How do I... Do court? I didn't realize my license was expired and got pulled over. Now I have court tomorrow.

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Aeao@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I know the obvious of being polite and respectful. do I show up early like an airport? Do I just show the guard my ticket? Anything I should know or be aware of?

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etchinghillside@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Country?

Put on “nice dinner with grandma” clothes. Try not to show up inebriated.

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- etchinghillside@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Yes, show up early. You might have to go through security/metal detectors. Others will be motivated to also get you in and out as quickly as possible so just ask around if you’re lost. If it’s just traffic related then it’ll be relatively painless - minus some time from your day. Good luck.
  
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meco03211@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If you don’t know what to do currently, just plead not guilty. For a traffic ticket they’ll schedule a bench trial. This gives you some more time to work things out. Talking to a public defender can help but also talking to the prosecutor can help too. They want things to be quick and easy. If they think you might try to actually fight it, they’ll try to appease you with less of a punishment or even none at all. One time I had a speeding ticket dismissed and no points on my license if I plead guilty to careless driving and paid the fine.

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- Aeao@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  How does that work In this situation tho? My license is expired and I was driving. How could I say not guilty? Wouldn’t that just piss the judge off?
  
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  - LesserAbe@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I wouldn’t listen to this advice, personally. Driving with an expired license is more black and white than speeding. With speeding could have been other cars around that the radar was picking up, the radar might not have been calibrated recently, the cop might decide it’s not worth showing up.
    
    I’ve pleaded not guilty to several speeding tickets and got some dismissed and some reduced (I lived in a rural area as a college student and they made a lot of money that way)
    
    One time my sister got a ticket and asked me the process to expect when you plead not guilty so I told her - but I didn’t know she got the ticket in a school zone. When she got there the cop got up on the stand and ran through his certification to operate the radar and when it was last inspected and they asked her how she could explain that she could possibly be not guilty and she got whatever the big fee was. (Which I assume she would have had to pay anyways but without the embarrassment)
    
    It’s not in dispute that your license is expired, and I would think hard to dispute that you got pulled over while driving. Given those two facts I don’t see an advantage to pleading not guilty, you might just annoy the judge, which decreases likelihood of lenience.
    
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  - basmati@lemmus.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Right now you’re innocent, assuming you’re in the US or other former English colony. The judge is presuming you’re Innocent. It’s the cops contention that you were driving with an expired license and they may(do) have evidence to that claim, but until you admit to that in court, youre innocent. It’s not illegal to assert your right to be presumed innocent, and it’s not illegal to argue a poor case at a later date.
    
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  - meco03211@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    If that pisses the judge off, they are a bad judge. If they are a bad judge, getting out of their court as quickly as possible is your best bet. If they aren’t a bad judge however, then that shouldn’t piss them off at all. You say you didn’t know it was expired. How long ago did it expire? Why were you pulled over initially?
    
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  - Nollij@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Don’t bother pleading not guilty unless you have an attorney. It grants you (your attorney) time to negotiate with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge or similar. But an expired license is about the lowest charge you can get.
    
    Traffic court is very routine. People get up, hear the charge, mostly plead guilty/no contest, hear their sentence (usually a fine, probably under $200 depending), and get pointed to where they can pay. You negotiate payment terms at the later office.
    
    It will help to show how you’re going to address the original issue. Even just having an appointment at the DMV, which you can probably book online.
    
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OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
How’d it go?

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- Aeao@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  It was closed lol rescheduled for the 31st. I think I’m going to go dressed up as a judge.
  
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  - OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Do it! Lol
    
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Josey_Wales@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Find out what level offense this is in your state. Likely is not a crime (misdemeanor or felony) but a violation for the first offense.

If it is a misdemeanor, get a public defender and ask for a plea to a lesser charge.

There is likely a standard plea offer for all similarly situated charges/defendants. It may change depending on whether you have renewed your license. If that’s the case you can ask for additional time to renew. That will buy you another court date but give you a chance to get a better resolution if you fix the issue.

Dress like you would for church or a job interview.

Make sure your cellphone is on silent (and if you think it could ring by accident just turn your phone off when in court)

*The process in your local area will vary

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some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Dress well to show respect for the court.

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- jagged_circle@feddit.nl ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  That’s so fucked up and classiest
  
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  - some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Dressing well doesn’t necessarily mean expensive clothes. It means wear something that demonstrates that you take the court seriously. I think you’re telling on yourself here.
    
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PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If it was just an expired license, did you get it renewed afterwards? Oftentimes, cops will issue a “fix it” ticket to encourage people to actually take care of their stuff. Basically, you’ll be able to show the judge that you got it remedied. The judge will likely look at your (otherwise spotless) record, and outright dismiss it, or knock it down to a small fine. The cop knows this will likely be dismissed if you get it taken care of, so they really just issue the ticket to force you to actually stop procrastinating and get it done. It basically puts a deadline on your renewal.

If you haven’t renewed yet, you should start that now. At least be able to show the judge that you’re working on it.

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