On Sun, 1 Dec 2019 21:06:15 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 12/1/2019 6:58 PM, wrote:

Isn't it better to man up and accept the consequences of your actions?

Just forfeiting the collateral to get them to ignore you to "failing
appear" seems like the cowardly way out. That is what you are doing
when you "pay a ticket".
I was standing there in front of a judge prepared to defend my actions
with the chance that I could end up paying more than the collateral on
the ticket. How much more manning up do you want?

Traffic court is a crap shoot. I've heard plenty of stories good and bad.

My favorite was years ago in Philadelphia. Must have been 100 of us
there hoping to get out of or at least a lesser charge. Door opens and
the bailiff announces: Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge
Whoever presiding. Judge sits and say "how do you plead: so every one
of us says "NOT Guilty" and the judge responded "Dismissed" I guess he
had an early Tee time.

They went the other way in Lee County traffic court. The judge said
"You all had the opportunity to forfeit collateral and not waste my
time but if you want a trial you can have on. Just know, my guilty
verdicts come with fines of $500 and up so if you want to reconsider
there is a table in back where you can pay".

I suppose a good lawyer would be able to make a case that there was
something unconstitutional there but pretty much everyone paid.

In Maryland traffic court, the normal outcome was half the fine and
half the points so it was worth doing.