So I have this court appearance on Monday. Just wondering what it's like. Is it like your typical Ally Mcbeal or LA Law (anyone remember that show) or is it more relaxed. Do you guys bust out with diagrams or charts or whatever or do you just talk your way out of it? I'm really nervous so anything to calm my nerves would help a lot. TIA.

Mike H.

P.S. I tried the lawyer route but he wanted like $150 for a 30 minute consultation for a $70 ticket. No thanks.

 

are you going to trial...or just a hearing....if its a hearing it'll be like they call your name...the judge reads the charges...tell's you what fines he can impose...asks you all these dumb ?'s...then asks if you plead guilty or not...and if you plead guilty your giving up all your rights..blah blah blah...

 

for regular traffic tickets, its like those half an hour court TV show things, sort of. you just sit in the court room and wait. the judge will go one by one with everyone there and prosecute them 1 on 1. you have to stand behind the little table and explain everything. he then makes his judgement and fines you however much he wants to. ok, enough of the BS. all you do is go to the courthouse, talk to a clerk behind the huge glass windows, pay up, and your gone. thats all...

 

i have a court apperance coming up for a u-turn ticket...stupid cop

 

its no sweat man. I have been to court 8 times and been found guilty once. I live in NYC, and its not so bad just talk your way out of it, thtas what i do.

 

I've been there for 2 violations. I found a lot more stupid/don't know what the hell to do people then me.. lol
Basically, the judge is sitting there, there is someone helping him/her like a secretary, you hand your tickets to them, take a seat.. Everyone else takes a seat, then the cops start coming in, sit down. What I saw in NYC courts is, the cops usually have a bunch of hearings on that time they come in, so there are a few cases for most of them. They'll call you up, I think the cop says his story first, you say your side of the story. I think you can cross examine each other.. Then when the judge understands exactly what happened he comes to a decision..... There are many places online which talk about traffic court in detail, you might want to check that out.....
Some tips: Don't dress like a hooligan, lol. When you talk, talk normally, don't raise your voice, loose your temper etc, You can stress certain things more, judges see whats going on, at least if it's a good judge. Don't make up stupid pleas and poor excuses which could have been avoided, because the judge will not buy some un-realistic story... Ofcourse it's still worth a try who knows... I saw some dude fighting a speeding ticket and cutting through a corner parking lot to avoid a red light, because he said he needed to go to the bathroom really bad and thought there is a bathroom in the parking lot and he actually fought it off.... It may be easier to beat a ticket in NYC though because there is so many morons out here, lol. I got off a red light and an illegal right turn because the cop wrote illegal "left" on the ticket, so the judge dissmissed both tickets, and the cop looked like he wanted to kill me... Good luck man,

 

dude,

there's a lot of ****. it can be a real drag

 

 

I'm going to court. I did the hearing thing. That was already a pain the a$$. THe judge was trying to talk me into making a guilty plea but I had none of that. I just pray that the cop doesn't show up.

Mike H.

 

Thanks for your input. Looks like I should be able to get off this case. First of all, the cop didn't exactly see what happened. And I drew up drawings of the whole incident to show the judge step by step what happened. I hope he'll be impressed by that. I'm just nervous as hell. But I think I'll be ok. Thanks again for everyone's input.

Regards,
Mike H.