Jackie's plates expired on her birthday in May. It was my job to renew them, but I let it slip through the cracks, so on Wednesday she got pulled over and was given a ticket. I mailed in the renewal stuff yesterday, but today she got pulled over again and was given another ticket. Oh, and today's our anniversary. Am I the worst husband on earth, or what?

Anyway, anybody have advice on beating one or both of the tickets?

Fun fact: In Michigan, they passed a law that allows the state to charge for these kinds of violations up to two additional times over a two-year period, so this'll end up costing us about $1000, not including the increase in our insurance.

I had success with showing up at court with the two tickets and proof that I had taken care of the problem and they dismissed one. I would not think that this should affect the insurance as it is not a moving/ points based violation. Well, in VA it isn't. But I have never seen a DMV report with points taken for that particular offense and I review between 150- 300 DMV reports a year, soo....

Also, there should be large servings of her favorite drink and an offer to bathe the kids while she does whatever she wants in the offing, buddy!

Thanks, Laura, you're right. I was just researching, and points are indeed only for moving violations. That's at least some relief.

I also just read that if you request to have the court date changed, it greatly increases the chances that the officer won't show up. I guess that's step 1.

Go ahead and call the courhouse and speak to the clerk - she should be able to shed more light on your options.

Requesting the court date changed is only after you pleade "not guilty" and schedule a trial. The officer's are not required at your initial court appearance, only once it goes to trial are they summoned. And you are right, they usually never come to those for traffic violations.

Rachell -- I think the practice varies from state to state, especially where the offenses are in the nature of summary offenses. I know some states are more formal, such as Ohio. I once got a ticket in Michigan when I was a teen. It was bogus. Anyway, the officer was there when I went to court, prior to pleading "not guilty." (I spoke with him, and he got the judge to take the ticket under advisement. Because I stayed moving-violation free for six months, it was wiped and never affected insurance.)

I think Laura's right. If you can demonstrate you are in compliance, you might get the fine reduced. Still, the delay between the first ticket and second ticket will reflect badly on you in the eyes of the court. You can also tell the judge that you had extenuating circumstances, assuming you have any legit ones that are compelling. (That is, I wouldn't try "it just got away from me," but if someone in the family died, etc., that might be worth mentioning.) Look (sym)pathetic and take your kids, etc. If you've been good generally, maybe you can get the court to take the ticket(s) under advisement if you ask politely. If you register in time next year, maybe the court will forgive you. However, I would guess it's a stretch given the multiple violations.

This isn't legal advice -- I'm no Michigan lawyer or traffic lawyer.

I think you misunderstood, John. The first ticket was Wednesday. I mailed the renewal stuff Thursday. The second ticket was Friday. So the "delay" between the first and second ticket was about 48 hours.

Well Mr Tobey........Does your wife look good in orange?

I agree with John and Laura. Show up in court, bring proof that you sent the stuff on Thursday (that should take care of the second ticket), and ask them to take the first ticket under advisement.

Also, anyone who's interested, use kids if they aren't near driving age. If they are anywhere near 16, I would keep them away. My mother got two tickets when we were teenagers because we were present and the officer wanted to set an example for us youngsters. He said if we hadn't been there, he probably would have let her off with warnings.

Matt, you're right. I read that as if she got the first ticket back in May. Strike what I said about the delay looking bad. I now think the rapid succession of tickets makes you guys look more sympathetic. Also, the magnitute of extenuating circumstances could be reduced. If you had to get to a soccer game or something and that prevented the renewal, that might even be worth mentioning.

O Canada, your new home and ancient land....

John - that really sucks for the officer. They must have to schedule court dates with days they are not on patrol, and then sit in court to see through all of their cases. If I was an officer that would be my number one reason to not issue a citation - traffic court pretty much sucks for everyone.

Here in Houston we have an amazing system where you can take care of everything via internet/telephone. You only have to go to court if you are pleading "Not Guilty" and need to appear before the judge (traffic court only).

We also have tons of red light cameras so you don't even need an officer around to get a ticket - no officer and no court - just the city raking in the money!

But I still suggest to at least call the clerk/docket admin. They can sometimes save you a lot of time and heartache with alternative procedures. And if you call right away, you at least appear to be proactive - which usually goes a long way (with sympathy).

www.ticketasassin.com

BTW, when you say "anniversary," do you mean it's the anniversary of the time you forgot to feed the parking meter and Jackie's car was impounded on her birthday. That anniversary?

In Ky, if you get stopped for this sort of thing (I didn't have my sticker on my license plate once, and I didn't have my license, and I couldn't find my registration) all you have to do is show up either before or at your court date, show that you are in compliance, and everything is dismissed. I showed up, showed them my license and registration and everything was hunky-dorey. No fine, just a little inconvenience.