Traffic/Civil Infractions

64B District Court

Information about Traffic / Civil Infractions

The traffic division handles civil infractions.

What is a citation/ticket?

Citation means "a complaint or notice upon which a police officer records an occurrence involving one or more vehicle law violations or other civil infraction violations by the person cited." The cited driver/individual is the defendant. A citation can be a civil infraction or a misdemeanor depending on the seriousness of the violation. All defendants who receive a civil citation must respond to the allegations in the citation within 14 days from the time the citation is issued. Generally, if the citation is a Misdemeanor charge, YOU MUST APPEAR IN COURT on the date and time listed in the citation. Refer to the back of your citation or contact the court for procedures regarding misdemeanor citations.

It will take 3-5 business days to receive the ticket into the Court’s system; thus, the Court will not be able to answer questions prior to that time.

Note: the following policies apply only to the 64B District Court. If your citation is from a court other than the 64B District Court, you must contact the court listed on your citation for processing instructions.

The defendant has these options when a civil infraction has been issued:

Option 1.

Admit responsibility without explanation for the civil infraction and make an appearance in person, by representation, by mail, email, or fax. An appearance in one of the above forms must be made. Admissions of responsibility are not accepted by telephone. A defendant may admit responsibility to the citation by signing the back of the citation under “admit responsibility” and receive a 28-day extension to pay. To avoid late charges all admissions of responsibility must be received within 14 days from the date you received your citation. You do not need to call the court to confirm this. If you are admitting responsibility, you should also send a check or money order made payable to “64B District Court” for the full amount of the ticket, appear in person to pay, or pay electronically with a debit or credit card through allpaid or call 888-604-7888.

Instructions on how to pay using Allpaid.

For traffic citations/civil infraction citations, enter your ticket number (usually located at the top of your ticket and on the right side in red or black) in place of the court case number if you do not have a case number. Then proceed as directed. The Payment Location Code is 1925. Handling fees will be applied.

Please check the District Court’s web page under Traffic Fine Schedule to find out the exact amount of the fine imposed on the charged offense on your ticket. If you cannot locate the amount from the schedule of fines you may contact the court directly by phone ext. #2. Note: The fines and costs are NOT listed on the ticket.

Noncompliance with the judgment will result in eventual sanctions including late fees, a summons for your appearance by the Court, and the possibility of a bench warrant being issued for your arrest.

Option 2.

Admit Responsibility with explanation for the civil infraction. A defendant’s admission of responsibility with explanation consists of the following:

An admission of responsibility with explanation for the offense charged, i.e., you must sign the ticket under “admit responsibility w/explanation”; and
An explanation of the circumstances surrounding the offense.

Please write a letter to the magistrate and submit it to the 64B District Court through mail, email, fax, or in person. Once received, the Magistrate will review your letter. If the magistrate does not accept your admission, the case may be set for an informal hearing or the magistrate may enter a judgment if your letter of explanation is insufficient to justify otherwise. Once a decision has been made, the court will inform you of the magistrate’s decision. If you are found responsible, the court will give you 28 days to pay the fines and costs and will send you a judgment of sentence letting you know how much the fines and costs are, if any. Payment is to be made as described above in section 1 and on the Payment of Fines and Costs page.

If the defendant admits responsibility with explanation, the court may not set aside the defendant’s admission and find the defendant not responsible (see informal or formal hearing). If the Court finds the defendant responsible with explanation it may only reduce the civil fines and costs in light of the extenuating circumstances or financial hardship. You must provide proof of financial hardship to the Court.

* The court does not issue points on your driver’s license and has no authority to adjust points. For inquiries to points on your driver’s license please contact Secretary of State. The court may not and does not have jurisdiction to reduce or eliminate the number of points assessed by the secretary of state. That authority rests solely with the Secretary of State.

The defendant’s appearance (by mail, email, fax, or in person) must occur within the time specified. Failure to make a timely appearance will result in entry of a default judgment against the defendant. Noncompliance with the judgment will result in eventual sanctions including late fees, a summons for your appearance by the Court, and the possibility of a bench warrant being issued for your arrest.

Option 3.

Deny responsibility for the civil infraction. To deny responsibility is to contest the case. You can either request an informal hearing with the magistrate and the police officer that issued the ticket or a formal hearing with the Judge. The defendant must appear in court to offer a defense at an Informal or Formal hearing. Denials of responsibility/requests for hearings must be received within 14 days from the date your citation was issued. Request for an informal or formal hearing may be made by completing the back of your citation and then submitting it either in person, by mail, email, or fax to the Court. You may include a letter with your completed citation requesting an informal or formal hearing.

If a defendant fails to respond to a traffic civil infraction citation, or fails to appear for a scheduled hearing, the court may enter a default judgment of responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions.

