Court Appearance
The law requires you to appear in court on your case.  If you were issued a citation, your appearance date is located on the citation in the bottom left hand corner. You must appear in Court on your scheduled Court date if you do not pay the scheduled fine or enter a plea beforehand. Phone calls do not count as appearances.

If you resolve your ticket before your court date, you do not need to appear for court (unless you are a juvenile - all juveniles are required to appear in person).

You or your attorney may appear in person or by mail.  

We have a drop box outside of the Court where payments and documents can be left after hours. 

Juveniles under 17 years of age are required by law to appear in person and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian before the court.  

Minors under 21 years of age charged with any type of alcohol offense are required to appear in court as follows

• Anyone under 18 years of age - must appear in person before the court and must be accompanied by his or her parent or legal guardian.
• Anyone under 21 years of age but 18 years of age or over - must appear in person before the court.   A parent or legal guardian is not required to appear in court with you.

Your first scheduled court appearance is an arraignment setting at which time you will enter your plea.  If you plead not guilty the court will reset your case to the next available court docket for a bench or jury trial.  You will also be required to have a pre-trial hearing prior to a bench or jury trial.

If you fail to appear in Court, then a new charge may be filed against you for violating promise to appear.  A warrant may be issued for your arrest and you will have to pay additional fees.  You may also be denied renewal of your driver's license.

Resets 

If you are unable to appear on the arraingment date on your ticket, you are entitled to one reset.  Please contact the Court, in writing, if you would like to request a reset or complete the Motion to Reset and send it to the Court before your court date.

Pleas

Your first appearance in court is to enter a plea.  You may request to speak to the prosecutor to discuss any extenuating circumstances that you want to be considered.  

    Plea of Guilty

A plea of guilty means that you admit that you committed the offense charged against you and accept the court's punishment.

Your options are:
1.    Pay the fine.
2.    If eligible, request to take a drivers safety course. (See below)
3.    If eligible, request deferred disposition.  (See below)

Plea of Nolo Contendere (No Contest)

A plea of nolo contendere means that you do not contest the State's charge against you.  The court can find you guilty and assess punishment.   Your options are the same as a plea of guilty.

     Plea of Not Guilty

A plea of not guilty means that you deny guilt and the State must prove the charge that is filed against you. If you plead not guilty, you will need to decide whether or not to hire an attorney to represent you.  If you choose to represent yourself, you are held to the same standards of the prosecutor.

Trials

All trials in the Municipal Court are presided over by a fair and impartial Judge.  If you plead not guilty, you will need to decide if whether you want a trial by jury or a trial before the judge.

Upon your not guilty plea, the Court will more than likely reset your case to the next available court docket.

You will have the opportunity to speak to the prosecutor prior to going to trial if you want.  The prosecutor may offer you a plea agreement.   You may accept this agreement or refuse the offer and proceed to trial.  Any plea agreement is subject to approval of the Court.

The following are some of the rights you have in Court:
 

• The right to inspect the complaint before trial and have it read to you at the trial.
• The right to have your case tried before a jury, if you so desire.
• The right to hear all testimony introduced against you.
• The right to cross-examine witnesses who testify against you.
• The right to testify in your behalf.
• The right not to testify, if you so desire.  If you choose not to testify, your refusal to do so may not be held against you in determining your innocence or guilt. 
• You may call witnesses to testify in your behalf at trial, and have the court issue a Subpoena (a court order) to any witness to ensure his or her appearance at trial.  The request for a subpoena must be in writing, directed to the Court Clerk at least three weeks prior to your trial date, and you must give the name, current address and telephone number of each witness that you want subpoenaed.

    Jury Trial

If you choose a trial by jury, you have the right to question jurors about their qualifications to hear your case.  If you think a juror will not be fair, impartial or unbiased, you may ask the judge to excuse the juror.  You are permitted to strike three members of the jury panel for any reason you choose for any non-discriminatory reason.  Each side has three strikes.  Most jurors are selected from the first twelve members of the jury panel, as a municipal court jury is composed of six jurors. 

THE COURT REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF FIVE DAYS WRITTEN NOTICE FOR ALL TRIAL RESET REQUESTS. THIS MUST BE DONE IN PERSON OR BY MAIL.


Citation Options

Pay Fine

You may pay the fine and court costs for violation(s) you are charged with.  If you pay by check, money order or cashier's check, make it payable to City of Stagecoach.

