I have to go to traffic court?

Question

i was pulled over for going 51 in a 35mph zone the officer gave me a "notice to appear" to court. I recently received my courtesy letter in the mail and it says that my bail amount is $273. I don't know what happens in court but i was wondering is there any way that i could go in and just speak to someone else (besides the judge) and see if there are other options with lower fines. or do i have to speak in front of a judge?

Answer 1

It may be different in different areas.  I'm in TX and the options here are to take defensive driving and pay a small fee besides the cost of the course, in order to have the ticket dismissed (best option, doesn't go on your record), ask for deferred adjudication, where you pay a smaller fee that the total ticket amount plus you can't get any tickets for six months, and it doesn't go on your record,  ask for a payment plan, argue the ticket in front of a judge, or pay the ticket.  They take credit cards too.  Don't show up without any money at all...you'd better take at least half of it with you to show you're serious about paying your ticket...otherwise they may just send you to jail for a few days instead of the ticket.

Answer 2

you will have to talk to the judge to get the fine changed that is his/her decision but usually they are not going to reduce the fine they might however work out a payment schedule over a couple of months

Answer 3

It might be a better option to just pay up and smile. Sometimes challenging a ticket can end up costing you more because you are incurring admin costs. Tread lighter on that gas pedal in future.

Answer 4

In Austin (Texas) you can plead guilty to a lesser fine. You show up at your court date and are given a choice of 1. Take defensive driving 2. Take the ticket to court and plead your case 3. Plead guilty to a lesser charge.  To do so you must first plead not guilty. Check with a few phone calls.