[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Originally Posted by Stoney FFR

I'm sure things are different all over the country, so I only speak for my local court. I retired last year from being a full-time officer/detective and now work part time for the same PD in the capacity of a Bailiff. I see what happens in court all of the time now.

People don't get a better plea offer just because a Jury Trial was requested. Additionally, at a certain point in the Jury Trial process, all deal offers go off of the table. The court that I work in is always willing to offer a "standard deal" to attorneys that is a few dollars better than what would be offered to citizens. Generally a citizen can get a "deferred disposition" offer without an attorney by just coming down and entering a plea of Guilty or No-Contest and asking for the deferral option. Deferred disposition will result in a fine and driving probation for a few months. Upon completion of the probation period, the charge is dismissed. I believe most cities also offer a Defensive Driving option which will also get the charge dismissed after completion of the DD course.

Of course you can hire an attorney and he can get the same dismissal options, but you then have to pay for the attorney too. A large percentage of the population think an attorney works some sort of magic by getting the above mentioned deals, when they are actually available to anyone that qualifies and bothers to ask. There are several local attorneys I know that make a very good living off of "processing" traffic citations for clients and rarely ever step foot into a courtroom.

Jury trails aren't really expensive because the city is already paying the judge, attorney, bailiff and clerk to be at work anyway. The only extra expense would be paying 6 jurors for one day, which doesn't amount to much. They are just a pain because they take 2-4 hours out of the day. We average 5-8 jury trials a week.

Cops will not show up in court for a speeding ticket. At least not around here. The court gives you a new trial date and notify the cop (witness), who doesn't get paid for his time there and never shows up. Lawyers will get a minimum 500 bucks to show their face in court too. Not cheap, but you can call their bluff. Usually end up with a small fine in return for a plea. No jury will convict you for speeding unless there was an accident with injury/damage.