Tickets - who has expereince, need advice

[Trogdor]

Last time I was actually in court for a ticket (about 11 years ago) I made it very clear to the assistant attorney (I think) for Winona that I had every intention of costing them as much money as I could in order to get their $160 from me.

If you contest the charge, it gets very expensive for the county to prosecute someone for a $200 fine. Remind them of that, and ask them for a "no same or similar." Meaning no other traffic violations in a year and the charge is dropped.

Remember, most traffic violations are easy revenue for the county. Most people just pay them, or go to court and are given reduced fines on the spot. They don't expect you to fight them. Nor do they want you to.

[C3L1CA]

Originally Posted by Trogdor

Last time I was actually in court for a ticket (about 11 years ago) I made it very clear to the assistant attorney (I think) for Winona that I had every intention of costing them as much money as I could in order to get their $160 from me.

If you contest the charge, it gets very expensive for the county to prosecute someone for a $200 fine. Remind them of that, and ask them for a "no same or similar." Meaning no other traffic violations in a year and the charge is dropped.

Remember, most traffic violations are easy revenue for the county. Most people just pay them, or go to court and are given reduced fines on the spot. They don't expect you to fight them. Nor do they want you to.

I thought the city/county/state charges you when you bring it to court. They always made it seem like it'd be a hefty fee as well. Anybody know if thats true?

[Murlo26]

Originally Posted by C3L1CA

I thought the city/county/state charges you when you bring it to court. They always made it seem like it'd be a hefty fee as well. Anybody know if thats true?

This was my understanding as well.

Maybe that is an idle threat so people don't contest stuff, dunno.

I just didn't want to end up paying 400 for something just because I wanted to fight something that I legally should pay anyway.

[C3L1CA]

Originally Posted by Murlo26

This was my understanding as well.

Maybe that is an idle threat so people don't contest stuff, dunno.

I just didn't want to end up paying 400 for something just because I wanted to fight something that I legally should pay anyway.

Yea I wish I knew more about how it worked, hopefully somebody can chime in and set the record straight. I got a ticket for riding my motorcycle down a park path this summer and had to go to 'court.' It was like a pre trial where I just talked with the prosecuting attorney and we made a deal and didn't have to pay any court fees. I was under the understanding that I would've if I took it to the next stp though.

Yea, it sucks but might have been worth it to save some money in the long run on insurance.