Judge Sa'ab I'm not Guilty!!!

Here goes my experience with US municipal court for driving offences. I had already pleaded not guilty for the offence I did. I had to do it because if you plead guilty you would just end up paying the fine and won't get a chance to defend yourself in front of the judge. I was very confused about the preparation I need to do before going to the court. Few of my friends even suggested to hire a lawyer but I was very hesitant to do the same and after reading few forums I was sure I don't need them.

As soon as I entered the court I saw quite a few offenders over there and I felt good to know that I was not the only one to be caught. We were directed to talk to prosecutor before talking to the judge. As per my offence I was supposed to get 4 points and a fine of around $110 but the prosecutor offered me a fine of $430 and convert my offense to a zero point offence i.e. I was just driving couple of miles per hour more than speed limit posted. Even though I was losing a bit of money I was more than happy to accept the offer else I would have paid atleast double the amount in a year to my insurance company and that too for next 3 years. Also I saved money by not hiring a lawyer ;-).

My piece of advice to everyone whoever gets a traffic ticket do take court's appointment by pleading not guilty and court is always ready to work out a deal with you!