I can’t afford to pay my ticket before my court date

Hi, my name is Heather Ford, and I am a traffic attorney in the city of New Orleans, also known as the Traffic Ticket Lady. What should you do if you have a court date coming up and you can’t afford to pay for the ticket?

Before I get started, if you ever have any questions about a suspended license, a violation for driving with a suspended license, a traffic ticket, or anything of that nature, you can always shoot me a text or call me at 504-233-8529. You can also schedule a free strategy session at  traffictickettalks.com.

Sometimes I have a conversation with someone who has a court date coming up and they cannot afford to pay for the ticket at this time. Some people’s reaction is to just miss court and maybe come back and deal with it at a different time, maybe after a payday or things of that nature. I would encourage you not to do that. Most courts don’t anticipate you paying everything the same day. There may be a few exceptions, but I can tell you in the metro New Orleans area that vast majority of courts will give you time to make a payment. If you’re making consistent payments and there’s a day where you don’t have the installment payment or you needed more time, virtually all the courts will work with you to achieve that goal. 

What is an issue is when people just don’t show up or they show up and say they will make a payment only to make one payment or never make a payment. The court will eventually run out of patience for that. It’s also a very good way to get arrested. The court will continue issuing multiple attachments to your violation and if you do get arrested, it’s a good way to get held. The court feels they can’t trust you will come back and handle your tickets so we’re going to deal with you now. I’ve seen people get placed on house arrest over old tickets for that reason. 

It’s really about showing up, explaining your situation, making arrangements, being consistent and in communication with the court. If for whatever reason you cannot honor the payments, come into the court before you’re unable to make the payment and just tell them you need time. Usually the court will work with you, but missing your court date is not going to solve your problem. It’s going to incur more fines, most likely in the form of contempt fines. You’re subject to having a bench warrant issued against you, and you also can have your license suspended. All of a sudden you may have moved, haven’t given notice to the DMV, get pulled over for a different ticket and receive a driving while suspended ticket for a license that you didn’t even know had been suspended. 

It’s much better to just deal with the ticket on the front end. If it’s a type of charge where you feel like you need to hire an attorney, but you can’t afford one today, maybe it’s something which you qualify to have a public defender. If not, just tell the court I would like to hire an attorney, I just need some more time to do so. 

My name is Heather Ford and I am the Traffic Ticket Lady. If you get stuck with a ticket and you can’t pay the fine before your court date, shoot me a text for a free consultation.

If you ever have any questions about DMV fees, traffic tickets, or a suspended license, I’d be happy to speak with you. You can always shoot me a quick text at 504-233-8529 or visit my website trafficticketlady.com.