Couldn’t decide if this was a GQ or more of an IMHO thing, so feel free to move it if necessary. Also, standard disclaimer: I am not requesting actual legal advice, no liability is implied, etc.
Anyway, here’s the story:
My license was suspended briefly last summer as I hadn’t payed a traffic ticket. In early July, I had the court date for this in my home state, paid the fine, submitted the reinstatement paperwork and fees, etcetera.
Approximately a month later (early August), I was on vacation in Maine. While there, I was pulled over for having the proverbial tail-light out, and when my license was run, it came back as still suspended. Why my state was still reporting my license suspended I do not know, but a few days later (after returning home), I renewed my license, and the DMV told me it was coming up clean to them. Anyway, the officer who pulled me over issued me a summons for Operating Under Suspension, and gave me a court date.
I am now back home, some 5 hours drive from the courthouse in question. Having talked to various court functionaries, I have learned that I basically have two options at this point:
(a) Plead guilty in writing, and submit a fine of $182.50. This will be the end of the case, and all will be well, though I’ll be out a nice chunk of change.
or
(b) Plead not guilty in person. To do this, I must appear before the judge, which means driving five hours up and five hours back – but offers the possibility that I may win the case and owe them nothing.
Thus, my question: what are my chances of having this case decided in my favor? My funds are basically nonexistent at this point, so a nearly $200 fine is not going to be fun to absorb. If I thought I had a good chance of winning, I wouldn’t really mind driving up; it’s a nice drive, and I’ve never been up there during the off-season. However, I don’t want to drive up if they’re just going to tell me “Ok, you have no case, you still owe us $182.50”.
Oh, and another fact that may be relevant: when I was issued the summons, the charge listed was, as stated, “operating under suspension”. Upon calling them, I’ve learned that the state laws have apparently been changed, and they are no longer pursuing the OUS charge – instead, they’re charging me with “operating without a valid license”. I doubt this really matters, but might there be some grandfathering clause in place that I could bring up in court? Might I be able to say I was unable to prepare a proper case as the charges had changed?
Whew, lots of text. Anyway, I’m sure somebody has been in the situation where they’ve gotten a court date in a semi-far-away place; how did you handle it? Should I just suck it up as a loss and pay the fine, or should I actually make the trip up there and make my case?