Crime & Safety

New Law Requires Drivers To Request Trial

Westminster Police Department reminds motorist of upcoming law change.

A new law in effect Jan. 1 will require drivers who receive a traffic violation to request a trial date instead of a trial date being automatically assigned. The Westminster Police Department reminds motorists that if they receive a traffic violation after the first of the year the new policy is in effect.

The upcoming law change gives motorists who receive tickets three options:

(1)  Pay the full amount of the fine.

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(2)  Request a hearing regarding sentencing in lieu of a trial.

(3)  Request a trial date.

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The law requires that this decision be made within 30 days of the citation to avoid license suspension from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.

Under the existing law, drivers issued a citation were automatically given a trial date and were required to either pay the fine by the trial date or appear in court on that day. Many people waited until the day before their scheduled trial to pay their fine meaning that it was often too late to notify the officer who issued the citation that they were not needed to appear according to the Westminster Police Department.

This in turn created scheduling difficulties for police officers and often incurred overtime expenditures for police departments required to have police officers present in court, even though they were not needed. 

House Bill 829 and Senate Bill 560 were passed in the 2010 Maryland General Assembly Session. Supporters of the new law believe this will increase efficiency in both the courts and police departments across Maryland according to the Westminster Police Department.

The new law does not apply to citations issued for 'Must Appear' violations, such as DUI and individuals who receive citations for 'Must Appear' offenses will be automatically notified by the courts of their trial date.  

Information about the new procedure will be printed on citations given to motorists and officers will be reminding motorists of the new procedure when citations are issued. 


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