Traffic And Forfeiture

Many people who receive traffic tickets or municipal forfeiture summonses have questions. A procedure has been established that allows conferences with the City Attorney 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.

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 many instances, the case will be resolved without the necessity of an actual trial. This resolution might be a reduced charge, a dismissal, or a decision to plead to the original charge. The amount of fines or forfeitures may also be adjusted. 

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.

If a defendant or an attorney would like to request the police reports or other documents associated with a case they may submit and open records request with the Police Department.