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shadoquad · 05-02-2010, 06:59 AM

If it's a first offense, I'd advocate you show for the court date. If the officer doesn't show, plead not guilty, and they usually throw it out (happened to me once, yes i'm a lucky bastard). If the cop shows, plead guilty. If it's your first offense, they MAY even give you Probation Before Judgment or traffic school. And at least from my experiences in MD courts, even if you plead guilty, they usually only make you pay the ticket or the court costs, rarely both. Now, I once got pulled over on a military base. Those tricky bastards make you plea before entering the courtroom, so you can't see if your cop shows up.

But I always advocate going to court. And around here, if a cop doesn't show, the judges are all too happy to throw it out, because it's the police officer's responsibility to do traffic court.

I never "mail em in", and because of that I still have a sterling driving record. I've also been ludicrously lucky.

05-02-2010, 06:59 AM	#26 (permalink)
shadoquad A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: . Posts: 42,608 Drives: . Rep Power: 3888	If it's a first offense, I'd advocate you show for the court date. If the officer doesn't show, plead not guilty, and they usually throw it out (happened to me once, yes i'm a lucky bastard). If the cop shows, plead guilty. If it's your first offense, they MAY even give you Probation Before Judgment or traffic school. And at least from my experiences in MD courts, even if you plead guilty, they usually only make you pay the ticket or the court costs, rarely both. Now, I once got pulled over on a military base. Those tricky bastards make you plea before entering the courtroom, so you can't see if your cop shows up. But I always advocate going to court. And around here, if a cop doesn't show, the judges are all too happy to throw it out, because it's the police officer's responsibility to do traffic court. I never "mail em in", and because of that I still have a sterling driving record. I've also been ludicrously lucky.