Ooopps... Thanks for the nudge.
The fine amount as stated on your courtesy notice is the maximum penalty that you would have to pay regardless of how you choose to defend you case. Whether it be by an in court trial, a TBD, or even if you lose the TBD and then choose to go to a Trial De Novo... EVEN if you choose to appeal the ruling after a trial or a Trial De Novo, the court will not assess any additional monetary fines... So its basically limited to your expending your time and effort. That is as far as the fine amount...
Keep in mind that if you opt to take the traffic school option, you will have to pay an additional administrative fee to the court (as well as the fee that you would pay to the traffic school itself). The court admin fee ranges between $49 and $69 (the specific amount should be noted on your courtesy notice)
You were not cited for failure to provide registration and proof of insurance... So you will not/cannot be penalized for those.
It has been my experience, that you will get an opportunity to change your plea prior to the beginning of the court session (and maybe even take the traffic school option (assuming you are in fact eligible)). You might want to keep your eyes open, assuming you can still recognize the citing officer, to see whether he/she appears, and proceed accordingly.
It varies between zero and 100%...
It depends on the officer, his/her schedule, vacation time, him/her possibly having more personal or professional matters that day... There is no way to tell.
Some courts will either offer you a time extension to pay the fine (assuming you plead guilty or are found guilty), others will allow you some sort of payment plan (you should request it from the judge). Just keep in mind that either way, they will charge you an additional fee for that (approximately $30). Whether that will fit into your budget and financial constraints, it is up to you to decide.
You are free to explain your situation to the judge, and request a fine reduction (whether you do that before or after a trial)... I've seen it happen. But to suggest that he/she will suspend the entire fine amount... Possible but highly unlikely!
With all that being said, I should also mention that if you choose to either go with a TBD or with an in court trial, the court will require you to post bail in an amount equal to the fine amount (if you get a dismissal it will be refunded/if you lose they keep that same amount). So your ability to fight it maybe limited by your inability to come up with the funds when you enter your plea (appear for your arraignment).
You're welcome so incredibly much... I just wished I could have offered you a better solution or one where you can mitigate your damages to a minimum. Sorry!
Please update us with the outcome... Good luck!


