Traffic Division
What is a citation/ticket?
Citation means "a complaint or notice upon which a police officer shall record an occurrence involving one or more vehicle law violations by the person cited." The cited driver is the defendant.
A citation can be a civil infraction or a misdemeanor depending on the seriousness of the traffic violation.
All defendants who receive a citation must respond to the allegations in the citation.Refer to the back of your citation or contact the court for procedures regarding misdemeanors.
Note: the following policies apply only to the 63RD District Court.If your citation is from a court other than the 63RD, 1ST or 2ND Division, you must contact the court listed on your citation for processing instructions.
The defendant has these options when a civil infraction is issued:
- * Admit responsibility without explanation for the civil infraction and make an appearance in person, by representation or by mail.
- * Admit responsibility with explanation for the civil infraction and make an appearance by mail or by contacting the court for a date and time to appear.
- * Deny responsibility for the civil infraction and make an appearance for an informal or formal hearing.
- If a defendant fails to respond to a traffic civil infraction citation, or fails to appear for a scheduled hearing, the court may enter a default judgment of responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions.
* Does not apply to misdemeanor citations. Refer to the back of your citation or contact the court for procedures regarding misdemeanors.
Admission of responsibility without explanation
If a defendant wishes to admit responsibility without explanation for a civil infraction, he or she must make an appearance by mail, in person or by representation. Admissions of responsibility are not accepted by telephone.
To avoid late charges all admissions of responsibility must be received within 20 days from the date you received your citation (your citation may read within 5, 10 or 15 days - the 63rd district courts allow you 20 days). You do not need to call the court to confirm this.
Methods of payment:
Personal check, money order, and credit card payments are accepted through the mail and in person.
Cash payments are accepted in person only. Do not send cash payments through the mail.
Debit Card payments are accepted in person only. Do not send Debit card payments through the mail.
Money Order payments should be made payable to the 63rd District Court. Please do not staple or tape your money order to the citation.
Personal Check payments should be made payable to the 63rd District Court. Please do not staple or tape your check to the citation.
Personal checks do not need to be certified.
Credit Card. payments
(Visa & MasterCard Only) are accepted by mail or by fax if
accompanied by a signed credit card authorization form Be sure
to complete and sign the authorization for payment.
You may pay in the following ways:
- IN PERSON- A defendant may appear in court to admit responsibility anytime during the course of a normal business day. Court hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Bring your copy of the citation with you. The clerk will ask you to sign the back of your ticket admitting responsibility and issue a receipt for your payment. (For your convenience there is also a 24 hour drop box located outside each location of the 63rd District Court.)
- BY MAIL- Appearance by mail is made when the defendant returns the citation to the court with a signed admission of responsibility (see back of ticket), along with full payment of applicable fines and costs. Personal checks money orders and credit card payments will be accepted by mail. Mail payment to the court listed on your citation.If payment is not enclosed, the court will enter the judgment and assess the appropriate fines and costs. Your payment must be received within 30 days. The timeliness of a mail appearance is determined by the postmark date of the defendant's letter. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope if you would like your receipt mailed to you.
- BY REPRESENTATION- Appearance by representation is made when a defendant authorizes another person to come before the court and admit responsibility or make payment on the defendant's behalf. It is requested that your representative bring with them your signed admission of responsibility ticket with signature on back.
Warning: Failure to make a timely appearance will result in entry of a default judgment against the defendant. Noncompliance with the judgment will result in eventual suspension of the defendant's license as well as other possible sanctions. Failure to answer a citation or a notice to appear in court for a traffic violation can also result in license suspension.
