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1. What is a Civil Traffic Hearing?

Under Arizona law, if a person denies the allegations filed in a traffic ticket he or she received, the court must set the matter for a “hearing”, which is a proceeding of relative formality in which witnesses are heard - evidence is presented by both sides and is decided by a judicial officer.

2. What are the issues involved in a civil traffic hearing?

The questions to be determined in any given hearing will vary depending on the specific allegation of violation in the complaint. It may, therefore, be helpful to note the exact “section” number of the “Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS)” or “Carefree or Cave Creek Town Code (TC)” that is referred to and alleged to have been committed in the complaint. (The Arizona Revised Statutes can be found in most public libraries). Remember, that a civil traffic hearing is only about whether the alleged traffic law was broken.

3. What issues will not be considered in a civil traffic hearing?

Who should pay for damages stemming from an accident that took place, i.e., who was at “fault” in the accident. The “rudeness” of the police officer who issued the traffic ticket. Whether a particular violation was done intentionally or by simple oversight. Whether the defendant has the money to pay a potential fine that could be imposed. Whether anyone was injured or otherwise put a risk by the defendant’s conduct.

4. Who decides the issues and outcome of a civil traffic hearing?

Arizona law provides that a judicial hearing officer will hear and rule upon the case. No right to a jury trial exists in traffic court.

5. How will the judicial hearing officer decide the issues and outcome of the case?

A civil traffic case is decided by law commonly referred to as “preponderance of the evidence”. If the state, as the plaintiff, shows that the preponderance of the evidence (in other words, the greater weight of the evidence) demonstrates it is more likely than not that a violation was committed, the state wins. If the evidence does not demonstrate this, the defendant wins.

6. What kind of evidence can be presented to the court?

Any evidence may be offered, including witness testimony, prior witness statements or sworn testimony, diagrams, exhibits, photographs, or any other type of evidence. The only requirements are that it must be “relevant and material and have some probative value to a fact at issue”.

Please note the court must retain all of the evidence which is offered. If the evidence will be displayed electronically, you must bring the appropriate equipment to display it. In addition, the evidence must be in a format the court can retain at the end of the hearing.

To determine whether these requirements are fulfilled, a defendant must ask himself what the “facts at issue” will be in the hearing and then decide whether a given piece of evidence is relevant and proves something about those facts.

7. If a defendant is found “Responsible” for the violations alleged in the complaint, and a fine is imposed for this, when must the fine be paid?

Any fine that is imposed is due and payable at the time the judgment is entered. Therefore, a defendant must pay such a fine before the close of business the day that the hearing was held and the judgment was entered.

8. If the court should rule in favor of the State by finding the defendant “Responsible”, does the defendant have any right to appeal?

Should a hearing be decided in favor of the State, the defendant has a right to appeal the judgment of the court to a Superior Court judge. This right to appeal consists only of a right to review the record to determine if any error of law took place in the proceedings. The right to appeal does not give the defendant the right to another hearing, a right to reargue the facts of the case, or the right to delay payment of any fine or sanction imposed.

The appellate right is merely a right of review of the previous proceedings to determine whether there has been any misinterpretation or misapplication of the law of the case.