Legal Question in Traffic Law in Georgia
Is it worth it to contest a ticket for expired tags on the grounds of personal hardship? The officers were within their rights, but I was hoping to be able to have the fine waived because of my personal circumstances. I am a struggling graduate student teaching low level classes for poverty-level wages in order to get my Ph.D. I make $14,000 a year and can barely make my mortgage sometimes. When I got my ticket I was on the way back from the university health center with referrals for a spine specialist and a pain management clinic because I have facet disease in my spine. I was trying to figure out how in the world to pay for those costs when I was pulled over. I didn't send in the $65 tag bill on time because I just couldn't afford it at the time. And the ticket is just going to make things impossible for me. And then, two days after that, I went out to run some errands including getting my registration. I was ticketed again by a police officer for expired tags. I simply couldn't get the tag between the time of the first ticket and that of the second ticket. The officer was not at all interested in my situation or the fact that I was already ticketed two days ago. He said officers have discretion but that he doesn't do discretion. In addition, I am shelling out a significant amount of money for psychiatric care. Would any of this help me to have the ticked dismissed or the fine waived? Is it worth it to go to court. In any event, I would find it very difficult to pay these tickets before the court dates.
1 Answer from Attorneys
The fact that you deliberately chose to drive without tags even after getting a ticket might give a judge a reason to raise your fines rather than lower them. What happens in court depends on a judge. They can either raise a standard fine, lower it, or keep it the same.
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