What to Do in Traffic Court

When you plead not guilty on the back of your traffic ticket and send it back to the Traffic Violations Unit, you will thereafter receive, in the mail, your original ticket along with a notice for you to appear at Traffic Court on a certain date. Traffic Court is a forum where you present your case to a Hearing Officer and the Hearing Officer will decide whether or not to dismiss your ticket.

When you arrive at Traffic Court you should first look for the print-out listing all of the cases, in alphabetical order, for that day. Find your name and next to it will be your hearing room location. At the hearing room you will give the clerk your original traffic ticket and then you will sit and wait for your case to be called.

Once your case is called, you will approach the Hearing Officer. The police officer who wrote up your ticket should also be present. If the police officer is not present then you should request that the charges be dismissed. The Hearing Officer has the right to dismiss the charges or to adjourn the hearing date usually the charges will be dismissed. If the police officer is present then he/she will give his testimony first and you will present your testimony afterwards.

Listen closely to what the officer says, do not interrupt and remember any discrepancies or inconsistancies in his story. When it is your turn to speak, point out the inconsistancies and discrepancies in the officer's testimony (don't say anything about your perfect drving record if it is not true because the Hearing Officer has a computer screen in front of him/her with your complete driving history). Refer to photos or diagrams of the scene of your traffic violation charge and have the police officer point out exactly where he/she was located. Try to establish that the officer could not have been able to see the color of the light or the position of your car from where the police officer was located. Most importantly, have the police officer present notes that he /she took at the time of the incident. All police officers keep a daily log of the events they're involved in as they usually have to refer to them in Court to refresh their memory. Your specific incident should be clearly written in that log however, if the police officer does not have your incident written up in his log or he/she does not even have the daily log present at the court then you should request a dismissal.

Always remember, the burden of proof is on the police officer to establish by clear and convincing evidence that you committed the traffic violation. Clear and convincing evidence is a tough standard and if you can shake up the police officer's story then you have a good chance of getting your ticket dismissed. Naturally, it takes practice and I strongly suggest that you retain an attorney to represent you in court.