you a new date in the mail

[misterjuice]

kick the prosecutor in the face

[BonzoHansen]

kick the prosecutor in the face

I was gonna say bring kneepads, but I think your answer is worse...

[ShitOnWheels]

your traffic ticket or the court date paper? say that you have a clean driving record and you would like the ticket brought down some. they should do unsafe operation for $400 plus court fees no points. you won't have to/be able to do the defensive driving course because you won't have points. might lower your insurance though.

you don't have to bring anything, but bring the ticket for your comfort and maybe some tears! you really just go with the flow. they don't expect you to know anything, they will explain it all. plead not guilty if asked and make a plea bargain with the prosecutor.

there should be a court calender hanging up somewhere, check that you are on it. if not, find the court clerk and talk to her.

make sure you have a new court date though, not the one on the traffic ticket! you have to call up and plead not guilty to be put on the court calender. they will send your new date/time in the mail. depending on the court, 45 minutes should be plenty, i usually shoot for 10 minutes late :lol: they rarely start on time around here! if you are having trouble, ask questions. you will find most everyone else is clueless too!

I called well before the time limit and left a message that I would like to plead not guilty, and confirmed my court date that was written on the ticket. I gave my phone number to call back in case I was mistaken. I've not received anything in the mail regarding a different date.

[GP99GT]

id call them up and see whats going on....not paying a ticket/not going to court is kinda serious :lol:

[sweetbmxrider]

yeah that is a bench warrant. call until you speak with someone. try and have the ticket in hand. they ALWAYS give you a different court date from what is on the ticket. the ticket is more or less a payment due receipt :lol:

[misterjuice]

you is a fugitive

[cdacda13]

Is it in West Milford?

In WMs court, the prosecutor will call you up, in alphabetical order, and offer you a plea deal. The longer you wait, the better the deal. When I got my speeding ticket (4 points) the first time he called me up he offered to reduce it to 2 points. (I was only 18 at that time). I said no thank you, I'll plea to unsafe driving. He told me to sit down. I waited a round of plea deals and a quick recess, got called up again and was offered unsafe driving.

[ShitOnWheels]

Not West Milford. It's for Oakland.

When I called, the voicemail message said to do exactly what I did, leave a detailed message. The only thing they couldn't do my voicemail was requests of moving the court date.

Guess I'll be calling on Monday just to make sure. Joy.

[misterjuice]

are you gonna be on COPS??? lol or is it Dog the Bounty Hunter?

[Tru2Chevy]

Yes, you'll get a new court date when you actually call and talk to someone.

Chances are good that once you get there, they will call up anyone who wishes to speak with the prosecutor, and he / she will already have your ticket information and driving record in front of him / her. They'll make an offer (in your case I'm pretty sure it will be Unsafe Operation) and you can accept / reject it (accept the Unsafe!). The prosecutor will go through the paperwork, and you'll be called in front of the judge to formalize everything.

- Justin

[ShitOnWheels]

SO, just got back from court. I'm a fugitive of the law!!!

Ok, not really. I was able to plead it down to unsafe driving. I was hit on by the prosecutor ("You're not still on a provisional license, are you?") But no one mentioned the fact they don't take credit card, and I didn't think to take a checkbook with me. So I have to return by 4pm tomorrow to pay the $450+ fine (can't remember the exact amount), or else a bench warrant will be placed for me. But no points.

There were some interesting cases before me. 1 DUI. 1 failure to appear warrant, and when asked if her driving privleges were suspended, found they were for ANOTHER failure to appear in a different court. But claimed she didn't know about either of them. 1 guy violated probation by showing up to his probabtion appointments and testing positive numberous times in a row, then failing to appear. Was in jail, supposed to go to voluntary rehab, didn't, and the judge was gonna put him back in Bergen County jail and go through the rehab program there.

Very interesting night. Let's hope the weather isn't sooo bad that I can't make it to the court house tomorrow to pay my fine.

