Only on the SDMB can you get your “what to expect in court?” question answered by a judge. (Edit: I suppose you could also just, you know, call a judge, but you get the point)
IANAJ, but I was thinking the same thing. I would suggest something more along the lines of, “Your Honor, I apologise for my mistake, but I would ask that the Court note that I have taken steps to address it.”
Also, misdemeanor or not, I suggest you at least consult (if not retain) an attorney.
However could offering a sincere apology and promising not to offend again be interpreted as a smartass remark?
As always in such matters, tone of voice, body language, the size of the docket that day and the judge or magistrate’s own mood can be important variables. Just a word to the wise.
And Really, I’m a magistrate, not a judge. But thanks!
Let me tell you what happened in my (similar) case. I was stopped in PG County Maryland in 1998, riding an unregistered motorcyle, with neither insurance nor a license. Since the uninsured motorist offence is, however unlikely it may be, a jailable transgression, I lawyered up. I also got a license and insurance. (I sold the bike)
My attorney MAY have consulted with the DA beforehand, but I don’t think so. My case was almost two hours into the day, and many of the people before the judge that day were clearly not prepared – many were there on their second or third continuances but still did not have the necessary documentation. Many were wearing blue jeans or sweat suits. The judge was visibly unhappy with them.
I wore a suit. When my case was called, my attorney chatted briefly with the DA, then with the officer who had stopped me. My lawyer told the judge “Your honor, my client is an idiot, and did something idiotic which he won’t likely do again. He has paid me more than the combined fines of all of the tickets the officer wrote, and I ask that you show him leniency.”
The judge responded by praising me for playing the game (seriously, he said “Since you have shown the wisdom of understanding the benefit of retaining counsel…”) and he dismissed all but the most minor of the charges, and further waived all but $50 of the fee associated with it. The DA offered no objection. I left a $50 check with the court clerk and went home to have lunch. The whole process took about two minutes, once they got to me
FYI the lawyer cost me about $1200, and I got off with no record, so there was no effect on my insurance. I don’t know what a conviction would have done to my insurance rates, so from a strictly financial poerspective I can’t calculate if the lawyer was worth it, even using Nevers experience without one as a counterexample