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ATTENTION

Scam Alert: The Superior Court of Santa Cruz has been notified that an individual posing as a deputy/court security is calling court customers stating that they owe money for failing to appear. If you receive a call of this nature, please contact the court directly at 831-420-2200 to receive accurate information.

Appearing in Court

How Do I Set a Court Date?

You may schedule an arraignment by sending an email, calling the clerk's office, of visiting the clerk's office in person.

Appearing in Court 

When you appear in traffic court, the first appearance is for Arraignment, which is when you enter a plea.

At the arraignment, the Court will inform you of your rights, the charges and the potential consequences in the event of conviction. Thereafter, you are asked which plea you want to enter.

The plea types are:

Guilty Plea
If you plead guilty you can give the judge an explanation about what happened.

At this time, the court will impose your fine for the violation charged. You may ask for a financial hardship reduction, community service, payment plan, extension to pay, or traffic school.

You cannot:

  • Perform community service hours and attend traffic school.
  • Have a standard $40 a month payment plan and traffic school.   

No Contest Plea
This is the same as a guilty plea except if you are involved in a civil suit (arising from your actions the citation was issued for) - such as a traffic accident - a no contest plea cannot be used against you in a later civil proceeding.

Not Guilty Plea
Your case will be scheduled for trial and the court will subpoena the officer(s) to appear on the trial date. You may not give an explanation at arraignment since the facts will be covered at your trial.

To prepare for your trial, please review the Contest a Ticket page.

Remote Appearance Information

Appearing at arraignment by video is quick and easy. You may appear by video if you cannot attend in person or if you don’t want to come to court in person. You do not need to ask or notify us in advance. Simply click the appear remotely button. For more information about appearing remotely, please see the Participating Remotely page

Click Here to Appear Remotely