Can I Get a Ticket Thrown Out For Improper Dating

November 3, 2011 12:58 PM

I got some traffic tickets in October. My court date is December. Except the way it's written on the ticket it's January. As in the one from 2011 that already happened.

I got pulled over for having an old validation sticker. Couldn't find my insurance or registration cards, had a license with an old address. So we're not talking about anything major or really harmful. Especially since I've gotten everything taken care of and will get all the tickets dismissed when I go to court in December.

Except that I'd like to get this whole thing taken care of before then. If my court date says January and I got pulled over in October, what are my chances of being able to go somewhere and have them thrown out? Or is that something that I'd have to sit through court to do anyway or something else where it's just easier to go to court on the date that he meant to write on the ticket?

Alternatively, what are my chances of being able to see the officer before the court date and just show him that I have everything taken care of? He did say when I got pulled over that if I showed up about half an hour early for court I could show him all the stuff and just skip the court proceedings.

I'm in Charleston, SC and have no worries about anyone connecting this to me since it's all pretty minor stuff and the worst that will happen is I hear that I'll have to go to court.

posted by theichibun to law & government (6 answers total)

This is all anecdotal, but recently something similar happened to a close friend.

He got pulled over for something and the cop wrote him a ticket. The reason he got a ticket shouldn't have gotten him a court date since it was just a small infraction but anyways he got the ticket on a Saturday at 8:50 am the court date was on that same Saturday at 9:00 am. Courts aren't open on Saturdays...and usually I would hope that they would give you more than 10 minutes to get to court.

He was also have issues paying the ticket off online so he went to pay it off in person and apparently if he paid it off just a bit later, he would had a warrant out for his arrest.

So if I were you, I'd double check with the court to make sure your court date is REALLY the date you think it is.
posted by QueenHawkeye at 1:17 PM on November 3, 2011

It's likely that it won't get thrown out. The judge will probably note the intent of the officer who wrote the ticket and not get hung up on a clerical error. You might get an extension but that's probably it. Do update us and let us know what happens.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 1:22 PM on November 3, 2011

I got a ticket this summer. It had a court date printed on it, but I was in class during the time so I called to reschedule. They told me that the date printed on the ticket was not the real court date, and that no one is given a court date unless they call to arrange one.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 1:47 PM on November 3, 2011

Given that you're expecting to go into court, show them your now-current registration, and get everything thrown out with very little confrontation or effort, I'm not sure what the benefit is of going down to the courthouse now to argue for a while about what your court date really is and try to weasel out of going.

On the other hand, your officer made a clerical error, which you know meant December because you'd heard him say it. The data-entry goons won't necessarily know that, so you should definitely find out what the computer now thinks your court date is, and whehter it's freaking out that you're 10 months overdue. I would call up and ask them to confirm your date/time, and see what happens.
posted by aimedwander at 2:14 PM on November 3, 2011

Definitely try to find an officer and have him fix it, they might let you pay and that'll be that. I don't know about SC but in California you're assigned a court date but you only have to go if you want to argue your case. I went, they made me pay the full amount and it sucked. Traffic court freakin' sucks and it's best to talk to a cop first, it can save you a tremendous amount of time.

I've paid off tickets fix-it tickets for expired registration that were WAY expired, like 7 months expired, before and only had to pay the original fee, $25 despite their threats of having to pay a late fee.
posted by ad4pt at 3:43 PM on November 3, 2011

aimedwander: "I'm not sure what the benefit is of going down to the courthouse now to argue for a while about what your court date really is and try to weasel out of going."

If I can do it I can go on a day off from work when I wake up instead of at 9am on a day where I probably would have gotten home late from work and finally gotten to sleep around 2 or 3. Plus if I can get it over with then it's done and I won't have to be in downtown Charleston during Christmas shopping season. It's crazy enough down there in a normal part of the year.

Even if I can just go down there and show them that I have everything fixed it's over and is fine with me.
posted by theichibun at 7:14 PM on November 3, 2011