The Ticket...
Please read your ticket carefully. Information regarding
your rights as a defendant, clarification of your court appearance date, what Court to
appear in and how to contact the Court for more information are contained on the ticket.
You will notice that a fine does not appear on the face of your ticket.
Your fine is dependent upon your past driving history or your past criminal history. After
the Court has had an opportunity to review your past history, your fine will be
determined, and you will be notified by mail. Sometimes certain circumstances and
violations will require a mandatory court appearance. This means you will not receive a
fine notification in the mail, and you will be required to appear in Court on the date
indicated on the ticket.
If you have a clean driving record, you can probably expect to be
offered a plea bargain. This means that the City Attorney will offer to amend the charge
against you to reduce the severity of the charge. If you are eligible for a plea bargain,
this will be noted on the fine notification letter you receive in the mail. If you are
offered a plea bargain, you do not have to take it. If you do not wish to enter a plea of
guilty for any reason, then you will appear in Court on the date indicated on your ticket.
If you do wish to accept the plea bargain, sign, date and return the plea bargain form
with full payment prior to the due date.