Question about court

[About2bite]

I was given a speeding ticket a few weeks ago, 72 in a 55 and requested a court date. I decided I didnt want to go to court and just wanted to pay the ticket but was told that I will not be able to take driving school since I requested a court date. I do not want this to be on my driving record and the lady mentioned something about court supervision.

Now my question is, is court supervision something I will have to ask the judge for or is it something only some people get? Not too familiar with this just dont want the ticket on my record. What exactly is court supervision?

This was in IL btw

Thanks,

Josh

 

[RDJ]

court supervision is usually where you are on a sort of "probation" for a set period of time. in your case it will likely be unsupervised and if you go that set period of time without further tickets the ticket will go away and not hit your driving record. Screw up, however, and they both will show up.

 

[VenomRogue]

From experiances in Texas....when you show up for your court date, you usually talk to the prosecutor before the trial. Just tell him then you want defensive driving or whatever, and he should take care of it.

If AZ is similar to this, you shouldnt have a problem.

 

[About2bite]

i was told taking driving school was not an option, i have to go to court and hope they give me probation so it wont go on my record.

 

[VenomRogue]

i was told taking driving school was not an option, i have to go to court and hope they give me probation so it wont go on my record.

who told you that?


call the court clerk, see if they can tell you your options.


or, just bite the bullet, shell out 50 bucks for a traffic attorney, and let them deal with it.

 

[rubber duck]

Supervision is like getting the benefits of traffic school but without doing the school. Just remain ticket free for the duration of the supervision and you're good. It just might cost a few more bucks for court costs. Driving school is only an option on a ticket that doesn't require a court appearance, and you have to be given a court diversion envelope. If you got a "must appear", traffic school is out the window.

 

[About2bite]

I didnt receive a must appear ticket but I requested a hearing which I guess eliminates the traffic school. So when I go to court I just plead guilty and ask for supervision? I was going to have my lawyer go in a do it but I figured I would save the $100 bucks and just do it myself and pay the $135 fine, I just need to make sure I'll get the supervision bc I do not want this on my record.

 

[VenomRogue]

guess its different in AZ then.

in Texas, on "court day" it is like a machine, they get you in, talk to the prosecutor, get people on deferred (supervision) or definsive driving, get your money, then get you out.

they dont like when you put a kink in the system, and want to goto trial.


Call the clerk or the prosecutor, make sure you can talk to the prosecutor before the hearing.

 

[rubber duck]

I didnt receive a must appear ticket but I requested a hearing which I guess eliminates the traffic school. So when I go to court I just plead guilty and ask for supervision? I was going to have my lawyer go in a do it but I figured I would save the $100 bucks and just do it myself and pay the $135 fine, I just need to make sure I'll get the supervision bc I do not want this on my record.

Yea, once you are either assigned or request a court date you can't do traffic school anymore, and yea you can ask the judge for supervision. You probably would've been money ahead if you would've checked off that you wanted the traffic school, assuming you received a court diversion envelope with the ticket. Court costs have gone up quite a bit, here in Cook County they add $130 in court costs on top of whatever fine you are given. It's possible that they could just give you court costs and supervision, depending on your record. What municipality gave you the ticket?

 

[About2bite]

it's court diversion in bridgeview the ticket looks like it says, i was pulled over right outside of chicago. i went to the police station bc i was just going to pay there to avoid the pain of going to court but if i paid the ticket it'd go on my record which i don't want. The lady at the police station said that if i received "court supervision" the payment would be $135 and that's it but the paper looks like it says i will pay 135 in addition to the original fine, i asked her if i would have to pay any other fees in addition to the 135 a few times and she kept saying no so i went with that. i was assuming it would be the 135 plus the 90 and that's way more than the 115 i'd have paid for traffic school and original ticket fine.

 

[rubber duck]

Yea, if it's at 1st district Bridgeview it's cook county. They add mandatory court costs to the tune of $130, in your case they might just call it something different like "supervision costs", plus whatever ticket fines they give you. Either way you're not getting out of there without donating to Todd Stroger's bodyguard fund. If you have a decent record they'll sometimes just give you supervision for the ticket with no fine, just the court costs. So you might have to pony up over $200 when it's all said and done if they make you pay for the ticket also. Don't request a court date unless you are VERY confident you'll get the ticket dismissed, which doesn't happen often.

 

[Junior00]

From experiances in Texas....when you show up for your court date, you usually talk to the prosecutor before the trial. Just tell him then you want defensive driving or whatever, and he should take care of it.

If AZ is similar to this, you shouldnt have a problem.

Agreed, however in my instances I always just asked for forgiveness lol. I've had enough tickets in my short existence for probably 3 people, but I always went to court and talked to the prosecutor. I explained that I was guilty as sin, was very apologetic and politely asked if the speed could be reduced. I never complained about the fee, which always stayed the same mind you, but I have never been turned down for a reduction in speed. Show up, dress nice and be sincere. They aren't out to crucify you for a speeding ticket, just for your money. Good luck.