Should You Avoid Traffic Court?

Legal Tips and Resources

After you receive a traffic ticket, you have a choice. You can either pay your ticket or you can fight it in court. You will have an opportunity to defend yourself. Most people will choose to pay the ticket, particularly if it is a low cost ticket or will not impact their license negatively. Here is what you need to know about traffic court and whether or not you can avoid it.

Paying Your Ticket

You can choose to pay your ticket at the clerk’s office. If you make this decision, then you are pleading guilty to the charge. Often, the officer will tell you that you can pay at the clerk’s office and this is correct. You will receive a trial date, but if you pay before that date, then you do not have to show up. This would be the same as entering a guilty plea.

When you pay the fine, it will appear on your driving record that you plead guilty to the charge. One driving violation should not cause you any harm. However, if you have several different violations, you could end up losing your license. There are some traffic violations that you will have to appear in court for.  If you were in an accident and the other driver files a suit against you, you can avoid court, but you may wind up losing the case because of it.

Fighting the Ticket

If you choose to fight the ticket, then you will probably want to call the court to find out how to go about it. Once you talk to someone, you can also seek out a traffic lawyer, like a traffic lawyer in Fairfax, VA, to help you through the process. He or she will be able to tell you whether you have a case and if you should bother pursuing it. If you choose to fight it, then you will have to show up at trial.

When it comes to traffic tickets, sometimes it might not feel worth going to court over. This is particularly true of traffic tickets that will not cost you more than the lawyer and traffic tickets that are not serious. If you do have serious charges against you, however, then the stakes are higher. Before you decide whether you want to go to court, you should speak with  traffic ticket lawyer. A traffic ticket lawyer can help guide you through the process. In addition, he or she will let you know the validity of your case.

Thanks to May Law, LLP for their insight into whether or not you should avoid going to traffic court for your violation.