I was wondering how it would be possible to make a motion for an appeal or request another hearing for a traffic violation?
Question Details:
I was cited for disregarding a red light but I had mitigating circumstances and wrote a written statement and mailed it into the court. The judge ruled in favor of the state I put in a plea of admit-mitigated. I was wondering how I would go about requesting another hearing or getting an appeal for this.
If you are found guilty of driving through a red light you have 30 days to appeal the verdict. The appeal form can be found at the court or on line at the Judaical website under the forms sections. I suggest that you go to the court to obtain this form and bring it to a lawyer to review your case. It you lost at trial you want to make sure that you have a valid basis to appeal. You also want to know from the lawyer whether the appeals court is likely going to reverse the decision. Lawyers that practice criminal defense will know what your chances are and can advise you as to whether you are wasting your time or not.
You can contact the court (either the court's website or the clerk of the court) for the forms and instructions on how to appeal. Do this immediately if you are going to: there is a short deadline (30 days, I believe) for doing so. Follow the instructions exactly and/or get an attorney to do this for you.
The odds of winning on appeal are very small. Courts tend to not accept mitigating circumstances for traffic violations like this one, because *everyone* has some mitigating circumstance. (e.g. the road was too slick to stop for the light; someone was following me too closely; the yellow light was too short; etc.) While you can certainly try, you should not anticipate success.