The City of Stagecoach accepts cash, checks, credit cards, debit cards, money orders and cashier's checks onsite.  Credit card payments over the phone must be done through online payments at www.trafficpayment.com   You can also pay by phone at 1-888-604-7888 - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Driving Safety Course (DSC)

With a plea of guilty or nolo contendere (no contest), you may request to take a driving safety course.  You may be eligible to request this course if:
    •    You have a valid Texas Driver's License;
    •    Proof of financial responsibility (insurance) in your name;
    •    You have not taken the course in the past twelve months;
    •    Your citation is not for speeding more than 24 mph over the limit and:

    •    You have a Class "C" driver's license;

    •    You do not have a commercial drivers license (CDL);

    •    Your citation is not for an offense committed in a construction zone when workers are present.

The court cost fee is $144.00 (as of 1-1-2020) and that must be paid at the time of the request.

You will be granted 90 days to complete your course and return your certificate of completion and certified copy of your driving record.  You must submit those items by your due date.  If you fail to comply within the time allowed, you will receive a summons from the court to show cause why you failed to comply.  If you fail to appear at the scheduled hearing, a warrant for your arrest may be issued. 

You can order a certified copy of your driving record from Texas DPS at www.texas.gov

A list of Texas-approved classroom and online driving safety courses may be found on the Texas Education Agency’s website: http://tdlr.texas.gov/driver/driversafetyonline.html

Deferred Disposition (Probation)

This option is another method for you to have your violation dismissed to prevent the violation from appearing on your driving or criminal record.  The deferral period is normally for 90 days and can be a maximum of 180 days.  You are required to pay the state court costs and the special expense fee at the time of your request.  Typically, the cost for deferred disposition is the amount of the ticket plus a $10 fee. 

If you are under 25 years of age and are requesting deferred disposition for a moving violation, you will be required to take a drivers safety course.

If you are under 21 years of age and commit an Alcoholic Beverage Code Offense or the offense of Public Intoxication, you will also be required to complete an alcohol awareness course and community service.

If you hold a commercial driver's license (CDL) you are not eligible for deferred disposition or a driver's safety course.

If you fail to comply with the order of Deferred Disposition, a show cause hearing will be held to determine if you had good cause for not complying with the Court's order.  If you fail to show good cause or fail to attend the hearing, a judgment of guilty will be entered without further notice and the violation will appear on your driving or criminal record no later than 10 calendar days from the judgment date.
 

Non-Moving Violations

Expired Violations
 

• Expired Motor Vehicle Registration must be corrected no more than 20 working days after the offense or before the first court appearance, whichever is later.   A dismissal fee of $20.00 is required along with proof of payment that the late payment penalty has been paid to the tax office.
• Expired Driver's License must be corrected no more than 20 working days after the offense or before the first court appearance, whichever is later. Dismissal fee is $20.00
• Failure to report change of address or name must be corrected no more than 20 working days after the date of offense. Dismissal fee is $20.00
• Operate vehicle with defective required equipment (or in unsafe condition).   Example brake/headlight violations.   Must be corrected before first court appearance.   Dismissal fee is $10.00

Fail to Maintain Financial Responsibility (Insurance)

This offense will be dismissed at no charge if you provide proof of financial responsibility covering the vehicle listed on the citation to the Court.  The policy must be in effect on the date and time that the citation was issued.  The proof should be an insurance card or a policy with a name and telephone number of the listing agent.  All policies will be verified prior to dismissal.  Proof must be provided on or before your scheduled court appearance.


Warrant Information

The court will issue a warrant when:

•    You violated your promise to appear on your citation
•    You failed to comply with the orders of the court
•    You did not complete a payment plan or failed to make payments as directed
•    You failed to appear on a summons, bond or order to appear

If you are in warrant status your options are limited.

If you are in warrant status and you have a driver's license, it will be denied renewal pursuant to Chapter 706 of the Texas Transportation Code under the Failure to Appear Program. 

You can check the status of your drivers license at the Texas Failure to Appear website:
http://www.texasfailuretoappear.com

The only way to avoid arrest and regain the ability to renew your driver's license is to pay your fine(s) in full.  This may be done in person Monday through Thursday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, by mail or online at govpaynow.com. 

The City of Stagecoach Municipal Court accepts cash, credit cards, money orders and cashier's checks for warrants - we do not accept personal checks for payments of warrants.   Once payment in full is made, your driver's license will be cleared by this agency and the warrant cleared.   If you have a Texas driver's license it typically takes 24 hours to clear.  An out of state driver's license can take several weeks to clear and is done by mail.  This will depend on your licensing state’s procedures.

You can pay your fine in full and avoid another court appearance.  If you wish to plea not guilty to any of the charges, you can be required to post a bond to secure another court date.  The bond can be double the total of all pending charges.  If your license has been denied renewal, it will not be cleared until after the final disposition of the pending charges.

Need help with a legal problem?  Visit http://texascourthelp.gov