Gonna weigh in here and add my experience.

Don't even talk to the prosecutor. They are NOT on your side. Whatever he tries to 'bargain it down to' is NOT in your favour. If you are not guilty, plead NOT GUILTY.

If he asks you WHY you are pleading not guilty, you don't have to say anything, or give him anything. He's fishing for HIS CASE. He *knows* if he's got a case or not, and if he DOESN"T, then he'll try to knock you down to something which is 'technically' a win for him ( you pled guilty to a lesser offense). He doesn't want to plead a case he knows he can't win, but also.. he doesn't want a pile of tickets which were dismissed at court, 'cos that just looks bad for the police.

I've had a couple of 'scumbag prosecutors' try this tactic, even getting loud and offensive up in my face. Be aware that if you are confident in your case, and I think you are. You can either refuse to talk to him - and he might simply drop it before it even comes up, 'cos he KNOWS he's gonna fail, or he's gonna know something's up.

DO NOT 'settle for a parking ticket' or whatever it is you figure is okay. If you didn't do the offense, then it'll get sorted and you'll get off.

Know what you did.. what your defense is. If you're nervous, practice with a friend. Take a friend to court with you who's got experience. It's mostly just nerves.. and once you've done it once or have someone behind you with experience it's not that bad.

Experience:

I once got pulled over for 'failing to signal left on a left turn'.

I know I signalled left. I heard the clicky thing in my car. I was sat there for a good couple of minutes. The indicator was going flashy flashy!. After having provided all my documentation I discovered that I had an indicator light out at the back ( the front was fine, just the back one). Since the policeman was behind me, he couldn't see my front, only the non-working back. I demonstrated this at the time for the officer. He could *see* that when I pressed my indicator the front worked.. the back didn't. Water in the light shorted it out or something.

Now, on the ticket there's :

Failure to indicate ( 2 points, $130 fine)

Non-working indicator ( 0 points, $50 fine)

numbers are from memory and possibly wrong, but the point is - one carried points, one didn't. Officer, at the scene *COULD* have ammended his ticket to 'Non-working indicator' and I'd have just been : "Yup.. okay. " paid it via mail and been done. But since I got the 'Failure to indicate" with points attached, I HAD to turn up in court.

Did just that.. Pled 'NOT GUILTY". I wasn't guilty.. I was guilty of having a non-working indicator. But I *DID* indicate, and at the stop demonstrated exactly that.

Prosecutor asks me : Why are you pleading not guilty! You're clearly guilty.. Copper says you're guilty. Seemed offended that I would even contest it.

I'm like : Because I'm NOT GUILTY.

He gets up in my face and demand that I give him my defence! Tells me all kinds of bullshit which frankly.. should have gotten HIM in trouble like 'We can take your license. We can increase the fine if you plead not guilty and you are.. etc etc etc.'

Practically went purple in the face trying to force my defence out of me *before my appearance*. I suspect his copper didn't want to be there ( they get paid overtime for attending traffic court and if the ticket is dimissed it looks really bad for them). Maybe the copper actually wasn't there at the time, and would needed to have gotten pulled in from his shift-work or called in from home. I don't know...

Either way - prosecutor will do his best to barter you down to a lesser offense you will plead guilty to, even if you're NOT GUILTY of the offense on the ticket.

The ONLY time it's beneficial to talk to a prosecutor is when you know you're guilty, and prosecutor doesn't have his officer in court that day, doesn't want to get him in and is happy to barter you down to a lesser offense you'll capitulate to so he doesn't have to pull him in.

My case: Officer was present. I pled my case... Judge asked officer "Did the gentleman demonstrate his working indicator to you at the stop? Yes. Were you behind him and unable to see his front indicator? Yes'. Why did you not mark it as 'Non-working indicator' instead of 'Failure to signal?": I had already written the ticket.

Case dismissed.