What is a mandatory appearance and why can’t I just pay the ticket?

I want to discuss what happens when your ticket requires a mandatory appearance. Maybe you get a speeding ticket and you were driving a little fast like 15 miles over the limit. Later, you might call in or try to pay your ticket online and for some reason it doesn’t work. At that point, you call the court to see what’s going on. They tell you your ticket requires a mandatory appearance. So what does that mean?

It means that you’ve hit a threshold that requires that someone appear on your behalf to resolve the ticket and you can’t just pay it. And the question becomes do you, personally, have to attend? Truthfully, it depends on the court.

In most cases, they will allow you to send an attorney on your behalf to go to court and resolve the matter without you having to appear in person. However, there are a few courts in the New Orleans area that may require your appearance to be able to resolve the matter.

I deal with a lot of out-of-state clients whose New Orleans and Jefferson Parish traffic tickets require with mandatory appearance but they can’t return to the state to handle the matter.

So, if you have any questions about what happens in the case of a mandatory appearance and what are your options, feel free to text/call me or schedule a FREE strategy sessions at trafficticketsnola.com.