What to Do If I Have a Municipal Court Ticket

What happens when you go to court for a municipal court ticket? Our firm can make the process easy and help you understand your rights.

To begin the municipal court process, this firm will forward a series of correspondence to the municipal court. This correspondence will include a formal notification to the court that you are represented by this firm. We will then make a formal request for all discovery relating to your matter, and finally, we will provide, in writing, correspondence to the municipal court stating your intentions of pleading not guilty to the charges issued against you.

Next, upon receipt of the discovery package from the prosecutor, this office will review the entire discovery package and contact you to schedule a meeting in our office to review this discovery. We will specifically review any investigative reports, witness statements and tickets. If you decide that you do not wish to proceed to trial, we will review your summons and discuss possible plea options.

This office has the knowledge and experience to assist you and proceed to court to enter into plea negotiations with the municipal court prosecutor. In many instances there may be several summonses issued, which may relate to one series of actions. In these cases it may be possible to eliminate duplicative tickets. For example, if you are ticketed for speeding, failure to maintain lanes and careless driving, it may be possible to plea guilty to one charge and thereby have the remaining charges dismissed.

Some of the issues that we will need to discuss at our office meeting are your driving history and your drivers abstract. Your abstract will clearly list all of the driving violations that you ever received in the State of New Jersey. We will then discuss any financial obligations that are associated with your tickets.

The most important part of plea negotiations is the discussion with the municipal court prosecutor. It is absolutely essential to have the prosecutor’s consent to any possible pleas. Further, we may also have to discuss certain situations with the police officer who issued the summons(es). In a majority of cases, our office is able to discuss matters with the prosecutor and police officers and successfully achieve the best plea for our client’s situation.

Next, we will attempt to either eliminate or reduce any points on your license. Points are similar to penalties assessed for certain moving violations. Points many cause your car insurance costs to increase, therefore, we most certainly attempt to eliminate points. In some situations, if you have accumulated many points in a short period of time, there is the risk of a temporary loss of license from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

Secondly, we will attempt to achieve a plea that will reduce the amount of fines and monetary penalties. There are some penalties that are non-negotiable and are regulated by law, however, most fines have ranges. This firm looks to obtain the minimal fines and obligations. In some situations where large fines are incurred, we are able to obtain a payment period, so that any financial obligations may be paid in monthly installments.

Contact us at R.C. Shea and Associates to discuss any matters relating to municipal court tickets.