I just got a red light traffic citation for $118. I was turning right from fairly yellow to red. The office gave me a court date and told me "if i don't go to the court they will -3 points from the license."

The question is what happens in the court? they already know I am guilty and I know I am guilty so what is the point of court date? I want to tell them that I am guilty.

Sorry if that's a noob question. This is my first ticket. I had clean record last 6 years of driving. Today I got a huge headache so I should have been more careful.

Hope I learned from the experience....

 

hmm, not trying to thread jack, but on another thread i was reading, you were trying to hide your age, but id say you are somewhere in the range of 22-24 haha
but about the ticket, i totally agree with you, on certain things i dont see what the point is

 

well to start off...you are innocent untill proven guilty. Think of all the important aspects of the time he pulled you over and build a strong case.

In court you walk up to the judge and the officer is sworn in. He states his side of the story and you state your side. Make a strong case to why you "didnt run the light". From there the judge makes their decision.

Since you had a clean record for the last 6 years I think they might let you slide.

 

Actually I stated my age on the "other thread" LOL

 

Consider yourself lucky. Red light traffic citations here in California are $381. Just got one myself a few weeks ago. I'll just traffic school it. I was debating if I should fight it but since the economy is in such terrible shape, I guess it'll be my donation to the City of LA.

 

damnit! haha
good luck with the ticket man
or kid? idk i have yet to read the thread hahaha

 

agreed.. you are innocent until proven guilty.. since u have had a clean record for quite some time chances are they will reduce it or else let u slide

 

kids you have a lot to learn...your never innocent until proven guilty when dealing with a traffic citation....get real....

 

Helpful info...Thanks.

that sucks

save your self some trouble. You are just about right on your first comment.

 

We know I am guilty they are just going to prove it.

 

 

Thank you all for your reply. I should be set until court date. Will update within few days...

 

 

Hey I have had many tickets in Philadelphia.... all you have to do is.... Plead not guilty, Appear on the court date... The Judge will offer u to take the points away if u are ready to pay the $118 ticket now.... Pay your ticket and you will have a clean record....

as simple as that.... no need to spend any money on lawers etc.... good luck....

 

cop a plea

 

Awesome...thats even better. Thanks for the heads up. "They said money is cheap but I will let the money talk for me"

 

wow. makes me love good o'le NC.

 

it is quite the opposite!!

OP, depending on your location, you have a clean record, go to court and it will probably be brought down to probation for 6 months and take a class (depends on the mood of the judge). Or just hire a lawyer, let him go to court pay the fees, and they will get it down to a non-moving violation easily

 

i agree with john 06... it gives u a chance to just tell them you're not guilty and they will probably reduce it to a nonmoving violation.

 

Tell them that you have diarrhea thus you needed to go to the nearest washroom asap.
Worked for my friend when he got clocked going 25 over.

 

I don't know how it works out in Philly but here in Long Island if you get a ticket, you can go to Court and plea bargain that shit. Its such a scam here in Nassau County. You basically appear in court the day of your court date, and basically first speak to a DA who tells you he will take your moving violation and dismiss it if you agree to another non-moving violation with no points but higher fine. If you accept, you are sent off to pay after getting the deal approved immediately by a judge. If you dont agree then they reschedule another court date and you get to go and have your "real" trial with the judge and cop.

So I always suggest to go to court to see if you can plea bargain. All their interested in is getting money out of you, they don't care about anything else.

 

^^^wow...what a law. But it works in my favor since I don't have to pay any higher insurance. As long there is nothing than fine I am good to go...

 

I'm in Philly too man and I'll tell you how I handle this process...

Send in the stub with your payment and select the option to go to court. On your court date when you enter the court room a you'll be greeted by a clerk and cop... check in and the cop will call you shortly. When he/she calls you, she'll tell you what your there for and offer you a plea of NO points, a reduced charge and of course they keep the fine. My advice, take the plea b/c if you don't the judge in most cases will find you guilty and then you have to go to the Criminal Justice Center and appeal the decision (which you won't win and get stuck with ALL fees and points). In my opinon it's not worth it, take the plea and enjoy the rest of your day off.


Edit: I'm speaking about Philly Traffic court at 8th and Spring Garden, it's diffent for some of the counties courts. They have the actual cop present at your trial and wanna nail you to the cross!!!

 

I just basically posted the same thing... LOl!!! Maybe I shoulda read first and then just added a "x2"...

 

go to court, pay the slightly higher fine (due to court costs) walk away with no ponts and ticket dismissed

 

geta traffic lawyer, they know the system, they know the judge. most likely they will keep changing the date on your tickets until is old enought to be dismissed. works here in nyc

 

That's exactly how it works in Duvall county, Jacksonville FL. Unless you have multiple violations for the same thing, personally I like the take a class over the internet and just pay a small fine, atleast that way I dont' have to spend 3hrs in a smelly courtroom.

 

I wonder if there is a camera at that intersection. The evidence could be on film. What intersection was it?

 

Sounds cool. Do you have the link where I can find info for online class?

JFK - Market. I was turning right on to Market Street near Drexel University Science building. I don't think there is any cameras but cops are strict around the area.

 

plead not guilty and go see the prosecutor.

i got pulled over in lehigh valley, PA 4th of July weekend for doing 34 in a 25 and the prosecutor told me he was going to enter my not guilty plea and drop it to +1 over with 0 points without asking. My insurance policy came due this month and nothing came up that I was issued a citation over the summer...

 

+1

 

Now a days the courts seem more interested in getting your money then giving you the points. It's such a scam in the tri-state area. You go to court, you talk to the prosecutor, you tell them you don’t want any points and they make you pay a higher fine than what the ticket would normally cost and they change the infraction to something frivolous or the classic "No point ticket" and then you are free to go. Insurance doesn’t get notified of this and no points on the license. Don't worry about it just make sure you don't miss your court date.

 

Every time i went to court for a ticket here they cut the ticket amount in half, sometimes even more.

 

I just had my Citation today. I told the judge that when I was making the right turn there were people crossing the road so I had to let them go first and by the time they finish crossing the light turn to red. I didn't want to stop the traffic so I had no choice but to go. Then the cops stopped me and gave me a ticket even after I told him what happened at the light.

So the judge paused for 10sec looked at my record and let me go. NOT GUILTY: No points and No ticket

 

Good for you. In most cases this will happen when in court. This is why I say fight everything.
Some people just don't understand the legal system isn't a bad thing all the time.

 

If the cop seemed like he was willing to play ball, then see if you can go to court and get it reduced. I got one of those last year. I paid the fine and moved on.

 

In my case I got fine + points. I didn't care about paying the fine but I didn't want to get my points taken. I was even willing to extra fine in exchange of points. But hey it doesn't matter anymore cuz judge gave me a break and found me 'not guilty'. I don't have pay the ticket and no points taken. Luckily the cop who gave me the ticket wasn't there...

 

Lol....that's why he said you you got a break...cause the cop didn't show up.

Not because the judge felt sorry for you.

 

Why would judge feel sorry for me? He did that for a lot of people. Also, I don't know if the cops are supposed to be there cuz there were at least 30 people for citation but no cops. I heard the judge told another person that he is guilty and if he wants to fight the ticket any further he has to set up another court date within 30 days while the cop(s) are present...But hey I don't care...I am just curious.

 

^ you lucky bastard haha I got caught for speeding and for a 260$ ticket. The cop was a dick and showed up in court and i still ahd to pay the full fine haha it was worth a try I guess