Road Law – March/April 2025
Road Law recently received some questions from drivers who are frustrated that the judicial system doesn’t seem to care about their time.
Q: I received a traffic ticket and decided to fight it on my own. When I appeared on the first court date, I hoped to resolve the issue. But the judge would only accept my not guilty plea. The judge also set pre-trial and trial dates several months out, which I will have to appear at as well. I really don’t have the time to keep coming back to court over and over again. What can I do?
A: This is a great question. Unlike most day-to-day transactions, where we are able to negotiate and resolve problems, the court system is heavily antiquated and bound up with procedure. There are books and books of procedure, whether it be civil or criminal or local court rules that need to be followed.
In your case, you have a court that is very formalistic and wants to follow a procedure to resolve cases. For most traffic ticket cases, the procedure starts with an initial response date. As you found, this date usually encompasses the entry of a plea but no other action on the merits of your case. The next move would be to try to contact whoever is prosecuting your case to see about a plea bargain. If you can work something out, then you may be able to resolve your case without the necessity of appearing again. However, when you’re dealing with overly procedure-driven courts, you may still need to appear to accept a plea bargain or to change your plea, so you may not be out of the woods.
Another option is to hire a lawyer to represent you, but you also have to take into consideration that in many formalistic courts, it doesn’t matter that you have a lawyer if the judge still wants to have you present in court.
Q: I set my case for trial, and when I appeared for the hearing, the prosecutor asked that the case be continued because the officer was unavailable that day. The judge granted the request, and I have to come back to court again. Shouldn’t the judge have dismissed my case?
A: In a perfect world, yes. But it is not uncommon for either side of a case to ask for a continuance for a good reason. And if there is no objection to it, then the judge is more likely to grant it. You are at a disadvantage as a non-lawyer by not necessarily knowing when or how to object. For example, you could say:
- I object to a continuance. I’ve traveled X miles to get here and I am ready for trial. Also, it would be an economic hardship for me to come back at a later date.
- The officer was subpoenaed well in advance of this request, and the prosecution has had ample time to notify me of a request for a continuance.
Ultimately, it is up to the judge to make the final decision as to whether the case will be continued. In our experience, these cases are very much judge-dependent, with results that can range from a denial of the request (leading to a dismissal of the case) to a frustrating series of continuances for the prosecution. LL
We invite you to send any questions or comments regarding transportation law to: Road Law, 3441 W. Memorial Road, Suite 4, Oklahoma City, OK 73134; to contact us through our website at www.RoadLaw.net; or to call us at 405-242-2030. We look forward to hearing from you.