Traffic Court Blues: Why you do not want to go to traffic court.

I go to traffic court a lot. Maybe the word miserable is a little too harsh to describe the environment, but it's not that far off. The only people who look remotely happy in traffic court are the lawyers, and that is because they are getting paid.

This is what you can expect if you go to traffic court without a traffic ticket lawyer. Let's use Colonie Town Court as an example. One of the busiest highways in the Capital Region of New York is located in Albany County and travels several miles through the town of Colonie. Tons of people get stopped on this road (I-87 or the Northway) and tons of people have to appear in Colonie Town Court to answer speeding tickets.

Traffic Court in Colonie is generally held on weekday evenings. You will arrive at around 6 pm along with roughly another 100-150 defendants. Your first line will be for the security check. Usually at least one person in front of you will have some surgical metal somewhere in their body, and you'll have to wait for the cops to satisfy themselves this person is not a security threat. The next line will be to see the clerk to get your file. As great as the clerks are in this court, somebody's file will inevitably be missing, and now you are waiting on line again. Finally, you will be directed to enter a court room about the size of a small gymnasium.

After what seems like an eternity, a judge will enter and take his seat behind the bench. One judge in particular has a unique method and style of disposing of his cases, which I actually believe is very efficient. You will be instructed to rise and make a line in front of the judge. Another line! Finally, your turn will come. The judge will ask you how you plead, and you will say "not guilty." You will then be given a new appearance date to come back and visit again. At 9pm, you are on your way home. What a way to spend an evening!

If you value your time and your money, you should never go to traffic court. Be smart, hire a traffic ticket lawyer to appear for you. It's not as expensive as you may think.