| Traffic Fine Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Infraction | Fine & Cost |
| Speeding 1 - 10 mph over | $ 80.00 |
| Speeding 11-15 mph over | $ 90.00 |
| Speeding 16-20 mph over | $ 100.00 |
| Speeding 21-25 mph over | $ 110.00 |
| Speeding 26-30 mph over | $ 130.00 |
| Speeding 31-35 mph over | $ 140.00 |
| Speeding 36 mph & over | Contact the Court |
| Speeding fines are increased in construction zones, contact the court for exact fine amount. | |
| Drove across Median | $80.00 |
| Failed to stop in assured clear distance | $80.00 |
| Improper lane usage | $80.00 |
| Drove left of center | $80.00 |
| Disregard traffic signal | $80.00 |
| Failed to yield right of way | $80.00 |
| Violation basic speed law | $80.00 |
| Improper turn | $80.00 |
| Improper passing | $80.00 |
| Disregard stop sign | $80.00 |
| Wrong way/one way street | $90.00 |
| Handicapped parking | $120.00 |
| Improper parking/no parking | $40.00 |
| Fire lane parking | $60.00 |
| No child restraint | $60.00 |
| Expired registration plate (less than 3 days) | $50.00 |
| Expired registration plate (more than 3 days) | $60.00 |
| Expired operator's license (less than 3 days) | $80.00 |
| Expired operator's license (more than 3 days) | $90.00 |
| Seatbelt violation | $60.00 |
| Tinted windows | $90.00* |
| Defective Equipment | $60.00* |
* Unless corrections are made.
Admission of responsibility with explanation
A defendant's admission of responsibility with explanation consists of the following:
- An admission of responsibility for the offense charged; and
- An explanation of the circumstances surrounding the offense.
A defendant's appearance to make admission with explanation may take place in one of the following ways:
- IN PERSON -Defendants who wish to make an admission with explanation in person should contact the court in person, by telephone or mail to schedule an appearance or obtain dates and times of magistrate's availability. (Defendants may appear on a "walk-in" basis by the appearance date specified, but should call the court first to determine if a magistrate will be available.)
- BY MAIL -Appearance by mail is made when the defendant returns the citation to the court with A SIGNED ADMISSION OF RESPONSIBILITY (see back of citation). Mail the signed citation along with your letter of explanation to the court within 20 days from the date on your citation. If payment of applicable fines and costs are not enclosed, the court will notify you by mail of the amount due and the payment deadline. The timeliness of a mail appearance is determined by the postmark date of the defendant's letter.
If the defendant admits responsibility with explanation, the court may not set aside the defendant's admission and find the defendant not responsible (see informal or formal hearing). If the court finds the defendant responsible with explanation it may only reduce the civil fines and costs in light of the extenuating circumstances. The court may not reduce the number of points assessed by the secretary of state.
The defendant's appearance (by mail or in person) must occur within the time specified. Failure to make a timely appearance will result in entry of a default judgment against the defendant. Noncompliance with the judgment will result in eventual suspension of the defendant's license, as well as other possible sanctions.
Defendant denies responsibility
To deny responsibility is to contest the case. The defendant must appear to offer a defense at an Informal or Formal hearing. Denials of responsibility/requests for hearings must be received within 20 days from the date your citation was issued. Request for Informal or Formal Hearings may be made by mail, by fax to 616-866-3080, or in person. See request form.Requests for hearings are not accepted by phone
Informal and formal hearings
There are two types of hearings for contested civil infraction cases:
- Civil Infraction Informal Hearing
- The majority of contested cases are heard and decided at Informal hearings.
- A hearing conducted by a District Court Magistrate or Judge involving the police officer, the defendant and any witnesses, held without a prosecutor or defense attorney. The determination may be appealed to a formal hearing.
- Civil Infraction Formal Hearing
- A hearing conducted only by a District Court Judge involving the police officer, defendant and all witnesses. Defendant may be represented by an attorney and a prosecutor must be present.
How do I request a hearing?
REQUEST FORM - To request an INFORMAL or FORMAL hearing notify the court in person or in writing that you are denying responsibility for your citation and specify if you wish to have an INFORMAL or FORMAL hearing. Please notify the court of any dates and time that you will not be available to appear for your hearing. (The court will try to accommodate reasonable requests). Also, inform the court of the address you wish to have your notice to appear sent; if it is different from the address on your citation. A phone number where you can be reached during business hours 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. is appreciated.
Requests for INFORMAL or FORMAL hearings must be received 20 days from the date the ticket was issued. Failure to make a timely request for a hearing will result in entry of a DEFAULT JUDGMENT against the defendant.
What happens if I don't show up for a hearing?
If a defendant fails to appear at an informal or formal hearing the court may enter a default determination of responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions.
Failure to answer a citation or notice to appear in court for an informal or formal hearing can also result in license suspension.
