If I appear in court to plea not guilty to a speeding ticket, am I at risk for greater penalty?
459775
You'd probably be better of the pay the ticket.  If you go to court you may have to pay court costs as well as the fine.
723029
I would.  That's a ridiculous reason to ticket someone.  You have a chance of winning and if not, the worst that could happen is you get the exact fine that you have now.  You have nothing to lose but a few hours out of your day.
265114
I would hire a high-priced lawyer and fight the fine. If you are still found guilty, you should petition to have the fine reduced to the customary $43.21.\n\nOne defense you should bring up is whether you were simply "on" your catamaran as opposed to being "in" your catamaran. \n\nThe Penal code states clearly:\n\nIf your are in your catamaran while it is in excess of 101.7 MPH, you are subject to a $50 fine. If your are on your catamaran while it is in excess of 101.7 MPH, you are subject to a fine of $43.21.
1094534
your only real right is to remain silent........\n\n==========================================\n\nThe purpose of the arraignment setting is to determine the defendantís plea to the offense charged. At the arraignment, the defendant may enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or nolo contendere (no contest). If the plea is guilty or nolo contendere, the defendant may give an explanation in mitigation of any fine to be assessed prior to the judge assessing a fine. If a not guilty plea is entered, the case will be set for a trial at a later date. If the defendant wishes to have a trial by jury, a jury request may be made at the arraignment.\n\nPLEAS\n\nUnder our American system of justice, all persons are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. On a plea of not guilty, a formal trial is held. As in all criminal trials, the State is required to prove the guilt of the defendant "beyond a reasonable doubt" of the offense charged in the complaint before a defendant can be found guilty by a judge or jury.\n\nYour decision concerning which plea to enter is very important. If you plead guilty or nolo contendere in open court, you should be prepared to pay the fine and court costs.\n\nPlea of Guilty- By a plea of guilty, you admit that the act is prohibited by law, that you committed the act charged, and that you have no defense or excuse for your act. Before entering your plea of guilty, however, you should understand the following:\n\nThe State has the burden of proving that you violated the law.\n\n \n\nTRIALS\n\nYou have the right to hear the State's evidence and to require the State to prove that you violated the law; and\n\nA plea of guilty may be used against you later in a civil suit if there was a traffic accident.\n\nPlea of Nolo contendere (No Contest)- A plea of nolo contendere means that you do not contest the State's charge against you. You will almost certainly be found guilty, unless you are eligible and successfully complete a driving safety course and/or court ordered probation. Also, a plea of nolo contendere cannot be used against you in a subsequent civil suit for damages.\n\nPlea of Not Guilty - A plea of not guilty means that you are informing the Court that you deny guilt or that you have a defense in your case, and that the State must prove what it has charged against you. If you plead not guilty, you will need to decide whether to hire an attorney to represent you.\n\nA request for a trial may in person at the scheduled arraignment, by written correspondence, or by defendant's attorney. A request for trial shall indicate a plea of "Not Guilty" and specify either a jury or a non-jury (bench) trial.\n\nBench trials (trials before the judge) and jury trials are held on Wednesdays as required. The specific date for a trial will be set at the time a plea of not guilty is entered. On the day of trials, trials will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will continue until the docket is completed.\n\nFailure of the defendant to appear at the time his/her case is called may result in a charge of "Failure to Appear" being filed and warrants being issued for his/her arrest. If the trial is a jury trial, the defendant may also be required to pay the costs of impaneling the jury.
330366
Usually it is not, but it depends on the reason for the reduction in speed.  Temporary speed reductions, like for construction, can get by with less notice.  If you are asking this because you just a ticket in this reduction zone and are wanting to see if you can do anything about it, there should be an appeals process, depending on the state (or country).  In the US, appeals dealing with the valid placement of reguatatory signs can be flied either during the court date for the ticket or with whichever agency regulates the speed limit (probably the department of transportation, but it could be the city or township as well).  There is a system in place to prevent "speed traps."
182909
not having your licensce is a correctable offense because you can go up to the courthouse and show your licensce and they will drop that one ...as for how much your other ticket will cost that just depends where you live
181492
No, the Judge has nothing to do with it. Before your case comes up (but after you get to court) find out who the prosecuter is, he/she can reduce it for you, it's called a plea bargain. If they lower the speed to under X, you will plead guilty, no questions asked. \nThey will tell the Judge, the Judge asks you if you agree, you say yes, done deal.
