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Many people who receive traffic tickets or municipal forfeiture summonses have
questions. A procedure has been established that allows conferences with City
Attorney Jeff Brandt about the tickets. This requires a not guilty plea at or
by mail before the initial return date marked on the ticket. The Menasha-Neenah
Municipal Court will schedule a trial date about 4-6 weeks later.
About two weeks before the scheduled
trial date, a letter will be sent to the accused with a date for a pre-trial
conference. At that conference, the police report will be reviewed and other
factors from the accused will be reviewed. In most instances, the case will
be resolved without the necessity of an actual trial. This resolution might
be a dismissal, a reduced charge, or a decision to plead to the original charge.
The amount of fines or forfeitures may also be adjusted. This process has been
in place for 12 years. It has resulted in the avoidance of nearly 90% of trials.
Those people who have retained attorneys have a modified procedure. Legal ethics
prevent an attorney from discussing a case with an individual who has an attorney
without the attorney's presence. Anyone contacting the City Attorney who say
they have an attorney will not be able to discuss the matter with the City Attorney.
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