Don't Mail it In: Parking and Speeding Tickets

There are lots of parking and traffic laws in New Jersey, and even though you may be a great driver and know your way around the road, chances are that you don't know all of them. Eventually, you're probably going to get a ticket (technically, a summons). What do you do?

This isn't really legal advice so much as practical advice: if you're not a long distance away, fight it. Even if you think you're probably guilty, you aren't going to do any worse going to court than you would if you just paid it online (www.njmcdirect.com). Actually, you might do a lot better; depending on any defenses you can think up, the prosecutor might give you some sort of deal to convince you to plead guilty. You might end up with fewer points and/or a smaller fine just by attending court. Plus, you can get a sense of how the process works, and that goes a long way toward taking away the fear of the whole process.

The best part is that on the municipal level many people represent themselves in court; for a more complicated summons or a DWI there are usually lawyers involved, but you can often save yourself the trouble of hiring an attorney because the prosecutor and municipal court judge will help you out when you're there by yourself. It's an interesting experience, and I think it's worth it for anybody to try at least once.