Traffic court is a
municipality's specialized judicial process for handling
traffic ticket cases. In the
United States, a person who is given a
citation by a
police officer can either plead guilty and pay the indicated
fine directly to the
court house, by
mail, or in some more
urban municipalities, on the
Internet. If the person wishes to plead not guilty or otherwise contest the charges, he or she is required to appear in court on the predetermined date on the citation, where they may make their case to the
judge, or negotiate with the
prosecutor before they are called to appear in front of the judge. The person may also request for Trial By Written Declaration in the following states: California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, and Wyoming. With Trial By Written Declaration, the person does not have to be present in the court room, he or she may just explain the reason to defense for the case. The Officer will also be required to turn in his or her declaration. The Judge will then make a decision based on the declarations and evidences from both sides. At the conclusion of the written trial the accused is allowed to request a new, in person, hearing if he is not satisfied with the outcome of the written trial by filing a Trial DeNovo.