I know the obvious of being polite and respectful. do I show up early like an airport? Do I just show the guard my ticket? Anything I should know or be aware of?
If it was just an expired license, did you get it renewed afterwards? Oftentimes, cops will issue a “fix it” ticket to encourage people to actually take care of their stuff. Basically, you’ll be able to show the judge that you got it remedied. The judge will likely look at your (otherwise spotless) record, and outright dismiss it, or knock it down to a small fine. The cop knows this will likely be dismissed if you get it taken care of, so they really just issue the ticket to force you to actually stop procrastinating and get it done. It basically puts a deadline on your renewal.
If you haven’t renewed yet, you should start that now. At least be able to show the judge that you’re working on it.
I’m a bit late, but I used to testify in DUI cases and have sat through many court sessions.
First, you didn’t commit a crime, you made an oopsie. Don’t stress out too much, a lot of people just don’t show up, you’re a light in the dark for just showing up.
Wear nice clothes, put together the best you can with what you have, don’t go buy a suit for traffic court. Slacks and a collared shirt (no visible holes or worn spots) is typically enough, especially if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Save your money for fixing the situation, not looking nice. Looking nice does help and shows respect to the court (judge) but trying to fix things on your own without them intervening makes you look even better.
Explain that you made a mistake and accidentally let it lapse. Talk to the public defender if you can. They are overloaded with cases but will help, court proceedings and the language they can use is confusing.
Try to make amends now, renew your license, sign up for whatever you need to sign up for, if you can’t afford to renew let the judge know that you’re walking/biking/bussing to work until you can afford to renew/sign up/etc. Ask the court for mercy since you have a clean record to the best of your knowledge and are already taking steps to remedy the situation.
Be very nice, the judge is the law in their courtroom, the only person with more power is the court stenographer because they get to correct the judge.
Bring receipts or any proof that you have of what you’re doing.
As many have said DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF TO COURT.
If it was just a traffic ticket you can hire a traffic lawyer for fairly cheap if you don’t want to go to court or would like the comfort of someone there for you who does this often. In CA, I’ve seen this typically cost around $50 for handling a traffic ticket. They can get most tickets dismissed or at the very least the fine reduced. If a cop no shows it gets dismissed.
Best to get it renewed asap though as previous commenters suggested, then it becomes a non-issue, so a trip to the DMV might be a good idea. I’d head your DMV website since the address varies depending on the state you’re in. Renewing a REAL ID may require you take a short refresher course and provide two documents that prove residency, one that proves identity (US Passport, previous license, SSA card, etc) they’ll tell you what you need on there though.
Why could an expired license possibly require court? It’s an administrative issue at best, should require a 50 dollar fine for the mistake and we all move on
The US legal system is a giant abusive mess
Agreed. Unfortunately this is what happens when you attach dollar amounts to key performance indicators for effectiveness with policing. Fines = revenue for government so they try where they can. It’s why carpool lanes are so heavily policed here. The base fine rate is higher.
Oh you are in for a treat. I spent time in the local jail when I was much younger, and was surprised that some of my fellow inmates were in there for some absurd things. The two that stick out are:
-
Driving without a license - apparently if you do this more than once, good chance they will just take you jail and impound your car, and if you can’t afford bail you wait until court, which is weeks or months.
-
Unpaid child support - I actually have no idea the logic here. You have unpaid child support, so we will put you in jail, charge you 30$ per day to be paid upon release for “housing”, and guarantee you have no way to earn money.
The bail and housing fees are not actually specific to those crimes, it applies to all crimes but really compounds things in some situations.
Go to the dmv asap to get the license, ideally before court. If you get it done, show your new license to the court and they will dismiss your case, (hopefully)
Dress fairly nice. No shorts, no wacky t-shirts