How to Fight a Traffic Ticket in Michigan

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Fighting a traffic ticket can often feel like an exercise in fighting City Hall, doomed to failure from the outset. In the state of Michigan, however, it is not generally too difficult to get a traffic ticket downgraded or even revoked. Here are the basic steps you should take when fighting a traffic ticket you received in Michigan.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Formal attire

Step1

First, keep your court date. Never just pay the ticket through the mail, because in doing so, you're admitting guilt. Instead, always go to the court date and see if you can get the ticket removed or downgraded to a less serious offense.

Step2

Consider hiring an attorney. Sure, it'll cost you a few hundred dollars at a minimum. On the other hand, weigh that cost against how much the points associated with your ticket will cost you in increased insurance premiums. Often, hiring an attorney is a wise fiscal decision.

Step3

Wear formal attire to your court date. Even though it's only traffic court, you should treat the entire process with the same amount of respect with which you'd treat any court proceeding.

Step4

Be willing to pay court costs to downgrade your ticket. Many Michigan districts will be willing to allow you to plead your ticket down to an offense that doesn't carry points, but this comes at a cost. Paying court costs, however, will be much less costly than paying increased insurance premiums for years to come.

Step5

Show up early and talk to the prosecutor. He or she is the individual who can actually recommend a plea to the judge. Get on the prosecutor's good side and see if you--or your attorney--can bargain with them.

Tips & Warnings

Don't make excuses in court. Judges don't want to hear them, particularly anything about how the officers were biased against you unfairly.
Even if you hire an attorney, it's still possible to end up paying the entire ticket's cost, getting the points and also paying the attorney's fees. Be forewarned that bringing a lawyer with you is not a magical bullet by any means.