The only thing that is more annoying than getting a traffic ticket may be getting a traffic ticket while travelling. If you get pulled over and issued a ticket while in a county other than the one you live in, you may be wondering how you should handle the ticket. This guide will tackle this question.
Appearing in Court
The first thing you should do is figure out whether a court appearance is necessary for your ticket. For bigger violations, the driver must appear in court to resolve the ticket. Most of the time, however, this is not necessary. The rules vary from state to state, but the general rule is that a court appearance is necessary if the violation was severe enough to endanger lives.
The issuing officer will likely tell you whether or not a court appearance is necessary, but the police officer is not an authority on this matter. Officers sometimes are mistaken, and they are not required to notify the driver. The ticket itself will specify and give instructions.
If you do not need to appear in court, then you can pay the fine remotely. You have two options for paying remotely:
- By mail
- Online
If you live in a different county than the one which issued the ticket, paying remotely is the easiest option. If you want to visit the clerk’s office to pay the ticket, you will have to travel to the county that issued the ticket. You cannot visit the clerk’s office in your home county.
Travelling Back to the Issuing County
Besides wanting to pay your ticket in person, there are two situations which would require you to travel back to the county which issued the ticket. The first situation is if you are required to appear in court. You can request to have the matter transferred to your home county, but these requests are rarely granted.
Second, if you choose to contest the ticket and fight to have the fine dropped or reduced, you will likely have to travel. Some counties have a system in place to appeal remotely, but this is not always the case.
Whether you are contesting voluntarily or a court appearance is required of you, the process is the same. You will wait in the courtroom for your case to be called. Then you will either accept the charges and face the consequences or state that you want to contest, which means a date will be set for your trial. It is a good idea to speak with an attorney, like a traffic ticket attorney in Newark from Rispoli & Borneo, P.C., before reaching this point.