Informative - Speech or Presentation Example

My case, like most traffic offenses, did not require my presence in court. Instead, it was handled by a violations bureau that exerted a fine on me without having to appear in court. Traffic offenses, according to Neubauer, and Fradella, refer to a group of offenses involving self-propelled motor vehicles. These violations range from parking violations to improper equipment. Speeding is the most common traffic offense, along with driving without a license and driving with a revoked or suspended license.

Traffic offenses are, typically, punishable by a small fine (475). The traffic court, according to Jacques, usually has under, its jurisdiction and control, a violations bureau to handle nonmoving violations, so that you can appear and pay a fine to be fixed by the judge without the requirement of an appearance in court. It would be ideal if the traffic judge could hear the case of each person cited into court for any motor vehicle code violation personally, but this would require a substantial number of additional judges and court personnel.

Therefore, it is better that the traffic judge devote his time and attention to those moving violations which are the causes of accidents and delegate to a bureau the duty of collecting a fixed fine in the nonmoving violations (381). Although, in my case, I did not require to go to court, I chose to attend a court case anyway to learn the procedure followed in court cases. As soon as you are put under arrest on suspicion of a crime, you became a defendant. Defendants enjoy several rights, which are; right to presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the right to be informed of your charges, the right to maintain silence, the right to retain an attorney, the right to be assigned an attorney, the right to request a reasonable postponement, the right to or not to testify, the right to call or subpoena a witness and the right to appeal.

Once you have your day in court, you should expect several things. First, you should always pay serious attention to what the court staff and the judge are saying. Additionally, you should be aware that all proceedings in the court are recorded, and the judge will always offer an opening statement. After the judge is through with the opening statement, the cases are called out in order starting with a request for postponement, uncontested motion, first arraignment, plea of guilty, plea of not guilty (without an attorney) and plea of not guilty (with an attorney).

If you have no attorney, the case can be postponed to give you the opportunity to obtain either a private attorney or a court appointed public defender. In cases involving disputes, the disputes can be solved without having to go in front of a judge through discussions arbitrated by a mediator. You can also choose to enter a plea agreement. This is where you choose to reach a negotiated settlement instead of having to undergo a trial. While entering a plea, you might need to negotiate with the prosecutor or attorney who represents the state.

However, all plea agreements must be reviewed and approved by a judge for them to become biding. Bergman, Berman, and Berman-Barrett, state that plea bargaining can be conveniently divided into two forms: sentence and charge bargaining. Sentence bargaining is a plea bargaining type in which the prosecutor agrees to