Legal Question in Traffic Law in New Jersey

Re: Expired insurance card

You should be outraged. The statute was amended only recently as a means of raising revenue to try to balance the nj budget (which not long ago was at a surplus!!!!!!!). So the "smart" politicians are using municipal court fines as a hidden tax-raise to make money for the state. The ticket used to cost approximately $50 before the amendment a year or 2 ago. There is an exception to that large fine that says: If a motorist brings to court the proper (unexpired insurance id card), the motorist may request a dismissal of the ticket and only pay court costs (usually about $30.00), if the Judge allows it in his discretion. So, it's up to the Judge if he will apply that section or not. Nobody tells you that in court because the higher fine brings in more money for the town and for the State. Most lawyers know about it though. You have only 20 days to appeal. You won't need a lawyer to appeal this as it is pretty simple. Just call the court and get the appeal packet. Good luck.