If a plea of not responsible has been entered, but the defendant is not able to appear in court for a Civil Traffic Hearing they may be able to ask for either a remote hearing via Zoom or a documentary hearing.
Documentary Hearing Process:
- Ask the court if this is an option
- Plead Not Responsible and request a documentary hearing
- File a written request with the court stating why it would be a substantial hardship for your to appear in person
- If approved, submit a notarized, written, statement according to the policies of the court detailing the facts of the case and situation
- Along with the statement, the court may require a deposit of the FULL fine amount on the citation (this will be refunded if successful in the hearing)
- You will be notified by mail after the hearing as to the outcome of the hearing
Things to Consider:
- The Arizona Rules for procedure guarantees the right to hear and more importantly, cross-examine, testimony presented by the state. This usually involves being able to question the citing officer. If the defendant is not present, they will waive this right and not have the chance to ask questions.
- Any evidence presented must be relevant, material, and have probative value to the facts in the hearing. If the defendant is not there they will not be able to voice any objections to any evidence that the state tries to introduce. They will also not be able to respond to any objections to any evidence you may present in your affidavit.
- Someone who is present is able to answer questions and clarify any part of their testimony. You also have the advantage of having your testimony weighed equally with that of the other testimony presented by the state.