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Civil Traffic Tickets with a Mandatory Court Appearance

For the vast majority of civil traffic tickets, no mandatory appearance in court is required. However, certain civil traffic infractions require a court appearance as provided in Florida Statute s. 318.19. The term “infraction requiring a mandatory hearing” refers to an infraction listed in section 318.19, Florida Statutes, which requires an appearance before a designated official at the time and location of the scheduled hearing.

The Florida traffic ticket attorneys at Meltzer & Bell, P.A., "The Traffic Stop," represent clients on serious citations throughout the Palm Beach County and Broward County, including such areas as West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach Gardens, Pembroke Pines, Delray Beach, Hollywood, Belle Glade, and Miramar. Call (561) 557-8686 today to discuss your case.

List of Palm Beach County Citations with a Required Court Appearance

Those traffic tickets, although civil in nature, are considered the most serious types of traffic infractions. A list of the civil traffic tickets that require a court appearance include:

• non-criminal traffic infraction involving a crash that caused the death of another person or serious bodily injury to another person;
• speeding more than 30 miles per hour over the posted limit;
• not having valid insurance when a crash is involved;
• passing an appropriately stopped school bus on the side children must enter and exit; or
• vehicles carrying uncovered loads.

The statutory maximum penalty for an offense listed in Florida Statute Section 318.19(1) is a civil penalty of $1,000, in addition to any other penalties, and the person's driver's license shall be suspended for 6 months. For civil infractions under s. 318.19(2), the statutory maximum penalty that the court can impose is a civil penalty of $500 in addition to any other penalties and the person's driver's license shall be suspended for 3 months.

Under Florida's Traffic Court Rule 6.620, in any case, in which a mandatory hearing is required and the defendant fails to appear, notice of such failure to appear shall be sent to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) department within 5 days after the failure to comply. The DHSMV will then suspend your driver's license. If your license was suspended for the failure to appear on a traffic ticket that requires a mandatory court appearance, then contact us.

Finding a Traffic Ticket Attorney in Broward County

Don't face the judge alone. If you are charged with a civil traffic infraction that requires a mandatory court appearance in any of the courts in Palm Beach County or Broward County, you should contact an experienced attorney at Meltzer & Bell, P.A.. We represent clients in the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood, the Main Courthouse in West Palm Beach, the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, the South County Traffic Court in Delray Beach, and many other courthouses in Palm Beach County and Broward County.