"Continuance for dismissal" - Paying for a break

Some drivers find that cash can make the ticket go away

 Excerpt:

In Hennepin County, most cities allow qualified drivers to get a deal, called a continuance for dismissal, simply by going to the courthouse and getting the OK from a hearing officer. The ticket's fines and fees are dismissed and replaced by "prosecution costs" which go entirely to the city, along with a state surcharge. The total bill can run as high as $325 in some cities, far above the $145 or so that the speeding ticket would have cost.

If the driver doesn't violate traffic laws for a specified amount of time -- often a year -- the ticket is dismissed. If the driver is convicted, both tickets will appear on the record.

Prosecutors who issue the deals say they are giving relatively law-abiding drivers a break and encouraging them to drive with care in the future.

Each city sets its own parameters for which speeding situations qualify for a continuance. Many require that there was no accident, that the driver cooperated with police and wasn't going more than 15 or 20 miles per hour over the limit.

Minnetonka prosecutor Rolf Sponheim called it a compromise; motorists have to pay more while the city is "compromising our goal of having the person's driving record reflect their driving conduct."

Attorney Steve Tallen, a long-time prosecutor for several cities in Hennepin County, makes no apologies for charging prosecution costs of $250 in speeding cases.

Comment: Interesting. More on here.  I still have not been charged with anything. It's been 3 months!