Legal Question in Traffic Law in Arkansas

Name and license plate wrong on ticket, officer didn't show to court...

Hello. I received a ticket for speeding in McCrory, Arkansas on March 12th, 1998. On my ticket the officer wrote my name using my middle name and last name only. He also put that I had a North Carolina license plate and used my SC license plate number. If I remember correctly, everything else was correct. I went to court just to have my ticket reduced, but when I got to court, I waited and waited and they never called my name. I had to let the clerk know that I had a ticket with a court date on that date. No one in the courthouse had ever heard of the officer that wrote the ticket (obviously he wasn't there). Some of the other officers that were there asked me if he was black, and when I told them that he was white they looked confused. They still asked me to pay the ticket, so I paid and that was that. EXCEPT that my check bounced (oops - no, I'm not a bad person... I was in college at the time, enough said). I never heard anything else from them. Then in July of 1999 I got a message that said my South Carolina drivers license had been suspended. Now, I'm back in SC and I'm trying to get an SC license but they want me to pay this ticket and a $100 reinstatement fee.


Asked on 2/06/04, 3:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Harvey Harris Harris Law Firm

Re: Name and license plate wrong on ticket, officer didn't show to court...

You are probably going to have to pay the ticket. The time to contest it was when you went to court. Although there were some unusual circumstances, you probably consented to the ticket when you paid it, even with a bad check. You would have to check with the SC authorities to see if there is an appeals process there. I only have a license in AR and not aware of what SC law is.

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Answered on 2/06/04, 5:08 pm


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