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Civil Traffic Hearing is Your Chance to Present Evidence
A civil traffic hearing is an informal hearing that is scheduled any time that you, or
your attorney, which to contest a civil traffic infraction that has been alleged against
you.
At the hearing, the officer is required to appear in court to testify against you and
explain why he or she wrote you the citation. The officer will receive a formal
summons, or order, from the court and tells them where and when to appear. You
must also appear at the hearing. If you do not appear, you automatically lose your
case and the court will enter what is called a default judgment against you. This
means that you lose your case automatically. When a default judgment is entered
against you, your license will be suspended and your fines increase dramatically.
Your license will remain suspended until you pay your fines in full. Accordingly, it is
important that you appear.
Once all parties are ready and have been sworn in by the Judge or the hearing
officer, the officer will testify first. The officer has to discuss key elements of your
case, including describing the location of the offense, the date and time of the
violation, and the nature of the violation itself. If the officer misses these elements,
then the officer has not brought forth a sufficient complaint.
When the officer is finished testifying, you have the opportunity to ask the individual
questions. For example, if it was a speeding case, you will likely want to ask about
the weather conditions, the safety hazards in the roadway, questions regarding the
officer’s calibration records and training and experience. During this questioning, it
is not a time for you to state your side of the story. Instead, this is only for questions
relating to the officer’s testimony.