I know the obvious of being polite and respectful. do I show up early like an airport? Do I just show the guard my ticket? Anything I should know or be aware of?
Dress as well as you can, be on time or a little early, don’t piss off the judge.
Be honest.
if you’re wanting to talk to somebody before hand… they should have a public defender you can speak to. Bring relevant paperwork.
We have no clue where you are so we can’t give any good advice. For all we know you live in Elbonia and driving without a license gets you the guillotine.
But
Show up ~30 minutes early, there will likely be metal detectors and a line at them. If you are in line be ready when you get up front, if you need to empty your pockets do that before you are at the detector. This makes it faster for everyone.
Showing up early will also give you time to find your courtroom in the building. It also will let you watch the court for a few minutes before your time to shine.
Turn your phone off. Court house rules might require you leave it outside.
Dress appropriately, a polo should be fine. Any collared shirt tucked in with pants and closed toed shoes will show you put some effort into dressing yourself. No hats unless you’ve got to for your religion.
It’s the judge’s courtroom don’t interrupt them. Don’t lie. And being on your best behavior starts the moment you step onto the lot not when you enter the room, be polite to court staff as well.
Read the ticket front and back for specific instructions. Check the court website to see if there’s any announcements that you should be aware of (like local rules).
Don’t listen to other people’s advice on how you should plead. We don’t know the facts of your case. Most people here aren’t lawyers. Nothing here is legal advice.
We have no clue where you are so we can’t give any good advice. For all we know you live in Elbonia and driving without a license gets you the guillotine.
Rule no.1 on the internet: If they don’t tell you their country of origin, its the US
“the US” doesn’t narrow it down much. I kinda assumed that much. What really matters if which one of the 50+ legal systems in the US he is subject to. And which courthouse he is going to.
This is going to 100% be a state law matter, unless he lives somewhere like D.C. or Puerto Rico which aren’t states but fall under federal jurisdiction.
It’s Florida. Titusville.
And the courthouse was closed when I went there today because of the hurricane. Guess they don’t have power yet.
The clerks office is closed too, and the website hasn’t been updated and still says my court date is today.
I even tried calling the non-emergancy police number and they don’t know. They told me to call the clerk on Monday. Which will be fine unless my court date is rescheduled for Monday at 9am when they open.
Monday is a holiday in Florida. It’s likely the court will be closed
Less true on Lemmy, but still a fair assumption.
Best behavior is subjective. Talking less is usually smart, but some people mistakenly believe it’s good behavior.
(Which is to say, the above comment has good advice, but it’s not universally reliable. Use your own judgment or pay a lawyer if your judgment sucks.)
Tell the judge you’re a sovereign citizen and he has no authority over you. If they try to touch you, just call “help! I’m being kidnapped!”
To be super clear: this is a joke answer, NEVER do this.
I’m a bit late, but I used to testify in DUI cases and have sat through many court sessions.
First, you didn’t commit a crime, you made an oopsie. Don’t stress out too much, a lot of people just don’t show up, you’re a light in the dark for just showing up.
Wear nice clothes, put together the best you can with what you have, don’t go buy a suit for traffic court. Slacks and a collared shirt (no visible holes or worn spots) is typically enough, especially if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Save your money for fixing the situation, not looking nice. Looking nice does help and shows respect to the court (judge) but trying to fix things on your own without them intervening makes you look even better.
Explain that you made a mistake and accidentally let it lapse. Talk to the public defender if you can. They are overloaded with cases but will help, court proceedings and the language they can use is confusing.
Try to make amends now, renew your license, sign up for whatever you need to sign up for, if you can’t afford to renew let the judge know that you’re walking/biking/bussing to work until you can afford to renew/sign up/etc. Ask the court for mercy since you have a clean record to the best of your knowledge and are already taking steps to remedy the situation.
Be very nice, the judge is the law in their courtroom, the only person with more power is the court stenographer because they get to correct the judge.
Bring receipts or any proof that you have of what you’re doing.
As many have said DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF TO COURT.
It’s simple really. Be honest and reasonable to the judge, and they will likely be reasonable back especially if this is a first offense. Give only as much information as requested, though, never offer information unless you’re certain it won’t be used against you.
never offer information unless you’re certain it won’t be used against you.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Offer only as much information as is necessary, even if you’re sure it won’t be used against you.
Special emphasis on against. Theirs no “in favor” there. They have the burden of proof and you can’t really defend yourself out of it, only poke holes in their argument (which you almost certainly aren’t going to be able to do if they present any, so mostly just shut the fuck up). Admit the license was expired, because that’s not in question. Don’t admit really anything else that may be important, but be respectful and honest.
It’s a bit late now, but you should have immediately renewed your license after receiving the ticket. Your best defense would have been “I forgot, but I have already renewed it”. Since you didn’t do that, and you don’t have an attorney, and court is tomorrow, I’d just be honest, and let them know that you will go from the courthouse immediately to the DMV, or DoL, or whatever it’s called where you live, and renew it. Hopefully they don’t suspend your license for driving without a license. Other than that, get there on time, dress nice, comb your hair, don’t be intoxicated, or on any drugs, and refer to the judge as Your Honor. Good luck.