Oh, and of course some guy before me asks to pay later cause he has no cash on him. The judge wasn't happy, wasn't going to let him plead down, so of course I got worried. But no big deal.

Oh, and for those that said I would have gotten a different court date, I had the same date. But they did screw up not putting me on the docket originally. I got it taken care of yesterday though.

[WildBillyT]

Yep, the 'ol unsafe ticket. A way for the municipality to make the money instead of the insurance company. Glad it wasn't TOO bad for you.

[jims69camaro]

the only thing i would have taken with me is a certified copy of my driver abstract - available at trenton DMV for you. it's always nice to have documentation for any claim you make. if you say your record is clean, you can always prove it with the abstract in hand. lots of people try to get over.

but, seeing as how you're on a provisional license, and all. god, sometimes i wish i was a woman with really big breasteses. :leghump:

[sweetbmxrider]

good to hear. some courts take credit cards, some don't. i had court this morning, couldn't go. i'll call them tomorrow, or pay online now. hmmmm

[ShitOnWheels]

the only thing i would have taken with me is a certified copy of my driver abstract - available at trenton DMV for you. it's always nice to have documentation for any claim you make. if you say your record is clean, you can always prove it with the abstract in hand. lots of people try to get over.

but, seeing as how you're on a provisional license, and all. god, sometimes i wish i was a woman with really big breasteses. :leghump:

They look up the record there, and they had the abstract on hand. However, I had no idea this existed until tonight.

And I'm not on a provisional license, and I never was (got my license a year or 2 before it started). (couldn't tell whether you knew that and were being sarcastic or not).

[sweetbmxrider]

provisional licenses are only for your first year of driving, though they don't expire for another 4 years. i kept mine for an extra 6 months till a cop said my parents needed to pick me and everyone else up since it was too late. i said yeah ok i'll just go home and left.

[madness410]

i LOVE going to court just to hear other peoples cases...its very interesting. last time i went there was a girl who was caught shoplifting, 750$ in fines and banned from the store, another one was on a video camera system from i guess the county jail or the municipal jail talking to the judge about his case. very interesting stuff.

[Knipps]

I'm still on my provisional license :lol:
Haven't gone to the DMV for the real one yet, I figure I'll go this summer when it expires

[bandit88]

oh crap knipps you just reminded me
my license expires this month lol

[Knipps]

Good thing I'm a slacker then :lol:
Mine doesn't expire 'til June.

[79CamaroDiva]

$450 for unsafe? i wish i saw this sooner. i would have told you to call up your insurance company and ask them how much your insurance would go up if you pled guilty to this ticket. I did that and found my insurance wouldn't go up at all, so paid and got the points and kept my extra 350 bucks.

[ShitOnWheels]

$450 for unsafe? i wish i saw this sooner. i would have told you to call up your insurance company and ask them how much your insurance would go up if you pled guilty to this ticket. I did that and found my insurance wouldn't go up at all, so paid and got the points and kept my extra 350 bucks.

I wasn't necessarily worried about my insurance. But when we gets our "beaters," the insurance we pay on those depends on our tier, and for 3 points, we would have gone up to the next tier, adding like $50 a month to the insurance cost for the car.

If it was only a 2 point ticket I would have just dealt with it and taken the defensive driving class.

[NastyEllEssWon]

i dont like having points on my license cause i need mine to work.

[jims69camaro]

They look up the record there, and they had the abstract on hand. However, I had no idea this existed until tonight.

And I'm not on a provisional license, and I never was (got my license a year or 2 before it started). (couldn't tell whether you knew that and were being sarcastic or not).

yeah, i thought the little leg-humper dude would let you in on the amount of sarcasm i meant. s'cool, though. and i don't really wish i was a woman. not with that monthly visitor thing you have to deal with.

p.s. it's very rare that a court has access to that information while it's in session. hence, the reason why i carry mine to court.