Frequently Asked Questions

You will find information that is essential to your court experience in the

For information on how to pay your fine, please see the Municipal Court webpage section on

If you appear on the court date, you will be asked to enter a plea to the charge on the citation. The pleas that can be entered are: Guilty, No Contest, or Not Guilty. Guilty - If you plead guilty, it is an admission of the charge against you. No Contest - If you plead no contest, you declare you are neither guilty nor not guilty. The advantage of entering a no contest plea is that such plea cannot be used against you as an admission of guilt if you appear in any other court action related to the charge against you. Not Guilty - If you plead not guilty, you deny committing the violation charged against you. The court will give you a new date to appear for trial.

If you fail to enter a plea by appearing in court or by mail, you will be found guilty and a default judgement will be entered against you. A default judgement is a finding of guilt and a sentence ordered by the court in your absence.

Each citation or ticket tells you the nature of the violation charged against you. The citation indicates a date and time on which you are to appear in the Municipal Court. You need not appear on this date if you pay your fine prior to the court date. If your citation is checked "Yes" following "Appearance Required", or the citation is marked as a mandatory court appearance, you must appear in court.