How to Fight a Speeding Traffic Ticket in Phoenix, AZ
If you have received a traffic ticket in Phoenix, Arizona, it will be either a civil traffic charge or a minor criminal traffic charge depending on the circumstances. A speeding ticket is a minor criminal traffic charge if you are alleged to have gone over the speed limit in a school zone or are alleged to have driven greater than 20 miles per hour over the limit. Civil traffic charges are those for speeding outside of a school zone or for going 20 miles per hour or less over the limit. Both types of cases are heard in the Phoenix Municipal Court.
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Instructions
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Review your citation for the date and time of the court appearance. Every speeding traffic ticket in Phoenix states the date and time that you must appear in court for your hearing if you are to plead "Not Guilty" or "Not Responsible."
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Mail or fax a request for a hearing or trial. If you have been charged with a civil traffic charge, then you will have a hearing to determine your guilt ,and if you have been charged with a minor criminal traffic charge you will have a trial. You must submit your request for a hearing or trial, and it must be received prior to the date stated on your ticket. You can mail your request to "Phoenix Municipal Court, 300 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85003." Fax your request for a trial to 602-495-0145 or fax your request for a hearing to 602-534-3628. Include your name, the charges and your hearing date in the request.
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Go to court on the date listed on your ticket. When you go to court for this listing the judge will ask how you plead. In order to fight the speeding ticket, you must plead "Not Guilty" for criminal charges or "Not Responsible" for civil charges. The judge will then set a trial or hearing date for you.
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Appear at court for your hearing at trial. If you have a trial scheduled, there will be an attorney from the district attorney's office who calls witnesses to present evidence. You are allowed to ask questions of the witnesses after they answer the district attorney's questions. Once the district attorney is done, you can have your own witnesses testify, and the district attorney can question your witnesses when you are finished. If you have a hearing date set, you and the police office who gave you the ticket will be asked questions by the judge.
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Tips & Warnings
You may wish to hire an attorney to represent you in court. If you choose to have an attorney help you fight the speeding traffic ticket, you must notify the court no later than 10 days before your trial or hearing. This notification must be written.
