Baltimore Light Rail Citation - questions

[A Guy in Denver]

Why not opt for the court date? It's a long time from now. Then get as many continuances as you can. There's a good chance that records will be lost, the officer won't appear, etc.

Justice delayed...

[newyorker63]

Hi, I'm facing a similar situation and a similar charge. Would you be able to enlighten me about what was your turn out? Did you go to court or did you just pay the fine? Can you give details on court, if you did plead your case and what happened ?

Any help is appreciated, thank you so much

[ladyraylin]

ticket
same situation tried to pay it at different baltimore city courthouses ...issued ticket in AA county, called clerk several times there t no avail..pay it. no warrant issued..no advice for payment. 6 months after FTA there was warrant issued according to clerk named
lynn. No there was not. Kept asking for advice on how to get new court date, etc. Told to just pay by several clerks. Now bench warrant for light rail ticket to airport missed flight got off held up by officer, wrong issuance date. asked for assistanc to pay .100 ticket ?any options. no help. warrrant.

[steppinthrax]

Originally Posted by hypostylin

Hello - Apologies in advance for the lengthy post, but if any of you have experience with getting a ticket on the light rail or with the district court in Baltimore City, I would love to hear from you!

I ride the light rail to work every day, and have done so for the past three years. I always pay my fare. My office is exactly two stops away from where I live. I buy a round trip ticket every morning, so that I don't have to worry about getting one for the return trip home at the end of the day.

However, yesterday morning I received a ride to work (very rare for me), and therefore didn't buy a light rail ticket. When I left work at 7pm that evening, I could see that a train going my direction was about to arrive, so I ran to catch it. Given my daily light rail routine, I completely forgot that I didn't buy a ticket, and was issued a citation for $50 at the very next stop by an MTA officer. I was honest with the officer and explained the situation as described above.

I am upset with myself for forgetting to buy a ticket, so I do not mind paying the $50 fine. However, I've spoken with two clerks at the Baltimore City district courthouse over the phone, both of whom have told me that if I pay the fine, I am "pleading guilty," and that this will show up on my record if anyone does a background check on me when I apply for a job, try to rent a place, etc. I have a 100% clean criminal record and have never gotten so much as a speeding ticket or parking ticket ever in my life. I, of course, have the option of going to trial for this, but 1) I would much rather just pay the $50 than go through all that and; 2) they told me I could wait as long Spring 2014 for this to go to trial.

After hearing this, I spoke with a couple of lawyers in my office building, both of whom highly doubt anything will end up on my record if I just pay the fine. They recommend that I go to the courthouse in person and explain what happened, discuss the criminal record issue and see if it can be resolved, and pay the fine. I trust these lawyers, but I am not optimistic about the outcome of this course of action based on the conversations I've had with the courthouse over the phone.

Have any of you been in a similar situation? If so, how did you handle it, and what was the outcome? Should I go to the courthouse to explain everything, pay the $50, and try to resolve the situation without getting this on my record? Should I wait and go to trial? I appreciate ANY insight you can give. Thanks!

This is what's Bull**** about Baltimore.

I rode light rail almost every day when working downtown. I always had my tickets. What's funny is how you would see a whole bunch of people on the LR who obviously don't have a ticket. Then at around Cold Spring, the hidden officer would come out. These people knew "how to play the game", they ran to the next car, next car and if they were lucky they left when the train was at the next stop. If the officer caught them, they would simply let them go at the next stop.

Other issues is when the fare machine was broken at a stop. If you simply told the officer this, she/he would leave you alone.

Then you have honest hardworking people who abide by the law get shafted. While those who don't abide get rewarded!!!!

Baltimore legal system and logic for you.