fight this ticket ? (maryland)

A couple of months ago i got a probation before judgement (PBJ) for
doing 83 in a 65 in baltimore county. No points, probation for 1 year.

This weekend in montgomery county, i got another ticket 49 in a 40mph
(i was going faster than that, but the officer was nice and reduced the
speed on the ticket and the points from 2 to 1). So, since this is a 1
point ticket should i just pay it off, not go to court and avoid the
judge seeing the previous PBJ ? Or will that PBJ automatically be
converted to guilty if dont go to court and pay the fine. I called the
court and the DMV, and they really cant give me a straight answer, i
even talked to a lawyer and he wasnt sure.

Can you get two PBJ's ? in a year if you go to court. I dont really
care if i have just 1 point on my license, just dont want 3 points.

~thanks for advice in advance.

aquaanox wrote:
> A couple of months ago i got a probation before judgement (PBJ) for
> doing 83 in a 65 in baltimore county. No points, probation for 1 year.
>
> This weekend in montgomery county, i got another ticket 49 in a 40mph
> (i was going faster than that, but the officer was nice and reduced the
> speed on the ticket and the points from 2 to 1). So, since this is a 1
> point ticket should i just pay it off, not go to court and avoid the
> judge seeing the previous PBJ ? Or will that PBJ automatically be
> converted to guilty if dont go to court and pay the fine. I called the
> court and the DMV, and they really cant give me a straight answer, i
> even talked to a lawyer and he wasnt sure.
>
> Can you get two PBJ's ? in a year if you go to court. I dont really
> care if i have just 1 point on my license, just dont want 3 points.
>
> ~thanks for advice in advance.

I think you are pretty much screwed, if I understand it correctly the
PBJ means that you won't be convicted of the first offense if you keep
a clean record for a certain amount of time, usually a year. Paying
the ticket is the same as pleading guilty, so your driving record will
show both tickets after you do so.

as always, IANAL so if you want an answer that you can have 100%
confidence in consult a lawyer. (I guess a different one this time.)

nate

N8N wrote:
> aquaanox wrote:
> > A couple of months ago i got a probation before judgement (PBJ) for
> > doing 83 in a 65 in baltimore county. No points, probation for 1 year.
> >
> > This weekend in montgomery county, i got another ticket 49 in a 40mph
> > (i was going faster than that, but the officer was nice and reduced the
> > speed on the ticket and the points from 2 to 1). So, since this is a 1
> > point ticket should i just pay it off, not go to court and avoid the
> > judge seeing the previous PBJ ? Or will that PBJ automatically be
> > converted to guilty if dont go to court and pay the fine. I called the
> > court and the DMV, and they really cant give me a straight answer, i
> > even talked to a lawyer and he wasnt sure.
> >
> > Can you get two PBJ's ? in a year if you go to court. I dont really
> > care if i have just 1 point on my license, just dont want 3 points.
> >
> > ~thanks for advice in advance.
>
> I think you are pretty much screwed, if I understand it correctly the
> PBJ means that you won't be convicted of the first offense if you keep
> a clean record for a certain amount of time, usually a year. Paying
> the ticket is the same as pleading guilty, so your driving record will
> show both tickets after you do so.
>
> as always, IANAL so if you want an answer that you can have 100%
> confidence in consult a lawyer. (I guess a different one this time.)
>
> nate


hmm.. i called the court again, and they said that the PBJ does not
become a guilty verdict automatically- a judge has to do it. so if i
just pay the ticket chances are that my previous ticket will remain at
PBJ status. Now how do i confirm this ??