63rd District Court

Traffic / Civil Infractions

The traffic division handles civil infractions and some low level misdemeanors.

What is a citation/ticket?

Citation means "a complaint or notice upon which a police officer shall record an occurrence involving one or more vehicle law violations by the person cited." The cited driver is the defendant. A citation can be a civil infraction or a misdemeanor depending on the seriousness of the traffic violation. All defendants who receive a citation must respond to the allegations in the citation within 15 days from when you received the ticket. Refer to the back of your citation or contact the court for procedures regarding misdemeanors.

It will take 3-5 business days to receive the ticket into the courts system and the court will not be able to answer questions at this time.  

Note: the following policies apply only to the 63rd District Court. If your citation is from a court other than the 63rd District Court, you must contact the court listed on your citation for processing instructions.

The defendant has these options when a civil infraction is issued:

1. Admit responsibility without explanation for the civil infraction and make an appearance in person, by representation or by mail.  You should also send a check or money order made payable to “63rd District Court” for the full amount of the ticket.  You will need to call the court and find out the exact amount of the ticket.
   
   
2. Admit Responsibility with explanation for the civil infraction. Please write a letter to the magistrate and submit it to the 63rd District Court through mail or in person. The court will then send you a judgment of sentence letting you know how much the fines and costs are, if any.  Payment of fines and costs must be made by checks or money order made payable to “63rd District Court”.  If the magistrate does not accept your admission, then the case may be set for an informal hearing.
   
   
3. Deny responsibility for the civil infraction. You can either request an informal hearing with the magistrate and the police officer that issued the ticket or a formal hearing with the Judge.

If a defendant fails to respond to a traffic civil infraction citation, or fails to appear for a scheduled hearing, the court may enter a default judgment of responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions.

* Does not apply to misdemeanor citations. Refer to the back of your citation or contact the court for procedures regarding misdemeanors.

* The court does not issue points. For inquiries to points or points on your license please contact Secretary of State.

1. Admission of Responsibility without Explanation

A defendant may admit responsibility to the citation and receive a 28-day extension. He or she must make an appearance by mail, in person or by representation. Admissions of responsibility are not accepted by telephone.

To avoid late charges all admissions of responsibility must be received within 20 days from the date you received your citation (your citation may read 5-15 days – the 63rd district court allows you 20 days). You do not need to call the court to confirm this.

Methods of payment:

Personal checks and money orders are accepted through the mail or in person and should be made payable to “63rd District Court”. Please do not staple or tape your money order to the citation. However, we do not accept checks as a form of payment in any of the following situations: (1) a Bench Warrant has been issued for the person; (2) to post Bond or Bail on a criminal case; and (3) the person previously paid with an NSF or No Account check.

Credit card payments (Visa, MasterCard & Discover Only) are accepted in person with a signature and proper identification.

Cash payments are accepted in person only. Do not send cash payments through the mail.

You may "admit" to your ticket in the following ways:

• IN PERSON:A defendant may appear in court to admit responsibility anytime during the course of a normal business day. Court hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Bring your copy of the citation with you. The clerk will ask you to sign the back of your ticket admitting responsibility and issue a receipt for your payment, or give you 28 days to pay if you’re requesting an extension. (For your convenience there is also a 24-hour drop box located outside the 63rd District Court).
  
• BY MAIL: Appearance by mail is made when the defendant returns the citation to the court with a signed admission of responsibility (please read instructions on your ticket). If payment is not enclosed, the court will enter the judgment and assess the appropriate fines and costs. Your payment must be received within 28 days. The timeliness of a mail appearance is determined by the postmark date of the defendant’s letter. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope if you make a payment and would like your receipt mailed back to you.
• BY REPRESENTATION: Appearance by representation is made when a defendant authorizes another person to come before the court and admit responsibility or make payment on the defendant’s behalf. It is requested that your representative bring with them your signed admission of responsibility ticket with signature on back.

