88-2 District Court Traffic Division
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Civil Infraction Tickets
Civil Infraction Tickets Traffic tickets are processed by the traffic division of the District Court. Defendants may either admit responsibility and pay the fines/costs; admit responsibility with an explanation in writing to the Magistrate or may deny responsibility and request a hearing. The defendant may request an Informal Hearing with the Magistrate where no attorneys are allowed or a Formal Hearing before the Judge where the Prosecutor will represent the police officer and the defendant may also have an attorney. Some commonly used civil infractions can be found by Clicking Here.
Having Points Withheld from your Driving Record
The 88th District Court does not take points "under advisement." At hearing (formal or informal), you are found responsible or not responsible. We have no authority to withhold points from your driving record. However, effective December 31, 2010, the Basic Driver Improvement Course program permits eligible drivers to take a driver improvement course, either online or in a classroom setting. For more information, click on the link to Secretary of State website here.
Hearings
An Informal Hearing consists of the Magistrate, the defendant and the police officer who issued the ticket. Attorneys are not allowed to participate in an informal hearing. On the date of the hearing, the defendant may elect to admit responsibility or admit responsibility with an explanation or continue with the full hearing. All parties are placed under oath, and testimony is taken by the Magistrate. The burden of proving the defendant responsible is on the police officer who is also called the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, or it is more likely than not that the defendant is responsible for the alleged traffic violation. The defendant is also entitled to testify, including having witnesses testify on his behalf. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Magistrate will make a determination of responsible or not responsible. If either party is not satisfied with the outcome, the case may be appealed within seven days of the hearing to a Formal Hearing before a District Judge. If the decision is appealed by the Defendant, a bond must be posted in the amount of the fine. At the Formal Hearing, the defendant may be represented by an attorney, and the Prosecutor will represent the Plaintiff's case.
Default Judgments
If a citation is not answered within ten (10) days of the issuance of the ticket or if the defendant fails to appear for a scheduled hearing, a Default Judgment and a $10.00 fee shall enter.
Payments
If you are unable to pay your fines & costs by the due date or you are having a financial hardship, you must contact the court to ask for a payment plan or arrangements. If you do not have the fines/costs paid by the original due date, you may be show caused for failure to pay.
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Payments can be made by signing the back of your ticket admitting responsibility, sending a money order payable to:
88th District Court and mail to the PO Box 789, Atlanta, MI 49709 address.
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OR
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You may pay with a Visa or MasterCard debit/credit card at the following link. There is a 3% fee for all credit card transactions.
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PayGov.us by Clicking HERE or by calling the District Court at (989) 785-8035. Please have your case/ticket number and payment amount available.
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