Office of the
Prosecuting Attorney
for Audrain County, Missouri

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Disclaimer

 

 

 

Fine Collection Center
citation.gif (3707 bytes) Audrain County is one of a growing number of Missouri counties that use the Fine Collection Center for many of its traffic offenses. Most traffic tickets written by our local state troopers are issued with instructions to contact the new Fine Collection Center in Jefferson City.

The Fine Collection Center handles tickets for offenses such as Following too closely or Improper passing, and includes state speeding tickets up to 25 MPH over the speed limit.

If charged with driving faster than that, a driver is required to come to court. The same applies to tickets for offenses such as an expired license, where the amount of the fine may vary, depending on whether the driver later obtains a license.

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City residents should keep in mind that local police may issue tickets for violations of city ordinances and these are handled in city court.

Your Options

When a driver receives a state traffic ticket and instruction form, he has 30 days to respond to the fine center, either by paying the fine and costs or by pleading not guilty and asking for a trial. Ignoring the ticket–his third option–may result in a suspended driver’s license and an arrest warrant. Later, if he happens to be driving while suspended when arrested on that warrant he will likely serve at least 48 hours in our nearly new Audrain County jail.

If he signs the ticket and sends the ticket and the fine & costs to the fine center the Department of Revenue may assess points against his license (depending on the violation).

If he chooses to plead not guilty, he signs in a different place and mails the ticket and instruction form to the fine center. The fine center will forward the "not guilty" plea and ticket to the Audrain County Prosecutor’s office for filing in court. The court then issues a summons for the defendant to appear before the court. In court, the judge reads the charges are read to the defendant. The case will be set for trial at a future date and–if the defendant wishes–he is given time to hire a lawyer.

Here is a link to the
Fine Collection Center & Fine Schedule

Talking with the Prosecutor
What will my fine be?
Can I get the charge reduced?
Can we get rid of the points?
Some traffic defendants may wish to discuss their case with the prosecuting attorney. They are free to do so at any time.The Prosecuting Attorney’s office will not, however, recommend a smaller fine than would be required by the fine collection center. In reality, both the fines and the costs may be substantially higher.

The prosecutor’s office also has a longstanding policy that speeding or other traffic tickets will not be reduced simply to avoid adding points to a driver’s license. The purpose of the point system is to enforce the traffic laws. We won’t play favorites; that is, reducing charges for some folks, but not for others.  

Likewise, we do not reduce traffic charges (and therefore points) in exchange for a higher fine. This puts a price on justice and favors the rich over the rest of us who cannot afford to buy such favors. Finally, we do not adjust charges or punishment up or down depending on whether the defendant hires a lawyer. It just doesn’t matter.

Note: Ethical rules prevent the prosecutor from discussing a case with defendants who are already represented by an attorney.