December 27, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 2010 |
FINAL REMINDER BEFORE NEW LAW CHANGES TRAFFIC CITATION TRIAL DATE PROCEDURE
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(PIKESVILLE, MD) -- Maryland State Police are reminding motorists that if they receive a traffic citation on or after January 1, 2011, a new law requires the driver to request a trial date if they want one, instead of one being automatically assigned.
The new law gives drivers who receive a traffic citation three options:
1-Pay the full amount of the preset fine;
2-Request a hearing regarding sentencing and disposition in lieu of a trial,
(meaning you do not dispute the truth of the facts as alleged in the citation,
but you wish to be heard regarding sentencing); or
3-Request a trial date at the date, time and place established by the District Court.
The law requires that a person who received a citation make one of these three choices and notify the District Court within 30 days. If not, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration will be notified and may take action to suspend the person’s driver’s license.
Previously, persons issued a citation were automatically given a trial date. The law required them to either pay the fine by the trial date, or appear in court that day to answer to the charge. Often, people waited until the day before, or even the day of trial to pay the fine. This meant the police officer who issued the citation was already scheduled to appear in court and it was too late to notify him or her that they were not needed to appear. This created scheduling difficulties for police officers and often incurred overtime expenditures for police departments required to have police officers present in court, even though they were not needed.
House Bill 829 and Senate Bill 560 were passed in the 2010 Maryland General Assembly Session and will become law on January 1st. Supporters of the new law believe this will increase efficiency in both the courts and police departments across Maryland.
State troopers believe the new law will eliminate needless trips to court and supervisors will be better able to schedule the deployment of personnel. State Police commanders believe there will be an overall cost savings to the Department in overtime pay. They also believe the new procedure will keep troopers on patrol who would otherwise be in court waiting for a case in which they ultimately were not needed.
The new law does not apply to citations issued for ‘must appear’ violations, such as drunk driving. Persons receiving citations for ‘must appear’ offenses will be automatically notified by either a circuit court or the District Court of a trial date and location where they must appear.
Information about the new procedure will be printed on citations given to motorists. Troopers will be reminding motorists of the new procedure when citations are issued. Persons with questions can also visit the District Court of Maryland website at www.mdcourts.gov/district, or call 1-800-492-2656. |
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| CONTACT: | Ms. Elena Russo
Office of Media Communications & Marketing
410-653-4236 (Office) 410-653-4200 (through Headquarters Duty Officer)
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See also:
No more automatic court dates for traffic tickets
By Jon Aerts Capital News Service
Drivers in Maryland who want to dispute traffic tickets will have to speak up come Jan. 1, when a new law aimed at saving the police time and money will eliminate automatically assigned court dates for minor traffic violations.
Beginning in 2011, drivers accused of speeding or not-exactly stopping at a stop sign will have three options: pay the full fine, ask for a waiver hearing in lieu of a trial or request a court date for a trial.
If drivers do not choose one of these options within 30 days, they risk having their license suspended by the Motor Vehicle Administration.
The law applies to "payable traffic tickets" such as speeding, failure to obey traffic signals or stop for a school bus, or other actions that do not require incarceration or jail time
The other type of traffic violation in Maryland -- must appear, which includes DUIs and driving on a suspended license -- will continue to involve automatic court dates.
Unlike the trial option, which may consist of witnesses, including the ticketing police officer, waiver hearings only involve drivers who don't dispute the traffic ticket and want to plead guilty but want to have a judge hear an explanation before being sentenced.
Proponents say the new measure will reduce the number of police officers being stood up by ticketed drivers in District Court.
Elena Russo, spokeswoman for the Maryland State Police, said the new process will better identify those drivers who truly wish to contest their traffic violations in court.
[20101227 sdsom MSP New Citation procedures Jan 1 2011] [20110102 Aerts ExpCar No more automatic court dates for traffic tickets]
On Thursday, Williams told Fox News host Megyn Kelly: “The whole idea was to demean me, and make me to appear as if I was not only a lunatic who needed a psychiatrist, but I was a loose cannon and not a professional news person.”