729246
My friend got a reckless driving ticket and said you only have to go to court if you want to contest the ticket. You can chance that the cop won't show up but if he/she does then you'll still have to pay the ticket plus you'll have to pay the court fees. Despite going with the flow of traffic, the cop still had the right to give you a ticket. Just pay the ticket and go to traffic school and you'll be fine.
419602
This depends on state law, and the judge handeling the case.  Depending on these factors, you may be given extra time, a higher fine, or even jail time.
427354
Go to court and plead guilty.  I have been to court many times and have seen people try to prove that the radar gun is not calibrated properly...All I have to say is good luck.  Again, plead guilty and ask for leniency.  Especially if it is your first offense.  In MD, the have what is called probation before justice where the fine is reduced by half and no points are given towards your driving record.  Again, I have never been screwed by going to court and pleading guilty, always had the fine reduced and points reduced or eliminated.  Never just pay the fine.  I hope that is what you were asking.  To get out of a speeding ticket, just apologize and ask if there is any way they can cut you a break.  I've gotten out of a handful of tickets with just a warning by being respectful to the officer.
1156193
No lo contendre means that you are not contesting the ticket and will be penalized as though you have plead guilty, although you are not admitting guilt.  The only way to fight is to enter a plea of not guilty.  Your best bet is to consult with an attorney, because the prosecution most likely has a better understanding of court rules, statutes, and case law by which you are being prosecuted than you do.  The judge in your case will be willing to grant you a continuance in order for you to have time to consult with an attorney because (assuming you are in the U.S.) you have the Constitutional right to assistance of counsel.  Remember to NEVER ADMIT ANYTHING to the police, the D.A. or the judge in this case without having your attorney present, and only with his advising you to do so.  Good luck!
1063397
You admitted fault here and I bet that you admitted fault there too.\n\nRead what you wrote and you will realize that you have no argument in court.\n\nHe did not write the ticket for not stopping for the stop sign.\n\nHe wrote the ticket for "failing to yield to oncoming traffic at a stop sign."\n\nBig difference, if you were struck by cross traffic it becomes obvious that you did not yield to their right of way!\n\nYour best bet would be to plead "no contest" accepting the courts verdict without admitting guilt, it keeps you from looking foolish by trying to argue an open and closed case, and save face at the same time.
818040
Were you doing 100 MPH?  If you were, plead guilty and be done with it.  If you have a lawyer, he can't do much of anything for you anyways.  He'll just charge you more $$$ to show up in court.  At the most he may be able to get the speed lowered to have the points reduced, but you can ask the judge to to that anyway; most of them will.  You should be lucky you didn't get charged for reckless driving as well.  I would have put you in jail for speeding at 30 over and charged you for reckless driving.
83824
Yes, you can pay the ticket without going to jail.  Call the clerk of the court in the county in which you got the ticket and explain the circumstances.  It will take you a while to get through and they won't be very friendly, but eventually you'll get the information you need.
834672
If your in a court that has a high conviction rate if it goes to jury trial and the state evidence against you is enough to prove it was you then I would get a lawyer and possible get a reduced charge to pled guilty to before I just plead Guilty. If you plead guilty and goto jail APPEAL right away they might stay the charges and you wont serve until you loose the APPEAL. Get a cheap lawyer who doesnt have alot of cases to defend that is familar with the court in which your being charged, they can talk to the judge and prosocution to try and work something out so you dont serve time.
595110
Ask the judge for "Deffered Judification" ... \n\nThis basically means you 'promise' not to get in any trouble for 90 days, tickets, arrests ect... and if you fulfill that promise the ticket goes away.\n\nIf you get another ticket, they charge you full ticket price on either one.\n\nYour other option is defencive driving which will get most states to dismiss the ticket.\n\nIf you go the DD route, I reccomend taking the CLASS not the internet one... the internet one usually takes longer believe it or not.
135234
To be honest you are in trouble.  The judge will side with the cop everytime, especially with the radar gun.  Here is your best strategy......Call the cop that gave you the ticket and ask him to cut a deal with you....or wait for him in the lobby of the courthouse and plead /beg cry do whatever make up a story  ?maybe he'll give you a plea bargain.   I did this a few times,   2 of the 3 times it worked.  They charged me with a lower speed on etime instead of 75 in a 55  65 in 55,  the other time they took it from 70 in 55 to careless driving instead.  thats your only chance bud is a plea bargain.\n\n"an outside chane is this" on your ticket it says when the last date that radar device was checked for accuracy it must be checked every 30days...maybe the cop forgot that month