HI,

Got a speeding ticket in wake county at a school zone( 36mph) WHat is my best option . I have never got a speeding ticket before.

1. Should I ask for a speed reduction to 9mph? Is that allowed for school zone speeding in Wake county?

2. Should I ask for a PJC?

I am not planning on hiring a attorney .

Do advice.

In which state is Wake County?

North Carolia

Were you speeding? If so, pay the fine.

Why would you NOT just pay the fine and be done with it, and be more aware of how/where you drive going forward? How much is the fine? What is JPC?

You can ask to plead to a lower violation. Most North Carolina D.A.s spend an hour before traffic court convenes doing just that. Whether you can get the prosecutor to agree is up to them. If the limit is normally 35 your chances are fair.

Understand that if you ever hit a kid in a school zone with this on your record you'll have every cop in the State on your butt. I'll be cheering the cops, too.

11 over in school zone... you can ask for a reduction.. but with the kids around.. you are less likely to get it than 11 over on a rural country road.

if you got your license recently...you are screwed..if you have had a clean record for 20 years...they might be more sympathetic.

JPC = juvenile probation counselor?

JPC = juvenile probation counselor?if they are 16 or 17, they are screwed... no real driving history to play sympathy on.

And this is traffic court...not criminal court, you AREN'T getting free representation....Lawyer would be really expensive for a moving violation less than 20+ over.

Take it to court, you play court costs too....plus the original fine even if it s not reduced. Its a gamble. If you are a teen, you are almost certain to lose...I can argue them and usually win, But I have an Engineering degree, deep knowledge on how these work and can make a good argument...most people can't.

I usually went to court (I no longer get tickets). It is worth it. But I was good at it. You haven't even told us the speed limit, what time of day, what day.... your questions indicate a certain amount of cluelessness.

You get there early and wait in line. Being first is handy. You dress nicely. You act polite and respectful but not obsequious. You understand that they do this all day, every day, and want it to be QUICK. You say you've never had so much as a meter violation, you thought you were under the speed limit, you now know you weren't, it will never happen again.

Traffic court is assembly line. Mine were always a police officer representing all arresting officers + a 'judge' of sorts, in a little room with all other people waiting in a hall. You have to be in and out in 2 minutes each.

(You don't sound like a minor...)

if they are 16 or 17, they are screwed... no real driving history to play sympathy on.

And this is traffic court...not criminal court, you AREN'T getting free representation....Lawyer would be really expensive for a moving violation less than 20+ over.
Ah, I had the initials mixed up:

"A prayer for judgment continued or PJC is unique to North Carolina, and is a type of disposition that is frequently used in misdemeanor cases in North Carolina courts. Many people think that a PJC is a good thing to get, but over the years the value of a PJC has been chipped away such that these days a PJC may only be valuable in certain traffic cases where insurance points or license suspension is at stake."

More explanation at:

https://www.chetson.com/2011/05/what-is-a-pjc-or-prayer-for-judgment-continued/

Never hurts to try... court costs are a fraction of the fine. In the last 30 years.. I have won 9 out of 10 tickets... considering a win as a reduction, but I have gotten half of those tossed out. won't say online, what and how...because few people could back up the credentials themselves I used in my defense. And those were key, along with being technically accurate and plausible.

In Georgia (can't say about NC) the police officer has to agree to a reduction.

School zone is seldom reduced bcause of the seroiusness.

If you are a teenager, then they almost never reduce.

In Carolina court costs are paid for every fine, appearance notwithstanding. A $15.00 fine cost me $185.00 just 2 years ago. I don't know Raleigh that well, but Down East a PJC is very rare.

Why don't you just own up to it and pay the fine. You were speeding in a school zone, and that was posted for a good reason. What if you had hit a child ? In Ontario, you would not have got such a low fine and no recourse but to pay it.