My friend received a speeding ticket in TX, and she is considering fighting it. The officer has not put the ticket into the court’s system yet, so the court has no record of the ticket. However, when the officer gave my friend the ticket he said she had to appear by December 6th. She called the court to confirm that they didn’t have record of the ticket and to ask what she should do. The court staff said there’s no record of the ticket but that she could still appear or pay the fine if she brought the citation with her to court.

She told the court staff that she didn’t want to do that because as far as the court is concerned, she didn’t get a ticket until the officer files the ticket. In other words, why would she volunteer that she got a ticket if the court would otherwise not have record of it? The court staff said that was a good point and that she seemed to know what she was doing.

In TX, speeding citations are class C misdemeanors with a statute of limitations of 2 years, so my friend doesn’t want to fail to appear by Dec. 6th in case the officer eventually enters the ticket. Thus, she’s wondering if she could walk in to court and tell the judge that she was told to appear by Dec. 6th. If the officer still has not filed the ticket, my friend expects the judge or clerk to will to see the ticket. In that case, my friend is wondering if she can plead the 5th and NOT provide the citation since it could be considered self-incriminating. The state has the burden to prove the charges, so why should she do the work for them?

TLDR: friend got issued speeding ticket. Officer has not filed ticket with court. Court wants friend to bring ticket to arraignment. Friend is wondering if she can satisfy her requirement to “appear” without providing the ticket and incriminating herself.

Driving safety course is not an option to get ticket dismissed... She hasn’t decided if she’ll do the deferred disposition (assuming it’s offered) or plead not guilty and fight it. She told me she’s hoping she’ll be able to get the ticket thrown out based on her appearing and the court not having the ticket or some other procedural flaw.

On behalf of my friend, thank you very much for your help!