Class C Misdemeanors

The lowest level of criminal offense, in the state of Texas, is called a Class C Misdemeanor. Examples of Class C Misdemeanor's are:

• Criminal Trespassing
• Minor in possession (alcohol or tobacco)
• Most Traiffic tickets
• Petty Theft (under $50)
• Public Intoxication
• Simple Assault

Deferred Adjudication / Disposition

Deferred Adjudication/Disposition (PDF) is another way to dismiss a traffic ticket in Texas. Normally a person pays a court fee and is placed on a 60 to 90 day probation period. As long as they do not get any other traffic tickets within that probation time frame the past citation will be dismissed.

As of September 1, 2003 you are not eligible for Deferred Disposition if you possess a Class A or B driver’s license, even if you are in a personal vehicle.

Plea Response / Súplica de Culpabilidad

View information about plea responses (PDF) / súplica de culpabilidad (PDF). You can take one of the following plea types:

• Nolo Contendere (No Contest): A Nolo Contendere plea means that you do not contest the State’s charge against you. Unless you are eligible and successfully complete a Defensive Driving course or Court ordered probation.
• Guilty: A plea of guilty is admitting that you violated the law and have no defense or excuse for committing the offense.
• Not Guilty: A Not Guilty plea is informing the Court that you deny guilt or that you have a good defense in your case and the State must prove what it has charged against you. You will next need to decide if you want to hire an attorney. You have the right to have an attorney represent you, but the Court is not required to provide you with an attorney. You can request a trial with the Judge only, or with the Judge and a Jury (6 person).

Defensive Driving - Driving Safety Course Request

Texas has a program that enables drivers to attend a 6 hour course to have certain moving violations (tickets) dismissed. There are various formats in which state -approved courses are offered including classroom, online, dvd or video courses. Drivers are eligible to attend a state-approved course once every 12 months. There are certain eligibility criteria that must be met for a traffic citation dismissed.

The criteria for drivers to have a citation dismissed includes:

• Must enter a plea of ‘guilty’ or ‘no contest’ to the charge, request to take the course, and pay fees to the court
• Present a valid Texas driver’s license or permit; you may not possess a Commercial Driver License (CDL) and take the course for dismissal purposes
• Present proof of valid liability insurance.
• Not alleged to have been speeding 25 miles per hour over the posted speed limit
• Have not completed another Texas approved driving safety course within one year of the date of this citation/ticket

Submit the course completion certificate upon course completion along with a current driving record to the State of Texas website, in accordance with the Court instructions by the deadline to the Justice of the Peace Court listed on your citation. View more information about the defense driving program (PDF).