Warning: Failure to make a timely appearance will result in entry of a default judgment against the defendant. Noncompliance with the judgment will result in eventual suspension of the defendant’s license as well as other possible sanctions. Failure to answer a citation or a notice to appear in court for a traffic violation can also result in license suspension.

* Unless corrections are made.
** Unless proof shown

2. Admission of Responsibility with Explanation

A defendant’s admission of responsibility with explanation consists of the following:

• An admission of responsibility for the offense charged; and
• An explanation of the circumstances surrounding the offense.

A defendant’s appearance to make admission with explanation may take place in one of the following ways:

• IN PERSON: Defendants may come in and submit a letter for the magistrate to review. Once the letter is reviewed, the court will mail back a judgment of the magistrate’s decision. If you are found responsible, the court will give you some time to pay the fines and costs. Defendants must sign under “admit responsibility with explanation”.
• BY MAIL: Appearance by mail is made when the defendant returns the citation to the court with A SIGNED ADMISSION OF RESPONSIBILTY (see back, bottom or right of citation). Mail the signed citation along with your letter of explanation to the court within 20 days from the date on your citation. If payment of applicable fines and costs are not enclosed, the court will notify you by mail of amount due and the payment deadline. The timeliness of a mail appearance is determined by the postmark date of the defendant’s letter.

If the defendant admits responsibility with explanation, the court may not set aside the defendant’s admission and find the defendant not responsible (see informal or formal hearing). If the Court finds the defendant responsible with explanation it may only reduce the civil fines and costs in light of the extenuating circumstances. The court may not reduce or eliminate the number of points assessed by the secretary of state.  

The defendant’s appearance (by mail or in person) must occur within the time specified. Failure to make a timely appearance will result in entry of a default judgment against the defendant. Noncompliance with the judgment will result in eventual suspension of the defendant’s license, as well as other possible sanctions.

3. Defendant Denies Responsibility

To deny responsibility is to contest the case. The defendant must appear to offer a defense at an Informal or Formal hearing. Denials of responsibility/requests for hearings must be received within 20 days from the date your citation was issued. Request for Informal or Formal hearings may be made by submitting the Request for Informal/Formal Hearing Form by mail, by fax to 616-363-6211, or in person.

There are two types of hearings for contested civil infraction cases:

Civil Infraction Informal Hearing

The majority of contested cases are heard and decided at Informal hearings. A hearing that is conducted by a District Court Magistrate or Judge involving the police officer, the defendant and any witnesses, and is held without a prosecutor or defense attorney. The determination may be appealed to a formal hearing.

You may testify on your own behalf, have witnesses testify on your behalf, and ask questions of the witnesses against you. All questions must be concise, courteous, and not inflammatory or argumentative. You may also present any other documents or physical evidence that supports your case.

Civil Infraction Formal Hearing

A hearing that is conducted only by a District Court Judge involving the police officer, defendant and all witnesses. The defendant may be represented by an attorney and a prosecutor must be present.

If you need to adjourn your informal hearing you may do so one time only. The court will need to receive a letter from the defendant requesting the adjournment at least 7 days in advance from the hearing date. The defendant and officer are allowed to adjourn one time within the time guidelines.  

Do I have the right to appeal?

If you are found responsible after an informal hearing you have the right to appeal for a formal hearing before the district judge. Within 7 days of the judgment (date of hearing), you must complete an appeal form and file it with the court. In addition, you must post an appeal bond equal to the fine and costs imposed by the magistrate. The judge will listen to all the evidence and make a ruling. This ruling is independent of the informal hearing.

What happens if I don't show up for a hearing?

If a defendant fails to appear at an informal or formal hearing the court may enter a default determination of responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions.

Failure to answer a citation or notice to appear in court for an informal or formal hearing can also result in license suspension.

For more questions about informal or formal hearings, please contact the 63rd District Court traffic division at 616-632-7770.