How do I... Do court? I didn't realize my license was expired and got pulled over. Now I have court tomorrow.
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?
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There's lots of resources online specifically about your state, that will be important, as every state is different.
In one state where I lived, you had the right to transfer moving violations to criminal court (the court for tickets was generally a Justice of the Peace, which is an appointee, so a legal education isn't required to be one).
Criminal court has higher requirements for everyone involved, so it can be useful for defense purposes. It also costs more, both for the state and for you in court fees (fines will be the same). The advantage is the state is motivated to plea your charge down to clear the docket. I've seen this many times, for everything under the sun. But, every state is different.
I assume since you have court it's because this is your first ticket, and you're young - not sure why they do that, but it's not uncommon. I guess they want to put the fear of the legal system in you. Had the opposite effect for me, saw it was just a process, that goes on all day, every day. Later tickets you just pay.
Actually I'm not young. Im 35 but I drive like an old man so never even get tickets much less had to go to court for anything.
I'm assuming my chance of going to jail over this is low but I'm still worried about it. Ive never been to jail and that would cause me to miss work and I need my job.
I don't know if criminal court would be a better option because I can't think of something lesser than letting my license expire accidentally.
You aren't going to go to jail. This is an administrative ticket, you didn't even do anything wrong like speed or run a stop sign.
Agreed - they want your money here, not your liberty.
Like others said. you're not going to jail. You'll be ok. You'll get a fine and maybe points on your license.
You could possibly ask for your case to be continued, and have time to renew your license.