It’s a matter of options and keeping your options open. You’ve received a traffic violation and you now have a choice. Do I pay the ticket out, which is an admission of guilt, and have it show as a conviction on my record? What are my options at this point? Basically, the two options once you’ve received a ticket are to either plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, you avoid a trial and will not need to appear in court. You’ll pay the appropriate fine for this violation to the court. While this may satisfy your moral sense, you will now have other effects that may outweigh those feelings.
Effects of a Guilty Plea
If you pay the ticket out, the court will record your plea as a guilty, and this traffic stop will now show as a conviction and will remain on your driving record for several years. Your insurance rates will most likely be adjusted since your underwriting scores have changed. You have now accumulated points with the DMV which could, with future tickets, lead to losing your driving privileges. Most importantly, once you’ve paid the ticket out, you have given up any options for any other outcome. All of these negative outcomes have been exchanged for a fine and avoiding a day in court.
What should I do?
Don’t miss your court date. This leads to other problems we’ve discussed in other blog posts, such as bench warrants being issued. You will probably need to appear several times for multiple hours to get a court date assigned and then you’ll need to organize your defense, which includes any evidence you have that the policeman was wrong to ticket you. You may also call witnesses.
It is possible that once your evidence is presented to the court and you and the police officer have testified, you’ll be found guilty anyway. If found guilty, there’s a likelihood you’ll be fined the highest possible fine for this incident, including court costs since you’ve created this hassle for yourself and the court.
Keep in mind that the word of the police officer, as a friend of the court, will likely carry more weight than all of your evidence put together. If you went through this process without legal counsel, there’s a high possibility you’ve made mistakes which could make matters worse.
Ticket Busters is the answer
A third option for those who received tickets issued in Clark County, Nevada, is to call Ticket Busters. We are here to represent you to the court. We can help you avoid the hassle of appearing in court or standing in line to pay the ticket out. We may be able to negotiate your ticket to a parking violation. While this may still show as a conviction on your record, it is not a moving violation and therefore will have less effect on your underwriting scores with your insurance company. Your fines may also be reduced depending on the court. Call us today to discuss your situation and our representatives will be happy to assist you at (702) 666-6666.
