Quote:
Originally Posted by BettyZ
If the officer doesnt show up or if there's a defect on the ticket the judge will dismiss it.
Otherwise, no. Remember that the state/district attorneys assigned to traffic courtrooms are brand-new and itching to have some trial experience.
And in Cook County, at least, you get a whole other set of statutory fines leveled on you if you show up and contest the ticket. Victim Reimbursement Fund, DUI Fund, Illinois-Be-Broke Fund.
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I had to go to court for a ticket. The judge that day was a stand in for the regular one. He said that California fees/taxes on top of ticket fines were ridiculous, and that people can ask for a reduced fine. He was dropping the fine for EVERYONE by over half.
Then a guy comes in, calls out about 20 names and to follow him to another courtroom because this one was way too full. I was one of them. The judge I had to see had just finished a hearing regarding a drug offender. I ask if he could reduce my fine. NO! Case closed.
That first judge showed us the base fine for difference offenses, then what it costs after fees/taxes/bs, it was like 10-15x the cost of the base penalty.