Speeding Ticket in National Park - Class B Misdemeanor (Negotiating with Procecutor)

[normbot]

My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: Federal Land (outskirt of Yellowstone park)

A Yellowstone Park police issued me a speeding ticket: 75 mph on 55 mph (no cars around, straight stretch, dry clear evening) 36 CFR4.21C. The violation will be recorded by the Central Violation Bureau. There is a radar record. I admitted the guilt verbally to the ranger when he asked 'how fast are you going'. Mistakenly I said 70-75'. But the ranger's note I got from the DA does not have my confession. I have been talking with the DA.

The DA said the ticket is class B misdemeanor (the speedy trial law does not apply). The DA offered to strike the speed (I pay fine, I admit the guilt). The federal court does not offer a traffic school. The misdemeanor will remain in my federal record for life (Federal employer and FBI will see it). This is my first speeding ticket and I do not have any criminal record.

My questions are
- should I accept the DA offer?
- how serious the class B crime (driving without license is class B; most speeding is class C)
- if I eventually go for the trial and lose (plead guilty), do I have to pay the court cost?

Thanks,

[Mr. Knowitall]

The question of whether or not you should accept the offer is not something for us to decide - it's for you to decide. If you need help making that decision, you should consult a lawyer.

A misdemeanor is a criminal offense creating a criminal record. I doubt that anybody who is concerned with whether or not you have a criminal record is going to be particularly concerned about the degree of misdemeanor. You know more about your employer and field of work than we do (we know essentially nothing), so you're in a better position than we are to assess how having a misdemeanor on your record could affect you in the future.

You can generally expect to be assessed court costs for any criminal conviction, whether or not you go to trial.

[normbot]

Thanks very much. To summarize the three options available:
1. plead guilty to the original ticket, pay fine, do not go to a trial. The conviction stays in the Central Violation Bureau database but does not leave the court. In other words, the state, DMV, insurance company, lexisnexis, and any non-federal bodies do not know the conviction.
2. plead guilty to the alternative charge 'the prosecutor charges you for speeding' that has no speed number written. I will get a phone trial. The court record will become public.
3. go to a court trial and contest the ticket.

My questions are:
With regard to the option 2, I should disclose the speeding conviction and the amount of fine in future applications forms. Even if the court record does not state the excess speed, I am concerned that any investigator may retrieve the excess speed from the amount of the fine. Is this a realistic concern?

With regard to the option 3, if I lose in the court trial, will the court record become public? Put it differently, whenever a court hearing or trial occurs, does the trial or hearing record become public?

Thanks,