ankit1982 said:
What is the name of your state? new jersey
i was doing 65 on 40 zone. i got a ticket and i chked on state website that it is a 4 pnts ticket. this is first time i am in this kind of situation, and i do not know what to do. i was told that i must have to go to court. no further information was given to me by officer. i do not want any points on my licence. i will be able to pay the fine. but i m not sure if they can take off 4 pnts since it is first time. please tell me what i should do in this situation.
-any help appreciated
thank you
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My past experiences in NJ traffic court have gone like this... You can go to court on your first appearance if you wish, unless marked on the citation that you must appear, you may also enter a plea by phone to the court. Once you get to court and sign in you will be directed to meet with the prosecutor who will then most likely offer to lower that speed to a 2pt violation in exchange for a guilty plea. If you do not agree to that, they may be offered a no point deal in exchange for a $400 surcharge I believe they call it... If your record is clean this will help, but still expect pay $200 or more in fine and court cost in exchange for any deals they make.
If you do not like the deal they offer and believe you have good grounds to fight the ticket, don’t agree to anything with the prosecutor and just plead not guilty in front of the judge when called. From there you will receive a new court date and letters from a bunch of local attorneys looking to handle your case for you. After speaking with several myself, I concluded most just want to make a deal for you and pocket a couple hundred themselves. But they can be of help if the prosecutor was not willing to offer you a plea that was agreeable.
Last and my personal favorite, fight it all the way. Do the research and build your defense to win the case. This includes requesting discovery from the prosecutor and showing up for court each time is good start. In my 4pt NJ ticket less then one month ago, I won on default. The officer failed to show up, and the prosecutor had not supplied the discovery I requested before the trial date. Being I had requested discovery twice by fax and certified mail and been granted 2 continuances based on his delays.
When the 3rd trial date came I drove 500 miles to be there, the prosecutor tried to deal again and then informed me the officer would not be there today. He wanted me to agree to another continuance on the grounds if the officer did not show up AGAIN he would dismiss the charges. I explained that I drove 500 miles to appear so I wanted to proceed today. He said “sorry to hear that but the judge will grant me a new date when I ask” . Knowing he had not supplied me with the requested discovery after 3 months of asking for it, I replied “Ok then less ask the judge”.
When the judge called me up front, I ask for dismissal on the grounds of lack of prosecution witness, the judge read the history of continuances noting the delays by the prosecutor and sent me home with all my cash in pocket and a smile on my face….
Best of luck..
