Civil Traffic Charges

The Chandler Municipal Court is the Judicial Branch of Chandler city government and is also a part of the Arizona Judicial System.

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Effective Jan. 1, 2009

This Civil Traffic Web page will provide a brief description of your options after you receive a civil traffic complaint and the steps involved in the various Court processes.

1. If you are 18 YEARS OLD OF OLDER, choose one of the available options described below.

2. You will need to mark the desired option and return your COMPLETED AND SIGNED FORM, A COPY of the complaint and PAYMENT.

3. Acceptable forms of payment are: MONEY ORDERS, PERSONAL CHECKS, or CASHIER'S CHECKS. CASH is accepted when paying in person. VISA, MASTERCARD and AMERICAN EXPRESS are also accepted when paying in person, except when posting bond or restitution.

4. FAILURE TO COMPLY BY THE APPEARANCE DATE (lower right hand portion of complaint) will result in additional monetary penalties and driver's license suspension.

5. NO CONTINUANCES OR EXTENSIONS FOR APPEARANCE IN COURT OR PAYMENT WILL BE GRANTED BY PHONE.

6. If you are UNDER 18 YEARS OLD, you MUST appear with a parent for juvenile arraignment on your appearance date.  You CANNOT use the mail to handle the complaint against you. Upon receipt of a conviction for a civil or criminal traffic moving violation, MVD will require you to attend Traffic Survival School on the first conviction and on any subsequent conviction will suspend your driving privileges.

7. The entire sanction is due the day the court imposes the sentence.  Only if the court determines it is necessary will you be given additional time to pay.  A $20.00 time payment fee will be imposed on all fines/sanctions not paid on the date they were imposed.

8. If you wish to comply by coming to Court in person before the appearance date, ALLOW AT LEAST 5 WORKING DAYS after the day you were issued the Arizona Traffic ticket and complaint to allow for the complaint to be processed.

 You MUST appear in court on the appearance date listed on your complaint if:

• Any violation code on your complaint does not appear on the BAIL/SANCTION schedule or "Must see a judge" is indicated  
• Your complaint was issued as a result of an accident involving death or serious injury OR:
• You are under 18 years of age.

OPTION 2: CIVIL TRAFFIC HEARING 

• If you are at least 18 years old and  you wish to CONTEST this complaint and set a CIVIL TRAFFIC HEARING date, follow these instructions:
• Write your Complaint number on the bond card and sign under Option #2 indicating that you reliniquish your option to attend Defensive Driving School and you request a hearing.
• AT LEAST FIVE DAYS BEFORE YOUR APPEARANCE DATE, mail your bond card and your complaint copy.  An after-hours night drop is available at the Court.  
• Your hearing date will be mailed to you at the address listed on your complaint.  YOU SHOULD RECEIVE NOTICE WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS.  IF YOU DO NOT, CONTACT THE COURT IMMEDIATELY, OR CHECK THE COURT WEB SITE FOR A HEARING DATE.
• You may be represented by an attorney or you may present your own case at your hearing If you decide to have an attorney represent you, the attorney must file a Notice of Appearance pursuant to the Rules of Procedure in Civil Traffic Violation cases and be ready to proceed on the hearing date.  You cannot be represented by someone who is not an attorney.
• A hearing is similar to a trial, but there will be no prosecutor present to represent the State unless you are represented by an attorney. The State's witnesses will testify first. After each witness has testified, you will have an opportunity to ask the witness questions. After the State's witnesses have testified, you may present your case. You may call other witnesses who know something about the incident to testify for you. You may testify on your own behalf. In addition, you may present other evidence such as documents, photographs, etc. The Hearing Officer or Judge may also question you, the police officer, and other witnesses, to find out what happened. The burden of proof required for a Hearing Officer or Judge to make a finding of responsible is by a preponderance of the evidence. The Hearing Officer or Judge will listen to the facts presented at your hearing and decide whether it is more probable or not that you committed the civil traffic violation alleged on your complaint.
• If you are found "responsible", the Hearing Officer or Judge will indicate what your penalty will be. This penalty may be different from the amount listed on the deposit schedule given to you by the Police Officer. If the Hearing Officer or Judge's sentence includes a sanction (fine), payment in full is expected on the day of sentencing. Payment may be made by cash, check or money order. If you meet certain financial requirements, you may be allowed some time to pay. However, a time payment fee will be added to the amount that you owe.

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