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[symington]

I'll save you all the story, as you are probably going to care as much as the judge would. I have my first arraignment in a few hours, and i'm kind of nervous since this will be my first run-in with our judicial system. Since i was clocked at only 24 over, my citation is only for speeding, not reckless driving....so i'm hoping to plea it down somehow, as i really can't afford the upped insurance. OR i would settle for paying the fine and taking driving school, as this is my first moving violation on my record. I have a few questions that i would love to have answered before I go.

1) At the first arraignment, you only do your plea, correct? like if i plea not guilty they'll just give me another court date for the actual trial later on?

2) What would be my best option? No contest with request for driving school/abayance (where if you don't have another citation within an allotted amount of time, the ticket disappears)? Not guilty and hope to plea it down?

3) How would I plea it down to a non-moving violation? Can you only do it when you plea not guilty, or could you just plea no contest and request for a lesser penalty?

And anything else you could tell me that would help me out would make me extremely grateful.

*i realise what i did was wrong, i was passing a car that was driving erratically to try to eliminate myself from a dangerous situation. Dont tell me to just "man up" and hand over my money, that's not what im looking for*

[herald]

"man up" and hand over your money. Trying to avoid a dangerous situation by speeding up to 84 in a 55?? Thats smart next time just slow down and keep your distance.

[rickie]

1. Depends. Usually you send in your plea with the ticket. If you did that then you may actually be seeing the judge.

2. Best option is to plead guilty and tell them you apologize and will pay the fine if they can not put points on your license. When I did this they said they had no control over the points but ended up lessening the charge so that it was a charge that didn't qulaify for points on my license.

3. Request a lower speeding ticket. Ticket amounts are issued on how much above the limit you were going.

[wakeley58]

I agree with PapasChick.

Go before a judge, plea no contest and ask for the opportunity to explain your specific situation.

A long shot is if the officer who wrote the ticket does not appear for whatever reason. In this case, the judge may dismiss the charge or accept a smaller fine. Either way, be ready to pay in time and a fine. Some judges have no sense of justice or humor regarding speeding tickets.