What To Do If You Miss Your Traffic Hearing
I’m a traffic attorney. A lot of the calls I get about speeding tickets and other traffic tickets is from people that have a hearing pending (i.e. they have a hearing that day or the next day) or they’ve missed their hearing, have received a letter from the Department of Licensing that their license is going to be suspended if they don’t pay their fine, and they are freaking out.
I have some good news for you. There is a way to get the Department of Licensing off your back and to have a chance to fight your traffic ticket. But you’re going to need a traffic lawyer to help you.
The process is called a show cause hearing. As the name sort of implies, it is a hearing where you go before the judge and explain why you missed the hearing. You then ask him or her for another hearing and see what he says. Most of the time we get a new hearing without even having to show up for court. A motion with the reasons why the hearing was missed and a request for a new hearing often does the trick. All you have to do is file it with the court and then wait and see what happens.
“But what if I don’t have a good reason for missing the hearing? What if I’m just an idiot?” you might be asking yourself. Don’t fret. This also happens all the time. I think, in most scenarios, judges give you the benefit of the doubt. If you take the time to hire a traffic attorney, take the time to file a motion for show cause hearing, and take the time to care about your ticket, they are going to give you a hearing.
But you can’t just go in front of the judge with no reason whatsoever. There’s got to be something there, even if it’s I was really stressed out and the date slipped my mind.
If you miss your hearing, all is not lost. Just call someone for help, and they will probably be able to take care of everything for you.
