Traffic accidents are rarely just one person’s fault. However, most traffic accidents result in just one person receiving a citation by the responding police officer. The purpose of this blog is to explain how traffic court works in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court after you receive a citation for following too closely, failure to maintain lane, failure to yield, failure to obey traffic control device, improper lane change or any other traffic ticket that usually involves an automobile accident. Here are some questions that may be important to the successful resolution of your citation:

1. Was there actually an accident? If your citation did not involve an accident, you may be eligible for the City of Atlanta’s PTIT dismissal program if you are over 21 years of age and haven’t participated in the program in the past year.

2. Was more than one party involved given a traffic ticket? If you were not the only person given a traffic citation, you may have additional defenses that would end in your citation being dismissed. It is the State’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the specified traffic offense. If they do not have that evidence, you cannot be found guilty of the offense.

3. Does your citation mention if there were any injuries? There is a check box on your citation to mark yes or no for injuries. Prosecutors in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court will have different potential resolutions depending on whether there were injuries or not.

4. Does your insurance company know about the accident? Was a claim filed by you or the other party? The status of the insurance claim can impact your ability to get the best possible outcome in your case.

These questions are the most common factors that can affect the way your Atlanta traffic accident ticket is resolved.

There are five typical options for resolution of an automobile accident citation in most metro Atlanta municipal courts.

1. You can make them prove you committed the violation with a bench trial with a Judge in Municipal Court or jury trial in State Court.

2. The charges can be dismissed for lack of evidence of a traffic violation.

3. You can plead guilty to the charge as cited and the moving violation will carry points and go on your driving history.

4. You can plead nolo contendere (“no contest”) to the charge as cited and the moving violation will go on your driving history but not carry any points if you haven’t used your nolo contendere plea in the past five years. A no contest plea may also help you if there is a civil case involving property damage or personal injuries as it is not an admission of guilt that can be used against you to establish liability.

5. It is possible the citation may be reduced to a non-reportable, zero point violation which would not go on your driving history or carry any points. Because an accident was involved it is likely your insurance company would know about the incident and it may still impact your insurance rates.

If you have further questions regarding a traffic citation you received in the Atlanta Municipal Court or would like a free consultation, please call or text me anytime at 678-753-6431.