Contesting the Civil infraction

There are two types of hearings for contested civil infraction cases -- Informal hearings and Formal hearings:

1. Civil Infraction Informal Hearing

The majority of contested cases are heard and decided at Informal hearings.

What is an informal hearing?

An informal hearing is a court proceeding held to decide whether you committed and whether you are responsible for the traffic offense or other civil infraction with which you were charged. It is your opportunity to defend yourself, to ask questions, and to have witnesses testify in your favor. The testimony is under oath but the hearing is much less formal than a trial.

How is an informal hearing different from a trial?

The magistrate, rather than the district judge, usually presides over the hearing. Neither side may be represented by an attorney. There is no jury and no court reporter. The magistrate’s final decision will be based on preponderance (a 51 percent majority) of the evidence, not on proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In general, the atmosphere will be less formal than that of a trial.

An informal hearing is one that is conducted by a District Court Magistrate involving the police officer, the defendant and any witnesses, and is held without a prosecutor or defense attorney. The determination may be appealed to a formal hearing.

You may testify on your own behalf, have witnesses testify on your behalf, and ask questions of the witnesses against you. All questions must be concise, courteous, and not inflammatory or argumentative. You may also present any other documents or physical evidence that supports your case.

If you need to adjourn your informal hearing you may do so one time only. The court will need to receive a letter from the defendant requesting the adjournment at least 7 days in advance from the hearing date. The defendant and officer are allowed to adjourn one time within the time guidelines.

How do I get my witnesses to appear?

You may ask witnesses to come in voluntarily, or if necessary, you may use the subpoena power of the court to obtain their attendance. Subpoena forms may be obtained from the court clerk.

Must I pay witnesses for appearing?

Yes, if you are the party subpoenaing the witness. Check with the court clerk to find out current witness fee amounts.

May the citing officer bring witnesses?

Yes.

What are the possible outcomes of the hearing?

You may be found:

Not responsible
Responsible
Responsible for a lesser infraction than the one charged.

What happens if the citing officer fails to appear?

If the officer does not appear, the case will be dismissed "without prejudice," which means there has not been a finding of responsibility for the charged offense. The officer may issue another citation for the same incident.

What happens if I fail to appear?

If you fail to appear, the court will enter a default judgment against you. This means the court will automatically find you responsible for the infraction charged, set the fine and costs, and mail you a judgment notice requiring you to pay, if you do not pay the judgment within 28 days, the court will send you a 14-day notice. If you do not pay within 14 days from the notice date, you are subject to sanctions and the Court may issue a warrant for your arrest.

2. Civil Infraction Formal Hearing

A formal hearing is one that is conducted only by a District Court Judge involving the police officer, defendant and all witnesses. The defendant may be represented by an attorney and a prosecutor will represent the State or municipality.

Do I have the right to appeal?

If you are found responsible after an informal hearing you have the right to appeal for a formal hearing before the district judge. Within 7 days of the judgment (date of hearing), you must complete an appeal form and file it with the court. In addition, you must post a cash bond equal to the fines and costs imposed by the magistrate. The judge will listen to all of the evidence and make a ruling. This ruling is independent of the informal hearing.

What happens if I don't show up for an informal or formal hearing?

If a defendant fails to appear at an informal or formal hearing the court may enter a default determination of responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions. Failure to answer a citation or notice to appear in court for an informal or formal hearing can also result in additional sanctions.

For more questions about informal or formal hearings, please contact the 64B District Court traffic division at (989) 831-7450.

How to Admit Responsibility for Your Civil Infraction

You may "admit" to your ticket in the following ways:

• IN PERSON:

A defendant may appear in court to admit responsibility anytime during the course of a normal business day. Court hours are 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Bring your copy of the citation with you. The clerk will ask you to sign the back of your ticket admitting responsibility and issue a receipt for your payment, or give you 28 days to pay if you’re requesting an extension. (For your convenience there are also Kiosks available in the lobby and at the entrance to the Courthouse if you wish to make debit or credit card payments using that system.)

• BY MAIL, EMAIL OR FAX:

Appearance by mail is made when the defendant returns the citation to the court with a signed admission of responsibility (please read instructions on your ticket). If payment is not enclosed, the court will enter the judgment and assess the appropriate fines and costs. Your payment must be received within 28 days. The timeliness of a mail appearance is determined by the postmark date of the defendant’s letter. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope if you make a payment and would like your receipt mailed back to you.

• BY REPRESENTATION:

Appearance by representation is made when a defendant authorizes another person to come before the court and admit responsibility or make payment on the defendant’s behalf. Your representative must bring with them your signed admission of responsibility ticket with your signature on the back.

Warning: Failure to make a timely appearance or failure to answer a citation or a notice to appear in court for a traffic violation will result in entry of a default judgment against the defendant. Noncompliance with the judgment will result in additional consequences, including late fees, an issued summons to appear, and even a bench warrant for your arrest.