Fighting a Traffic Violation in Connecticut

In Connecticut, police officers inform drivers they have two options when it comes to getting a citation: 1. Plead guilty and submit a check for the fine by mail or 2. Plead non-guilty and get a court date.

Before making a decision, understand that the "answer date" is usually two Fridays from the date the ticket was issued.

According to the Connecticut Superior Court Web site, failure to reply by the "answer date" means that the ticket will be transferred to court automatically.

If it is a motor vehicle matter, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend your license, require you to pay a $60 reopening fee to the Clerk of the Court where the ticket was issued in addition to the original amount, and they may additionally charge you a $125 fee to reinstate your license.

If it is for a non-motor vehicle related matter, your case will be transferred to court, an arrest warrant will be issued, and a bond for your release may be set by the court.

Additionally, you will be accused of "Failure to Pay or Plead" which will be added to the original charge.

Rumors float around that pleading "non-guilty" on a ticket could allow points to be accrued against your driver's license and that those who plead "non-guilty" will experience an increased fine due to court costs.

The truth of the matter is that you can plead non-guilty and should consider doing so.

While it may be easier to just pay the ticket, imagine what the violation could do to your driving record an increase in your auto insurance rate.

According to the DMV website, in Connecticut, if you are over the age of 25 have three convictions involving moving or suspension violations, the DMV will require you take an Operator Retraining Course costing $60.

If you are 24 years of age or younger, two violations will prompt a requirement to take the course.

16 and 17 year olds will be required to take the course if they drive in violation of learner's permit requirements, drive in violation of Graduated Driver's License Laws such as passenger restriction and driving curfew laws, or use a cellular phone or other electronic mobile device while driving even if it is "hands-free".

Taking the course and then having an additional violation may require the driver to take the course a second time.

Private vendors in Connecticut offering the class include A Better Connecticut Driver, Driving School Association of America, The National Safety Council, and National Traffic Safety Institute.

Failure to take the required course leads to a driver's license suspension and a $125 restoration fee.

Pleading "guilty" counts as a conviction meaning, unlike criteria used when charging someone with a crime; the state does not have to "prove" that you acted an unsafe manner leading to the issuance of a ticket.

The state would like all accused to plead "guilty" to save the expense of processing the case, increase income obtained from writing traffic tickets, and to help further the goal of deterring the accused from committing the same accused violation again.

The downside to pleading "non-guilty" is the possibility of having your case transferred to court and wasting a good portion of your day waiting to speak to the state's attorney.

If you have an extra sick day at work, you may want to consider using it.

An attorney recently told me that Connecticut does not assess "points" against people's driver's license due to a lack of money to keep such a system maintained.

Pleading non-guilty allows your ticket to be sent to the Centralized Infractions Bureau in Hartford where they will first send you a standardized form that your plea has been received.

The form explains that "your case will be reviewed by a prosecutor at the Centralized Infractions Bureau" and that "your case will be transferred to Superior Court, unless the prosecutor decides to nolle the case. A nolle is a decision by the prosecutor not to prosecute the case further. If your case is nolled, you will be notified by the Centralized Infractions Bureau. If your case is transferred to court, you will be notified by the court of your court appearance date. If you have any additional information or documentation which you would like considered with your case, please send it to the Centralized Infractions Bureau no later than (usually two weeks). Please include this notice with your correspondence. Include your ticket number on all correspondence."

The attorney explained to me that writing a letter stating the circumstances of the ticket is quite helpful.

Remember, though that it is not effective to use the letter to insult the police officer or use profanity and that the letter should give evidence to why the ticket was issued unfairly.

If your case is nolled, the attorney explained, it means that the violation is wiped clean from your record, there are no court costs or fees to pay, and you do not have to come to court.

Minor violations are often nolled and the bureau is used as a medium between the accused and the court to filter out less important violations.

If the bureau sends your case to the regional court based on the town you received the ticket in, you will be given a date where you will sit in a room with other accused drivers and be called to speak to the state attorney.

There are twenty geographical courts in Connecticut located in Stamford, Bridgeport, Danbury, Waterbury, Derby, Meriden, Middletown, New London, Danielson, Manchester, Enfield, Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Bantam, Rockville, Norwalk, Norwich, Milford, and New Haven.

The attorney explained that he feels it is better for residents to come on their own behalf and not to bring an attorney into the room.

The state attorney has the ability to nolle case but most likely will be able to cut the price of the ticket in half.

Again, being courteous to officials is important to a successful nolle or reduction in fines.

By accepting the reduction in fine, it will still be put on your driver's license, your insurance company could raise your rate, and the DMV, at its discretion, could require you to take a safe operator's course.

While you could take the case to trial, the attorney explained to me this option should be used only if being charged with major violation that includes a large fine, circumstances show that the driver may not have been at fault, and that the charge could lead to a major increase in auto insurance rates.

Such charges include Driving While Intoxicated, speed racing, and excessive speeding in a construction work zone.

Taking most violations to trial could lead to a guilty plea and in increase in the ticket price to pay for court costs, the attorney explained.

While it is unknown the exact number of tickets given out for traffic violations each year, it is definitely a money-making business for the state and the system is setup to intimidate drivers to plead guilty so that the state will not need to spend time or money to try cases that may not have enough evidence to stand up in the eyes of a state attorney.