How to fight a traffic ticket in Philadelphia

Fighting a traffic ticket in Philadelphia can be tricky, and may make you wonder whether it is worth fighting at all.

A reader wrote into Curious Philly about the process after he successfully fought a ticket for a moving violation. The reader — who asked not to be named — said he was one of the only people to win their case, even though no police officers showed up in court to defend the tickets.

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Why, the reader wanted to know, is that allowed, and how common is it for people to lose?

Lawyer Michael Coard says it’s very common. According to court statistics from 2021, about half of moving violation cases resulted in a not-guilty verdict or were withdrawn or dismissed.

And, contrary to popular belief, the officer who gave you the ticket doesn’t have to attend the hearing to defend the ticket, unless you appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. And their absence earlier on isn’t cause to get a ticket dismissed.

So, is it worth fighting a ticket? Yes. The process can be confusing, and, depending on what kind of citation you have, works differently. According to Coard, most people don’t know how to effectively challenge their tickets. And, you might be able to get your ticket withdrawn or reduced.

Here’s what you need to know about how to do it, and how it works now.

Contesting a ticket — whether it’s a parking ticket or a moving violation — can be complicated, and there are different groups in charge of different kinds of offenses.

Parking violations are handled by the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication (BAA). These penalties are civil, and strictly fines. PPA writes the tickets, but the BAA determines if you are liable for it.

Moving violations — offenses like speeding, running a red light and more serious violations like driving with a suspended license — are handled by the Municipal Court Traffic Division. These citations can carry more serious penalties and consequences, including jail time. For serious offenses, you’ll want to talk to a lawyer.

It should be clear what kind of ticket you have, but the processes for contesting them are very different.

For parking tickets: Tickets can be disputed on the Philadelphia Parking Authority website or by mail (there used to be in-person hearings for parking tickets, but now that’s only the case if your vehicle is booted or towed.) You can get information about your ticket at 888-591-3636.

When disputing a ticket, it’s up to you to provide evidence of why you shouldn’t have been ticketed. You’ll be asked to submit written evidence and any other documentation (such as photos) for why your ticket should be dismissed. There is no fee to contest a ticket.

Contest a parking ticket:

Then you have to wait for a decision. If you disagree with the ruling, you’ll have 30 days to either appeal or pay the fine.

A few other tips:

For moving violations: When you are given your citation, sign the back of your ticket that you are pleading not guilty, and notify the office by mail or online that you intend to contest the ticket within 10 days of getting the ticket. Then, the most important thing is to show up on your date, or a trial can be held in your absence. The police officer is not required to be at this hearing.

You can get information about your citation by contacting the Municipal Court Traffic Division.

Your case will be given a trial date and assigned to a hearing officer or a judge depending on how severe the violation is and the possible penalties you could face.

If you don’t agree with the decision issued in the dispute process, you can file an appeal within 30 days.

» READ MORE: Read more Curious Philly questions, answered

If you want help fighting a moving violation, you can call the court and ask for a pre-trial meeting with the District Attorney’s office over Zoom, which could mean you don’t have to appear in person.

During this meeting, “we then read the ticket, the driver’s history, and listen to the driver and either make an appropriate offer to downgrade or withdraw the violation or go to trial in front of a hearing officer or judge,” said Assistant District Attorney Robert Daisy.

“Our people will review it, and a lot of times we will make an offer,” says Roh. This means that you can have your ticket reduced or dismissed without a traffic court hearing. If you’re unsatisfied with the result, you can still go to trial.

Fighting a ticket can be worth your time.

If you think you’ve been ticketed unfairly, fighting it gives you the chance to defend yourself and possibly get your fine withdrawn or reduced.

If you got a moving violation for something that you’ve since fixed, you may be able to get the citation withdrawn. According to Jane Roh, communications director for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, providing proof that you fixed the ticketable offense — a receipt for a new bulb after a broken taillight, for instance — may get your fine dismissed.

In other cases, it may be worth fighting if you think the original ticket was unfair. For Adam Baker, a musician from Lafayette Hill, “it was worth fighting the tickets because they were unreasonably issued in my case,” he said.

In 2020, Baker got two parking tickets in the span of 90 minutes for being parked in a no-parking zone. Baker claims he had no time to move his car, and didn’t feel it was fair to be charged twice for the same violation. So he contested them and explained that he believed that he should only be charged once for the same violation. Baker said both of his tickets were withdrawn.

If you want to fight your ticket, here are tips from lawyer Michael Coard on what to do: