Traffic Citations

CAN I NEGOTIATE MY CASE BEFORE THE COURT DATE ON THE CITATION?

NO. The District Attorneys office will NOT see your citation and the police reports prior to the initial appearance.  Therefore, requests to discuss your case (in person, in writing or by phone) prior to the court date on your citation will be denied.  

SHOULD I APPEAR ON MY COURT DATE?

YES. THIS IS YOUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO PERSONALLY NEGOTIATE WITH A PROSECUTOR.   The date on your citation is the date of your initial appearance.  On this date a prosecutor will be present in the courtroom to speak with you.  If your case is settled at this time no further appearances will be required of you. If you and the prosecutor do not come to an agreement to settle the case, the matter will be set for trial and you will receive notice of the date and time of trial before you leave. You will not receive another offer to resolve your citation prior to the trial date.  Requests to further discuss your citation (either in person, writing or by phone) will be denied.  The Jefferson County District Attorneys Office recommends that you appear on your initial appearance date.

NOTE: The District Attorneys has a policy which does not allow for negotiation on citations issued in a construction zone or saturation zone.  Further the policy prohibits negotiation on overweight citations or citations issued for 25 or more over the speed limit.

MUST I APPEAR IN COURT ON THE DATE SET FORTH ON MY CITATION?

(1) NO, IF YOU WISH TO PLEAD GUILTY OR NO CONTEST. If you do not appear on the date on the citation or send your payment in advance of that date you will be found guilty based on your failure to respond to the charge and the court will order you to pay the bond amount within 60 days or suffer a drivers license suspension if you do not pay within that time.  (You must keep the Court informed of any address changes.)

(2) NO, IF YOU WISH TO PLEAD NOT GUILTY You may plead Not Guilty by mail without appearing in court You may not have an opportunity to negotiate with a prosecutor if you choose this option. To plead Not Guilty by mail send the following to the court:

  • Your plea
  • The charge
  • The date you are scheduled to appear
  • The name of the police agency that issued  the citation
  • The ticket number
  • Your current mailing address & phone #

You must mail this information to the Clerk of Court. This must be received by the court prior to the date/time listed on the citation. After the date on the citation, the court will schedule a trial and send you a written notice of the same to your current address as provided above.

(3)  YES, IF YOU WISH TO NEGOTIATE YOUR CITATION WITH A PROSECUTOR. The Jefferson County District Attorneys Office does not hold pretrial conferences in traffic cases and does not negotiate traffic cases by phone or by "drop-in" meetings with defendants due to resource and time constraints. The State will not negotiate on the date of trial.

TRIAL

You have the right to a trial. Your trial will be to the court (a judge) unless you specifically request a jury trial within 10 days of your initial appearance date or the entry of your not guilty plea (if you plead by mail) and pay the required jury trial fee.  The fee for a jury trial is $36.  Failure to request a jury trial and pay the required fee within that time limit acts as a waiver of the right to a jury trial.  (Jury fees are non-refundable).

If your case is settled  within 48 hours of the scheduled trial you may be required to pay additional costs which will be sought by the prosecutor. The State will not negotiate on the date of trial.

LICENSE SUSPENSION

A conviction for going 25 or more over the speed limit in a 55 or 65 mph zone will result in a 15 day suspension of your operating privilege in addition to any fine amount.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IM IN POINT TROUBLE?

Contact the Drivers License Bureau in Madison, Wisconsin for information regarding the number of points currently assessed against your license:  (608)266-2261.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBPAGE ONLY APPLIES TO FORFEITURE   ACTIONS NOT REQUIRING A PERSONAL APPEARANCE.