Misdemeanor Traffic Ticket

[Consuela]

My daughter was stopped a couple of days ago in Detroit and the officer said her license was suspended. She told him that didn't make sense. He said she hadn't paid some tickets. She showed him the receipt from when we went to court and paid them off. He said that the Secretary of State had suspended her for not paying a "reinstatement fee".

When we were at the court clerk's office and I paid the fines nobody said anything about reinstatement fees. They told us what the fines were, we paid them, and we thought things were resolved. This doesn't seem fair.

The ticket is marked that it is for a misdemeanor and my daughter has to go to court soon. What should she do?

[Anonymous]

When your daughter goes to court, if a prosecutor is present, she should show the receipt to the prosecutor, CALMLY explain that she paid the fine and thought that the problem was resolved, and explain that she never received any notice from the Secretary of State that her license was suspended.

While she should not count on a dismissal, the prosecutor may be willing to consider the facts and may be willing to offer a deal, such as a dismissal on costs or to let your daughter plead to a civil infraction (a regular "traffic ticket") instead of a misdemeanor. A civil infraction may put points on her license and require her to pay a fine, but it won't be a criminal conviction and won't carry any possibility of jail time.

If there is no prosecutor available, she can ask for the court to set a pretrial so that she can discuss the matter with a prosecutor. If she doesn't like what the prosecutor offers, or prefers to have the assistance of an attorney, she can hire an attorney to try to resolve the situation for her.

(The judge can't offer you a deal, so if no prosecutor is present your daughter's only choices are to plead guilty or have the matter set for trial.)

[Consuela]

I have a couple of other questions and then I wont bother you again. When will she ask for the pre-trial? Is this something that she will do at the Cashier's desk? Or is this when the judge asks her to state her name and how she pleads?

If a prosecutor is not present at that time, should she just say after she states her name that she wants a pre-trial? I guess I am asking exactly what she would need to say and when she is supposed to say this.

[Anonymous]

Your daughter is charged with a misdemeanor, and thus will have to appear before a judge. She would enter a plea of not guilty (or "stand mute" and let the judge enter one for her) and would ask the judge to schedule a pretrial.

If she were to hire an attorney she would probably be best served in terms of cost by hiring one with offices near the courthouse.