Some quick tips on what to do if you get a speeding or seat belt or stop sign-type traffic citation.
Most of these traffic citations are petty misdemeanors. A petty misdemeanor is the least-serious type of charge and by law, it is not a crime. The maximum penalty is a fine of $300.00, and the court cannot impose any jail time. DWI or careless driving, on the other hand, start as a misdemeanor (fine up to $1,000.00 and jail up to 90 days) and rise to the felony level (prison of a year and a day or more).
Just Pay the Ticket
Under the “Dimler Amendment” (sec. 171.12, subd. 6) a law passed in 1986, if a speeding violation is 1-9 mph over a 55 or 1-4 mph over a 60, then if you simply pay the ticket, the violation does not go on your driving record.
If you pay the ticket (tacitly admitting guilt), the charge does not appear on your DPS record but remains on MNCIS. If you fight the charge and get a favorable adjudication, say a suspension of prosecution (Minn. R. Crim. Pro. 27.05), the charge would go off of your judicial record (a/k/a MNCIS) and never go on your driving record (DPS), but you would pay several hundred dollars more in prosecution costs than the amount of the fine.
MNCIS or DPS
Nobody looks at MNCIS, particularly, unless you’re in the judicial system. So, a prosecutor or judge might look at your “priors” in MNCIS when deciding on a charge, a plea bargain, or a sentence. Your driving record is more likely to come up with insurance or if you’re pulled over again and the cop looks up your record. The insurance company or cop are going to look at your driving record.
In a Nutshell
When you get pulled over, the cop pulls up your DPS record, or your driving record, when deciding whether to give you a break. More often than not, you’re better off not having the speeding violation on your your driving record, under this scenario than not having it on your judicial record if you fight the ticket and “win.”
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