Municipal Court
Honorable Judge W.D. Hunter
Municipal Court Judge
Michael Guevara
City Attorney
Ricardo Bautista
Municipal Court Clerk/Permit Clerk
rbautista@cityofmariontx.org
You have three options of how to plea: Guilty, Nolo Contendere (No Contest), and Not Guilty. Please read the information below for a better understanding.
Guilty: A plea of guilty is admitting that you violated the law and have no defense or excuse for committing this act. Before entering a plea of guilty, you should understand the following: The State has the burden of proof of proving that you violated the law (the law does not require that you prove you did not violate the law); you have the right to hear the State’s evidence and to require the State to prove you violated the law; and, A plea of guilty may be used against you later in a civil suit if there was a traffic accident (another party can say you were at fault or responsible for the accident because you pled guilty to the traffic charge).
Nolo Contendere (No Contest): A Nolo Contendere plea means that you do not contest the State’s charge against you. Unless you are eligible and successfully complete a Defensive Driving course or Court ordered probation, you will almost certainly be found Guilty. A plea of no contest cannot be used against you in a subsequent civil suit for damages.
Not Guilty: A Not Guilty plea is informing the Court that you deny guilt or that you have a good defense in your case and the State must prove what it has charged against you. You will next need to decide if you want to hire an attorney. You have the right to have an attorney represent you, but the Court is not required to provide you with an attorney.
Pay the Fine and Court Costs: A plea of guilty or no contest is required. This finalizes the case and no pre-trial or court appearance is needed. A conviction may appear on your driving record.
Request Payment Arrangement: A plea of guilty or no contest is required. You may request a payment arrangement. A one-time State fee of $15 will be added to each violation that exceeds 30 days.
Complete a Driver Safety Course (DSC): You may request this in person or by mail. You will need a valid Texas driver’s license and proof of financial responsibility with your name on it. You may not take DSC if you hold a CDL, going 25 mph over the speed limit, passing a school bus when loading or unloading children, in a work zone with workers present, leaving a scene of an accident after causing serious damage and leaving a scene of an accident without stopping to render aid and giving information. Payment of court costs $119 AND a $10 non-refundable fee is required upon requesting the driver safety course.
Request Deferred Disposition: A plea of guilty or no contest is required. The Court may, in its sole discretion, defer disposition of your case. This procedure involves your payment of a special expense fee. The court will defer a finding of guilt or no contest, assess the applicable court cost and order you to comply with certain conditions. You may request this in person or by mail. If you successfully comply with the terms, your case will be dismissed. Normally, the only condition imposed by the court will be that you receive no additional citations for a period of 90 to 180 days. Payment must be made in full by the end of the Deferred Disposition. (You may make Payments until its paid in full)
Contest the Charge: If you wish to plead not guilty and wish to contest your charge you will be set on a pretrial docket. This will need to be done in person or by mail, before your appearance date on the citation. If this is done in person you will be given a court date at the window. If you mail in your request you must send in a self-addressed stamped envelope along with the Plea Form and the Not Guilty plea signed, then we will mail you the court date back.
Inability to Pay Fine: If a defendant does not appeal the court's decision, but is unable to pay the fine when due, the defendant must appear at the clerk's office and request their case be set on a show cause docket. If the defendant qualifies, the court may allow the defendant to pay the fine in installments or discharge the fine by performing community service. If community service creates an undue hardship, the judge may enter a finding of indigence and waive some or all fines and fees.
The Judge must see all juveniles (under the age of 17). A court date will be mailed to the address on the citation.
Failure to pay fines will result in a Warrant.
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