If itâs a traffic violation you have a good chance of the cop no showing to court.
Is going to court over traffic violations common internationally? I thought that was a US thing
I challenged a licence suspension in Australia when I was 19 years old. I gladly paid the $560 fine but I wouldâve lost my licence for three months because I was driving 7km/h over the limit on a âdouble-demeritsâ weekend. The magistrate sent me to a fortnightly driverâs course for 12 weeks, all the while I kept my licence, and after the course was over I fronted court again and successfully argued my three month suspension down to four weeks.
Iâm pretty sure that going to court over traffic violations is a thing in any country that allows going to court over traffic violations.
FYI in most Australian jurisdictions, you canât demand that the individual police officer who fined you attend court to defend themselves. That part is most likely a US thing.
French guy here: I went to court once because the cop lied and needed tickets for his quota. I had all the proofs. The judge basically told me âI donât give a fuck, you pay.â Itâs useless.
And if itâs below $1000, people often represent themselves because everyone knows lawyers are too expensive to justify it.
At least in the US, you should always get a lawyer for traffic tickets. The real cost isnât whatever the court charges you, itâs whatever your insurance does.
My understanding is usually you can go before the judge and explain that the higher insurance rates will be a burden for you. Usually you donât necessarily need a lawyer to go and ask for that. The judge will often add some stipulations like double the fine you pay now, and you canât get another ticket for a certain amount of time.
When I lived in Illinois they had formalized the process and called it âcourt supervisionâ which is an option you can check on the ticket, but you do have to appear in court. Canât get another speeding ticket for a year, and they wonât report it to insurance.
When I got a second speeding ticket though after 11 months, I did hire a lawyer. He requested continuance for me, so that by the time they heard the case, it had been 12 months, and I could do a second court supervision. Since then I decided to try to avoid getting more tickets.
Yup, I did that as a kid with my first speeding ticket, and got it placed on deferral. I didnât even need to talk to the judge, I just went to pay the fine and they offered that as an option. Basically, as long as I didnât get another ticket for 7 years, it would be as if it never happened. My ticket went from $100 -> $150, but my insurance wouldâve gone up way more than that.
So, I drove extra careful until I moved out, and I got my second ticket around 7-8 years later, but in a different state (traveling near Las Vegas w/ flow of trafficâŚ). I currently have a clean driving record, and I didnât get a ding on my insurance until those dings meant a lot less (mid to late 20s).
Every time I talk to people about going to court for a speeding ticket, everyone shares the same story:
The judge is very fair. Sometimes, they shave the fee significantly. Sometimes they cancel it.
I donât fully understand judges and what they get assigned. But it feels like getting the cool substitute teacher when to go to contest a speeding ticket.
id rather pay a lawyer than reward the state for puking in my ass