Go to the dmv asap to get the license, ideally before court. If you get it done, show your new license to the court and they will dismiss your case, (hopefully)
Leave your weed in the car. Get a ride to court if you’re not doing zoom court.
If it was me, I would go in, dressed smart casual, be on time, polite, own up to the issue, say sorry I forgot to get it renewed and I hadn’t realized it needed doing, inform the judge of any mitigating circumstances that might have distracted you and ask that because it’s your first offence if they could be lenient as there were no other aggravating factors (speeding, drunk, crashed car with injuries rtc).
Was the car or truck in pretty good condition ?. It’s what I’d try if all indications are you are an otherwise legal and safe driver. I’m not asking for you to answer to me, but they seem relevant to a judge. I hope things work out ok for you.
The only other thing I could think of is if someone could be a character witness but the court might not want to hear them.
Maybe you have a good reason to ask for the fine to be waived if you have sick kids etc, or have been saving for a worthwhile cause and this would be a major setback or a penalty like losing your license would make you unable to work or look after kids.
If you are pleasant and don’t make things harder then they might have discretion to adjust the penalty and decide to do so. But the law might also be written so the judge has no say in the penalty or a minimum penalty is required.
I know of some drivers over here if they have an established safe driving record they can write and ask for a speeding fine to be reviewed and possibly waived (if it was just a few kms over, cant see it work gor 30km/h+ over).
I think there’s also been a few cases where people who would otherwise have their license suspended over here get an exemption for work etc.
Maybe you have a good reason to ask for the fine to be waived if you have sick kids etc, or have been saving for a worthwhile cause and this would be a major setback or a penalty like losing your license would make you unable to work or look after kids.
Judge waived a ticket for me because it would have made me unable to work.
Also, to be fair it was a bullshit ticket. Raining, slick road, spun out, solo accident. Doing the speed limit, not distracted or intoxicated. But county laws say that every accident gets a ticket for negligent driving, regardless of circumstances.
Sweet summer child, just be honest and forthcoming. Admit fault, pay your fine. Be the person that contributes to our society instead of the downfall.
Be honest and respectful, but don’t admit more fault than you need to. Yeah, you fucked up driving with an expired license. Admit to that and be humble. The judge is dealing with much worse than that even just that day. If you’re not an ass, the judge may be nice if you’re lucky. However, don’t admit to other things that can’t be proven. They are required to prove that you did something wrong, which obviously the license thing is easy and there isn’t a doubt over. If they try to make you admit it’s intentional or anything else, you don’t have to say anything.
You might not even go to open court for this. A lot of times for minor traffic offenses there’s just a standard deal they give you.
Be humble, apologetic and polite. Explain the facts, don’t offer opinions.
I’ve been to court a few times, once for a traffic incident where I hit a pole and totaled my car. Got an improper lane usage ticket. I just showed up in regular clothes, went to the front desk thing and asked where my courtroom was. They made us wait outside of it until it was time. Then I just plead guilty or whatever and had to do one of those driving classes. I wouldn’t worry too much. Yours isn’t that serious either.
Honestly kinda shit of the cop to make you go to begin with.
Honestly kinda shit of the cop to make you go to begin with.
I thought you really only had to get to court if you denied settling the matter with the cop there and then. So you are not forced to go to court but if you want to dispute the ticket you have to go to court.
It might be too late, but if you have your license renewed tell that to the judge. They will ask you how do you plead, I wouldn’t try to pull any shit with the not guilty plea. Just say you plead guilty, it was a mistake, and you renewed it immediately.
I had my state inspection expire and it was dismissed by the judge. Just dress nice, be respectful, and tell them it happened and you fixed it ASAP. You will still have to pay a court fee, so you won’t get out of jail free, but not having points on your license is worth it.
At the end of the day, most judges just want to see that there wasn’t a nefarious reason you didn’t have a valid drivers license. If you were able to renew it, no harm no foul.
I haven’t renewed my license yet. In my state I have to take the written test again so two appointments at the DMV
Im also in retail management so between COVID call outs, holiday roll outs, and a hurricane… I haven’t had a day off in months.
I personally would schedule something even if i know i cant make it so i can tell whoever i talk to that i have it all scheduled.
it won’t look great if you’re taking no action toward correcting the issue.
That’s a bummer. I would have a plan for how to get to the courthouse without personally driving, otherwise the judge might take offense with how you arrived there illegally and do something more drastic.
If it was just a traffic ticket you can hire a traffic lawyer for fairly cheap if you don’t want to go to court or would like the comfort of someone there for you who does this often. In CA, I’ve seen this typically cost around $50 for handling a traffic ticket. They can get most tickets dismissed or at the very least the fine reduced. If a cop no shows it gets dismissed.
Best to get it renewed asap though as previous commenters suggested, then it becomes a non-issue, so a trip to the DMV might be a good idea. I’d head your DMV website since the address varies depending on the state you’re in. Renewing a REAL ID may require you take a short refresher course and provide two documents that prove residency, one that proves identity (US Passport, previous license, SSA card, etc) they’ll tell you what you need on there though.
