Eric Rasmusen’s Weblog

I was wondering whether speeding is a criminal offense or not. The site Expertlaw explains that it is not, even though its procedures bear some similarity to criminal procedure.

In most jurisdictions, civil infractions are handled in a manner that mixes some of the elements of a civil action with some of the elements of a criminal action. Typically, you will have the opportunity to enter a plea by mail, or to schedule a court date to appear before a judge, magistrate, or hearing officer in relation to the ticket. There may be an opportunity to plead “guilty with an explanation”, whether by mail or in court.

In some courts, a prosecutor will be present from the start to handle any hearings that might be necessary. The prosecutor will typically review your file and driving record, and may offer you a deal if you plead guilty to a particular traffic offense. …

If you are charged with a traffic misdemeanor, such as “reckless driving” or drunk driving, you will have additional rights as a defendant, as you will be facing actual criminal charges. The first court hearing on a misdemeanor is typically an arraignment, where the charge is read to you and you are asked to enter a plea. It is a bad idea to plead guilty “as charged”, as it is frequently possible to work out a plea bargain to a criminal charge which will either reduce the charge or limit the possible penalties. If you plead “not guilty” or “stand mute” and have the court enter a not guilty plea on your behalf, the next hearing is ordinarily a “pretrial” where a prosecutor will be present. The purpose of a pretrial is to determine whether a case should be scheduled for trial, and how much time should be allotted by the court for trial.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2005 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Law, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.